What do you think of when you consider the impact you would like to have in life?
I have friends with every sort of drive: some are pursuing MDs so they can be epic and save lives, others are dancing with pharmacy, to better understand how drugs can change the game for people's livelihoods and a couple I know are becoming chefs, to satisfy and delight our fundamental needs. Some are building empires of a business to shift the market and reflect something new and refreshing in our lives, still others pursue acting, to cause and move the deep seats of emotion within all of us, others are in politics, to realign the system to be more genuine to the nature of humanity and shared fate, and more are growing in their faith, inspiring others through the pastoral and worship leader life. The list goes on to include chemical engineers, graphic designers, biologists, information technology system managers, interior designers, writers, physicists, bio-medical engineers, dancers, nomads, architects, sound engineers, and those who renounce ambition.
Where do I fall in the mix of dreams? I have many desires, many ambitions... What I desire most of all my notions is to achieve an impact, to etch that certain groove into the surface of the world that when I look at it, I can see a reflection of my soul. There's a hard-to-define line here between the desire of ownership (a territorial/power drive) and the desire of meaning (something much more fundamental to the human condition). Like most any person, I want meaning out of my life. I want to leave a majestic imprint on my loved ones, one that they may carry with them: an age-defying love-beacon of hope, inspiration, energy, invigoration, love, and dance. I feel a calling in the depth of my spirit to do work that builds community, strengthened by the bonds of collaboration and creativity. This kind of work of grassroots; I cannot cause a community to develop, not in any way that is sustainable and respectful to the residents of that community. I believe, though, that I can help fashion tools and facilitate collaboration in a way that empowers the community to develop itself.
In life, I desire impact... I want to slip from the mortal coil of my Earthen home one day and look back to see the echo my influence has had throughout the lives of others. It's difficult to quantify the effect I'm talking about, but if I had one goal, it would be to build my life, my love, my careers and projects, in such a way that I can hand them off to the next generation and they can run with it, maybe tweaking a goal or vision here and there as their heart sees fit, but what I'm talking about is a lasting architecture... A foundation for passion-driven growth that redefines our perceptions.
