SUCCESS

What Is It?

When I was little,  I used to dance around my bedroom singing into a hairbrush.  I wanted to be a Rock Star.   And  then when I went to college, I first majored in theatre because I dreamed of being a world- famous actress.  

Thank heavens, reality finally set in  -- because I can’t sing or act.  Ha!

For some reason though,  I kept  dreaming  of doing  something Big in Life.  I still wanted to be Important.

Then I ran into someone really Big — literally big.  He looked like a mountain over six feet tall, weighing at least 300 pounds.

I was standing in the hallway outside my classroom pointing my finger at a student, scolding him for cheating.  Just as I was wagging my finger and saying, “I expected more out of you. You’re a football player!” a huge dark shadow loomed over me asking me to drop by his classroom after school.  

When I stopped by Mr. Lab’s room that afternoon, he proceeded to chastise me for the way I disciplined the young man. “Would you say the same thing to a band member?”  I was furious that a colleague, even though he was older and more experienced,  would criticize me. He may have been right, but after that I always took a huge detour around him.

After Mr. Lab retired, I would often see him sitting on his front porch.  He was usually in the same shorts and t-shirt drinking Pepsi.  He always smiled and waved when I drove by.  Gradually, I started smiling and waving back.  Before I knew it, I found myself  plopped into the welcoming arms of one of his empty rocking chairs confessing  how sad and frustrated I had become because I wasn’t making a big enough difference in the world.

I know we must have talked for hours because we each drank several cans of  Pepsi, but  I can only remember one thing from that conversation.  It  changed my life.  “Jan, all you can do is light a candle in your own corner of the world.  Think what would happen if we all did that!” 

I’d heard the Buddhist quote: “A thousand candles can be lighted from a single candle…”  But I think it was God who kept putting big Mr. Lab in MY path to make sure I realized that you can be important from “your own front porch.”

So as an older person, I can confirm that it’s not about the size of your stage. It’s not about being on the nightly news. It’s not about the number of clicks & shares. It’s not about being famous. It’s about being — the Light for someone else.

In this world of 7.5 billion people, sometimes it’s hard to believe we really matter. 

But we do.

It’ll Be OK.   

    ~~~     

“Whatever you do always give 100%. Unless you’re giving blood.” ~Bill Murray                                                          

HAS SOMEONE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE? I’d love to hear your definition of success. Please, share below.