I want to start a movement. Will you join me?

At my last corporate job, I taped Christmas cards to my office door during the holiday season. When I received a small gift in the office, I taped the gold bow that was on it to my door also. After the holidays, as I was taking down the cards, I decided to leave the bow, as a reminder of my purpose: To be a gift to the people whose lives I touch each day.

I know, it may sound corny, but it’s true. And, each morning, while I prepare for my day I talk to God and I ask him for the tools I’ll need to do his work, my job, and fulfill my purpose.

Several months after the holiday season, the bow was still on the door when a colleague stopped by to discuss something. As he was leaving, he asked about the significance of the bow, so I explained it to him. He laughed a little as he left, and looked back at my office once while he walked away. He appeared to be a bit uncomfortable with what I’d said to him. Perhaps it was unusual, certainly unexpected, not your average office conversation. I hope it made him think.

You’re probably familiar with the movie Pay it Forward, in which a young boy starts a movement of Random Acts of Kindness in response to a school assignment. Last year, through my Leadership West Virginia class, I was introduced to Anonymous Acts of Kindness (check out Secret Agent L, also).  I have taken on these Acts by paying for cars behind me when I go through toll booths; I also sometimes pay for the orders of people behind me at drive-thru windows. It feels good to do something unexpected for someone, and hopefully brighten their day.

A couple of days ago, I was flipping through a magazine and saw an article on this topic, with a little different slant. The author (her name escapes me) wrote about the many struggles — large and small — we all go through on any given day. She suggested, when one encounters someone in need, asking this simple–yet profound, perhaps even life-changing–question: If you could have a small miracle today, what would it be?

If you could have a small miracle today, what would it be?

Then, do something about it. You may not be able to fulfill the whole miracle, but you may be able to do something that makes an enormous difference. And the simple act of asking the question and actually listening to the answer is a gift in itself.

So, let’s start the movement. If (conservatively) 25 of us committed to asking the question just once this week, and following through, we could positively change the lives of at least 25 people.

Let’s carry it a step further. Each of us has the opportunity to influence at least four other people each day. If we shared our quest with each of them, and encouraged them to join us, potentially 100 other lives would be positively changed. If each of the four people we influenced, influenced at least four people in their lives, and so on and so on…you can see, the movement could grow exponentially.

Simple. Profound. Life-changing (for both giver and receiver). An amazing way to recognize the many blessings we already have in our lives. An opportunity to truly understand the difference between need and want.

Are you with me? Will you join this movement?

Let’s all meet back here in a week, and share our stories (use the comments section!). I can’t wait to hear of the amazing works we’ve done.

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Why bother trying – it’s impossible. Right?

I want you to come on an adventure with me (an “expotition” as Pooh would call it). Imagine you are standing near the edge of a cliff. Mere inches from the tips of your toes, the cliff wall drops down hundreds of feet to a canyon. Across the way, some distance from you, you see the other side…and perched there is your goal, your dream (you fill in the name of whatever it is you desire to achieve), just waiting for you to cross over and claim it.

As you stand there, first looking with great longing at your goal on the other side, then down into the canyon just in front of you, and consider the chasm that keeps you from just reaching out and grabbing it, you think…what?

If you are like many others, you might be thinking:

  • It’s too far.
  • I can’t reach it.
  • There’s no way to get to the other side.
  • The canyon is too deep.
  • I don’t know how to get there.
  • I’m afraid to try.
  • I’m afraid to do it alone.
  • I’m not supposed to have it.
  • No one prepared me for this.
  • Why bothering trying?
  • It’s impossible.
  • Right?

Well, is it? I must confess I don’t have the answer. As a coach, my value is in not having any of the answers. My value is in having all the questions; the kinds of questions that will help you find the answer — your answer.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and here’s what I’ve come up with:

It’s not impossible. In fact, I really think there probably isn’t anything that is truly impossible.

Let me share with you some of the things that have led me to that conclusion.

