A life of significance

“A man, who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20, has wasted 30 years of his life.”

–Mohammed Ali, The Greatest

Everyone wants to leave a legacy. Everyone wants to be remembered preferably for something that is going to last through all eternity.  Even when some people don’t openly admit it, the truth remains that at the end of the day, everyone wants to be missed by their loved ones, friends, associates, and even competitors.  We can argue about the origin of this emotion, what’s not disputable is the fact that it’s an innate hunger in every human heart.  The desire to live forever is innate and native to the human spirit, and soul. It is one of those telltale signs that indicate that there is much more to us than our physical senses and conscious minds can ever fully comprehend.  After all, we are made in the image and likeness of God.  Therefore, we’re spirits with eternal life span.

WHAT IS SIGNIFICANCE?

At the Seeds of Greatness Institute, we define significance as helping others to win. It entails making a marked difference in someone’s life, or becoming a change maker serving a community in some fundamental ways – beyond your selfish, individual interests.  In this context, we see a life of significance as planting a tree under whose shade you don’t intend to seat.  In that sense, we equate living a life of significance as leaving a legacy.  Legacies go beyond monuments. It includes the life of everyone you touch, significantly.

Leaving a legacy can mean writing your name in gold in the hearts of the people you serve. For instance, an entrepreneur or a business owner may deliberately choose to be a force for good and transformation in business is living a life of significance.  Such a person may decide to rise above narrow self interests or the mindless pursuit of revenue by all means to channel the energies of his personality to satisfy the need for fairness, integrity and the rule of law in the marketplace.  In this broad context, even a school teacher who is consciously molding and remolding the personalities and characters of her students is quietly living a life of significance, though she may not even know it.  The same applies to a missionary who has answered a call to serve a disfranchised community, and by obedience to that call, is championing a cause for financial literacy in that community.

A life of significance is also an attitude of mind and heart.

• It is an attitude that recognizes that life in its infinite variety and form grows only by sharing.
• It is an attitude that seeks to build a better shared and a more prosperous world that works for everyone.
• It is a lifestyle that seeks to make a difference in everyone it touches regardless of social status.
• It is a mind which does not wait for some other time or for some other people to initiate change where necessary, and to seek new ways of doing things.
• It is an attitude which never abandons a worthy cause even when the going gets tough and rough.

EMBRACE A LIFE OF SIGNIFICANCE

Someone observed that significance starts with the word sign for a reason.  For example, a product or a program’s significance is a sign of its importance – the degree of relevance it has to the intended audience, or target user. Of course, significance is also a measure of economic and financial value and contribution.  This notion applies to everyone and everything.

According to Palo Picasso, “The meaning of life is to find your gift.  The purpose of life is to give it away.”   And let me quickly add, to give it away in excellent service that makes a difference in someone’s life.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., followed a similar line of thought when he observed that, “Not everyone can be famous, but everyone can be great because greatness is determined by service.  You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”

At the end of the day, to live your life, you must necessarily trade it for something, The ultimate question is, will you trade it for a worthy cause or for a needless crisis.  The choice is always yours.  Just remember that life is a breath away from eternity, and it does not care about your logic.  It goes its own way undisturbed.  So you must listen to life as Osho admonished, and be significant while you live.