While watching the final Democratic debate last evening, there was one through line that I feel is a core component of the true paradigm shift that has the greatest chance at combating the issues facing so many of us in this country and around the word. When faced with the question of bi-partisanship, Bernie Sanders sounded off the most passionately, declaring the fact that the greater issue that must be engaged is the financial greed tied to the political system that has nearly wiped out the middle class in America. The other two candidates agreed with these sentiments in what turned out to be one of the FEW issues in which all three found common ground. This has been a recent triggering point for me as well!
I recently returned back to Northern Virginia after a stint just outside of Baltimore, MD, and am still trying to process the amount of poverty that I engaged on a daily basis. You know the type of JOURNEY that may be underway when a car literally crashes into the foundation of your home at 8:00 in the morning, less than 5 days after moving in! The car missed our just filled fuel tank by less than 4 inches, which if struck, would have sent the house into a massive explosion with me, my girlfriend, and our little pup inside! YIKES! ~~ I guess I still have work to do here God, but next time, how about a post-it.. :0)
Our street was shut down for the day, and we later found out the car was driven by a 15 year old who had stolen it the night before. He got caught in a police chase that morning, that ended with him bailing out of the vehicle, and sending it careening straight into our home. We lived in a historic suburb of Baltimore called Dikeyville (don't try to find it on a map) that had been built in the early 1800's and been kept to look like a picture taken straight out of a Dickens novel! However, driving into the small, village like community was quite a humbling experience, as there was such poverty surrounding it. I had never lived so close to areas that almost appeared to be victims of a war time barrage. And these areas are FAR from anomalies in and around Baltimore. It is, to say the least, quite a sobering experience, and one which still causes me to think a great deal about ways to assist this growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots.
One way that truly resonates with me is learning to turn Success into Significance. Success tends to be more about ‘me’- what I've become and what I have got. Significance is about what value I have created for others. Success ignites your soul.
Significance ignites a fire that many others can gather around for inspiration and support!
Don't get me wrong, success is frickin' fantastic!! One can only truly give away, that which they already have, right?! But success in and of itself rarely adds VALUE to others. Here are some examples that might help, in a quest to turn the success in your life into stupendous significance!
1- Success adds value to oneself. Significance adds value to others.
A perfect example of this is my friend Jennifer Ohlson. We met in college where she was awarded a full sports scholarship. Here is just a sampling of some of her extraordinary personal achievements:
~~ Most lettered athlete in Colorado sports history
~~ USA Today Colorado Athlete of the Year
~~ ECAC Heptathlon Champion her senior year
The list goes on, but she has turned her MASSIVE personal success into a thriving business called Interactive Health Technologies! She and her team have created a cloud based technology program to revolutionize the physical education system. IHS is "dedicated to helping unlock the full potential inside every individual, empowering them from kindergarten through graduation day to take personal responsibility for their health and well-being." Jen literally took her greatest passion and personal success, and has turned it into something that is adding TREMENDOUS value to others! GO Jen!
2- Success has limited influence. Significance has UNLIMITED influence.
"When you influence a child, you influence a life. When you influence a father, you influence a family. When you influence a leader, you influence ALL who turn to him/her for leadership."
Quote by Anonymous
3- Turning Success into Significance is one of the best ways to find our CALLING.
I think we have all experienced the fleeting feeling that various success brings into our life. But to go beyond ourself, and meld what our true talents to the world may be, with a burning desire to be of service to others, creates a gateway into our personal calling.
4- Pursuing success only brings joy to but a few, but pursuing significance brings joy to many. And isn't that what the Hero's Journey, at its core, is truly all about. Bringing back the knowledge we have learned on our personal quest of challenges, to be of service to others who are still attempting to get through theirs?! As Martin Luther King Jr. often espoused, “Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are we doing for others?”
So on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let's all think about the personal success in our life and be grateful to have been given the talent, support, and energy to have accomplished it! But please do not forget to think about the many ways we can turn that success into the type of lasting significance that this world so desperately needs!
Nerdmaste,
Jeffrey Louis Martinez
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