Be a life changer

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/life/change/

In life, we meet many people along the way.

Many are just fleeting moments that serve little meaning to our life, others are seasonal who eventually run their course leaving little more than good memories, while few, leave life-changing markers that are enough to help us find our way in reaching and accomplishing our goals and dreams. We may only have come across them at a particular time in our life and possibly never hear from them ever again.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have had four life-changers throughout my life.

These are the people who unknowingly play a pivotal role in helping us reach our potential. They aren’t our parents, family, or friends, they are the people in positions of influence who use their position in society to help you reach your full potential when they see it. They have nothing to gain from supporting you.

These ‘life-changers’ are different from the mentors who inspire and advise us along life’s journey, they are the people who become visible to our success only upon reflecting on life. They are the people whose ‘helping hand’ at the time, led you to where you are today.

Each came at different times throughout my life, each offering something different.

However, they all shared one key common trait.

They did not believe in the ‘zero-sum’ game. They saw my potential as an opportunity to cultivate and grow talent rather than a threat to their existence.

These life-changers’ are rare breeds, especially in a ‘man eats mean’ world.

As I’ve grown older, and as I reflect on my achievements over the past years, my understanding of a meaningful life has never been so clear. Yes, the promotions and pay raises felt good, but what has stuck with me are the 4 life-changers.

There has never been a time where the world has needed more life-changers. As Tim Denning recently wrote in an article about the looming deep recession.

The greatest opportunity in the coming crisis is for you to not only survive adversity, but to perhaps discover the power of helping others through the storm. Anyone can figure out how to look after themselves. Looking after others is far more challenging and that’s the opportunity you’re about to come in contact with.

And Maris Kreizman stated in her article about the impact of COVID on her ambition

At the same time, my ambition for my community and the wider world has gotten bigger and broader. I don’t know exactly where I fit in it, but I do know that I want all workers to be treated with dignity and respect — a small, humble ask that requires an unending amount of work… I want to become more active in organizing, I want to be a resource for those looking for guidance in their careers — at least while we’re living under capitalism — and I want to make enough money to be able to throw some of that money at the world’s problems. My medium-size dreams for myself may be getting smaller, but my ambitions for the greater wide world have to be enormous. It’s the only way to get through.

My new life goal is to be a life-changer to as many people as possible, just like the 4 life-changers who will forever live in my memory. Next time you see talent or potential in someone, don’t see it as a threat, lend them a hand. If we all continue to live in a ‘zero-sum’ mentality, what hope do we have in creating a better world for all of us? What hope do we have in creating future life-changers for our children and grandchildren?