  • We put a man on the Moon.
  • We have a rover on Mars, right now — today!
  • We have people living in an International Space Station.
  • We have immunizations and treatments for illnesses that used to wipe out entire populations.
  • We have mapped the human genome; and in fact, can now map an individual’s within weeks, rather than months, and for thousands of dollars as opposed to the billions it used to cost.
  • Doctors have created what they refer to as tissue scaffold to regrow muscle lost to disease or damage, for which traditional methods of treatment have failed.
  • And, if that’s not enough, medical researchers are printing new organs using cells instead of ink. Yes, I said printing, like on an inkjet printer.

Now, I’m certain there are thousands more examples of how we have proven over time that so many things once thought impossible, were, in fact, quite possible.

So, what is your goal / dream? What is it that your heart calls you to do? What do you long for?

Going back to school? Earning another degree? Changing careers? Meeting someone special? Taking a trip to an exotic location? Developing a new talent? Really, the possibilities are endless.

I’ll admit, it can be scary stepping out of your comfort zone to try something new. You may need to learn something. You may not have all the resources you need when you begin. You may need help along the way. But if you never start, how will you know?

Just get started. If you can see the first step or two clearly, you are more than ready to move forward. Do it afraid. You’ll get what you need along the way.

 

One last question: What’s holding you back?

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Would you like to press the “undo” button on your life?

In 2011, I participated in the Leadership West Virginia program. It was a tremendously valuable experience for me in more ways than I could recount quickly. One of the more memorable experiences was part of a service project my class decided to take on. We connected with the West Virginia College Summit program to act as mentors to high school students preparing for college; many times as the first person in their family to attend college.

Essentially, during one of our monthly LWV sessions, we were paired up with a College Summit student to act as a mentor, offering guidance on completing applications, writing essays, evaluating classes and areas of study. I remember so distinctly the young with whom I was paired. When asked what she planned to study, she talked of wanting to be a teacher. Her face lit up; her eyes were alive and full of energy; her voice was full of eagerness, and the desire to make a difference in the lives of children.

Then, she went on to explain that she would likely look into nursing or some other type of medical technologist position. As she made this change in fields of study, her whole demeanor changed. The light was gone from her eyes; her face no longer animated; her voice filled more with resignation than anything that could be interpreted as interest or excitement. Curious about such a drastic change, I asked her if she was aware of it…and why she would consider such a different career, and one that seemed to hold very little interest for her. Her response: Money.

We talked about this for some time. I acknowledged that, yes, making a decent living is certainly an important consideration, but suggested she might consider that she would be exchanging her precious life energy for that money, and it might serve her well to really think about what was more important — making more money at an unfulfilling job or making less money in a role where she truly made a difference in the lives of children, and by extension, her community and the world.

I have no idea what she decided; unfortunately, I’ve not heard from her since. I hope she makes the decision that fills her heart with joy, for it would be in that capacity that she would truly make an invaluable difference in the lives of many.

Her situation is not uncommon. In fact, according to a survey published in a recent Parade Magazine article, of the more than 26,000 people surveyed, about 60% said they would switch paths if they had the opportunity to do it over again.

In some ways, it’s an amazing result, and in others, not at all surprising. Nearly daily, I talk with people who are doing what it takes to get by, to make a living, working at a job, not in an area of passion. The survey shows that 34% describe their mood on Sunday night as “minor dread,” with another 9% in “despair” over the need to return to work on Monday.

It’s a sad commentary on our society, I think. So much wasted talent, energy, and passion! What’s worse, though, is discovering so many believe they are “doomed” to continue down this path — with no potential for change, even though it’s not what they wanted.

I wonder how so many people seem to have lost sight of the fact that the power is within them to make the changes. A new acquaintance so eloquently stated: This is NOT a dress rehearsal! We get one life to live. I hope you are making it meaningful.

If not, what will it take to shift you from your current paradigm about what is possible to the one that will allow you to realize your dreams and your potential?

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