If I was to tell you that for every reported act of road rage, violence or abuse there were 38 acts of kindness towards strangers, would you believe me?

This is just one of many fascinating statistics about us Aussies brought to light in a book that changed my life, and might just change yours too.

It’s called The Power of Good, and since it launched in early 2011 it has challenged many societal and media ‘norms’ – it even motivated two weeks of ‘good’ news on The 7PM Project (as it was then known).

Speaking with Our World Today, the author of the book, Mark McCrindle, saidThe Power of Good reveals a world we can sometimes forget exists amongst the current world of “negative and sensationalised” media.

“The perception of worsening violence and less kindness is largely based on crime coverage in daily media reports, and is refuted by solid research,” said Mr McCrindle.

“People are more worried about crimes and there’s greater uncertainty in our communities, despite the fact that crime rates are actually on the decline across society,” he said.

A quick Google revealed that a recent study in Philadelphia USA showed that crime rates dropped by 20 per cent in a specific period, while in that same period the incidence of crime reporting in traditional media increased 600 per cent.

The CEO of McCrindle Research institute said they “spend a lot of time looking at people’s responses to things, analysing society and running focus groups, and a lot of discussions identify that people are concerned about the issues that they read about in the media”.

“There is even a sense that perhaps times aren’t as good as they used to be, whereas actually we look at so many measures, and community well-being and engagement, and opportunities for education and career success are actually improving,” he said.

“The reality is that nationally, and for the majority of Australians personally, we experience far more acts of good than ill – indeed, as we found it was by a factor of 38 to 1.”

Having researched, read and written in great depth about what the core of the Australian psyche is, I asked Mr McCrindle what intrinsic quality he believes most defines us.

“People say that this is a great country to live in and often they think about the landscape, or the government, or they think about the economic side of things. All of these things are fantastic, but it’s that unquantifiable community spirit, and willingness to get along with and help a mate, that is the most valuable quality, though the hardest to put your finger on.”

The idea of quantifying this indescribable good, and bringing it to life through “true stories of kindness from total strangers”, will leave you with more than just a ‘feeling’ we are good, as it provides proof of this.

It awakens the senses, and reveals a pathway back to an open heart and trust in people.

You will walk the streets, able to smile at passers by, as it reinstates that intrinsic faith in people that is lost in all that we are taught to fear growing up.

But be warned, if you’re like me, what this book delivers is the sort of stuff you will want to scream from rooftops.

“Statistics are pointing out that there’s a lot of good things, so I guess we wanted to highlight that,” said Mr McRindle.

“We asked Australians “have you ever gone out of your way to help a complete stranger?” and “have you ever been assisted in small or large ways by another stranger?” And we found that in these areas majority of Australians did help others.”

“So while we might think that it’s amazing and unique to be helped by a stranger, it’s actually happening all the time all around Australia and we just wanted to validate that.”

From letting someone in during a traffic jam, to helping them carry a heavy bag, The Power of Good shows 86% of us have performed a random act of kindness, while 30%, or 6.7 million, do it on a regular basis.

“Each week there are millions and millions of these acts of kindness going on just in Australia alone and that doesn’t count all the charities and philanthropy and other things we do beyond that.”

“Our community is alive with this and I think that selflessness is the life light of friendship and key to the creation of mateship.”

While I could write forever about the lessons we could all learn from this book and someone like Mark McCrindle, the best thing to do might be to grab a copy of the book, and if you feel compelled to yell from a roof, let me know.

Plus, stay tuned to OWT for some exciting new research on marriage, pregnancy, health and more from The McCrindle institute - it’s sure to shock you.

Keep it quiet, but there’s also a chance we might see another ‘Power of Good’ soon, or will it be ‘Power of Trust’… ‘Power of Words’? You will have to wait and see, but in the meantime contribute your story of kindness to http://www.powerofgood.com.au/