CREATING MEANINGFUL MOMENTS
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There is no secret that many people feel “stuck” personally and professionally. Also, that we all want to feel a sense of fulfillment and achievement, which many times we define as success. But how do you move from being “stuck” to living in the freedom of success and achievement?
I believe it starts with living a meaningful life. Life is filled with meaningful moments that happen everyday. The development of a leader has everything to do with creating these meaningful moments and understanding when these moments are occurring. This leads to a person becoming a meaningful leader.
Recently, I encountered two meaningful moments I would like to share with you. One was my oldest son speaking with confidence to a fairly large audience. He inspired the audience with his relevant words.
The second meaningful moment came in the form of my inspirations and mentors being my brother, Keith. Keith serves as vice president/chief diversity officer at Azusa Pacific University. He possesses extensive experience leading organizational change initiatives, but also he never fails to inspire through his positive approach.
Two weekends ago, Keith spoke about Ways To Make Our Lives Count. In his speech, he challenged us to do three simple things to make the most of our lives, which will help you to create more meaningful moments in your life. I will give you some of his thoughts and a few of mine as well.
1. Rest
I have blogged on the importance of resting in How Getting Good Sleep Gives You Good Results and several other blogs. But I also like what my brother said about resting. He said that rest is critical to gaining clarity with our focus, direction, and purpose. Resting gives us the capacity to be more intentional in all of our efforts. Intentionality leads to better efficiency and productivity, which ultimately leads to higher levels of success.
2. Remember
Without time to rest, it can be hard to remember. I know many people have the thought it’s only about the present and the future. I have had that mindset at one point in my life. But I now would strongly disagree with this perspective. It is important to remember where you started and how you have arrived to this point in your life. If you made any mistakes, remembering will help you avoid them in the present and future only if you decide to learn from them.
Keith summed up remembering in two words. He said that we all must “Look back.” Looking back will help us to appreciate where we once was, where we currently are in life, but also it will challenge us to be more intentional about how we plan to approach the present and the future.
3. Relate
Keith concluded with the final point that we were called to be relational. He strongly encouraged us to make every effort to invest in relationships. He elaborated on how God created us to be relational since the beginning of time.
Throughout history, most successful people would attribute their success to a single or multiple relationships. Take a minute and think about where you are today. Who helped you two believe in yourself? Who invested time in teaching you about leadership? Believe it or not, relationships are critical to your success.
The 32nd President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.” I would go one step further and say, “If civilization is to thrive, we must cultivate the development of human relationships.”
What are currently doing to take your life to the next level? Try these simple, proven strategies and watch your life take on new meaning and purpose. New adventures and successes are awaiting you.
None of us can do this alone. So feel free to leave an encouraging word. I want to hear from you, but also this community of leaders would love to be inspired by you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly to share your thoughts about taking your life to the next level.
Bryant
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