Did you know that approximately 200,000 people die every day across the world? That’s a lot of people if you ask me; a massive lot of individuals who have breathed their last breath, felt one last caress, and experienced their final moment within the epic journey known as life.
True, this reality does tend to lose its shrill and intense bearing the older we get and the more people we are forced to bury. Nonetheless, death is not something we ever get used to; not to the point where it does not have some effect on us. The question is – what effect will it have on you?
The answer depends largely on the individual who is fallen. On this wise, the deaths of those true heroes will always have immense effects on everyone in their world and the broader world we all share. Trust me; I could painlessly line up hundreds of men and women throughout history whose lives and contributions transcend their existence on the earth; whose teachings and examples continue to be celebrated and followed even unto this day.
The simple question I have for each reader is this: will you be part of this heroic cast of characters when the days of your sojourning on earth are fulfilled? Or allow me to ask it this way: will you gain the power to realize the profound ripple effect that onw man or woman can have when they dedicate themselves to fulfilling their purpose?
IMPACT
If you answered yes, then I’ve got good news for you – I can help you in this grand endeavor. See I’ve ruminated on this prospect in my life and have come to the following conclusion:
The enduring value of my life will not be measured by what I got out of it, but rather by how much I gave of myself – and in giving, how many lives for the better were changed.
For this cause, I sought to craft a formula which would allow me and those like me (who would rise to the highest callings in life) to have the greatest impact we could possibly have – and I did. It is a combination of 6 unique steps which, if followed sequentially, will ensure that neither your life nor your death are without profound meaning and enduring value.
Appropriately this formula is based on the acronym IMPACT and includes the following steps:
· Inspire
· Mature
· Purpose
· Achieve
· Contribute
· Transfer
Inspire
Visibly the first step is inspiration, for we will hardly do anything of value or requiring reckonable measures of labor if we are not first inspired to do so. This speaks to a crucial aspect of human nature; specifically our individual inspiration is generally contingent to the value we perceive is attached to that which we are to pursue. If it’s a high value, well then hello inspiration! If it’s not, then you’re better off letting someone else do the job because you’re either not going to get it done or you’re not going to do it well.
Now the key to inspiration is understanding the source, for there are many impulses and stimuli which are neither positive nor progressive. Consequently, if we are going to have a true and lasting impact on our world and the world we share, we must not only be inspired. The source of our inspiration must be positive progressive causes.
Less the world remembers us as villains as opposed to true heroes and heroines.
Mature
Upon being inspired, we must follow all the natural processes of maturation (i.e. the 2nd step in the process). These include a wide variety of personal developments (e.g. emotional, physical, and spiritual) which allow us to increase the breadth of our potential. This is critical because an immature person will fail to cash in on their aspirations simply because they have not ascended to a place where they can execute with any quantifiable measures of relevance or proficiency. They simply don’t know how. Thus it is incumbent upon each of us to follow every natural process of growth; else we find ourselves with a surplus of inspiration and a shortfall of realization.
Purpose
Next, and perhaps the most obvious, we must understand our purpose in life. Here’s why:
It is impossible to have a lasting impact on others if you are living outside of your purpose.
This shouldn’t be too hard to understand. For example, my car keys are only useful to me as a means to start or unlock my car. They have no impact outside of this distinct function, for they serve no other purpose. As such, the only impact they can have in my life is by successfully starting or unlocking my car.
True, this is a much simpler example than the complex network of callings and purpose of the billions of men and women presently cohabiting the world. Still the underlying principle holds true. We are all here for a reason and have been uniquely designed to achieve specific objectives and goals in our lives – and if these are fulfilled, we will assuredly have a tremendous impact on everyone we meet and many who we have never met.
Achieve
This speaks to the next step in the process; that is achievement, the certain conclusion of purpose. This truism lends itself to the question – if you have fulfilled your days and, simultaneously, failed to fulfill your purpose, then what you have really done? What have you accomplished? What have you achieved?
On the scale of impact, you haven’t accomplished too much – and what you have accomplished will not last, for it (like you) will be both scarcely and vaguely remembered; simply because it was all executed without an authentic purpose. Thus it does not endure.
Contribute
Achievement, then, leads to contribution. It’s as natural as the dawn of the morning, and the evening when shadows fall. Here’s why: our greatest achievements are not executed for the betterment of ourselves or a small group; rather they are the amazing results of an authentic desire to improve the lives of all men and women everywhere.
In this order, we must not only be willing to contribute to the brotherhood of man; contributing on this pervasive scale should be our focus. It’s like I always say – the best kind of business is the business of helping others; but you will never know it until you try it.
Transfer
Lastly we must willingly and effectively transfer our legacies to those we are leaving behind. This is critical for the following cause:
We diminish the power of our legacy by foolishly trying to hold onto it.
In spite of this fact, you will find countless men and women more concerned about making a name for themselves than ensuring that their works have redeeming value. What these fail to realize is that there is no better way to realize the redeeming value of our works than by transferring our legacies (in their currency) to others while we are yet living. This act elevates the work (which has the potential to be eternal) above the individual (which has no potential but to be temporary), and positions it to be carried on successfully for generations to come.
To Be Never Broken Again
This brings me to the conclusion of the process and this matter; explicitly this:
The legacy we leave behind after we are gone is contingent to the impact we have on others while we are yet alive.
So take my advice and don’t be as those vain men with questionable motives, whose works are of selfish reasons and enduring no longer than a season. Their impact is at first negligible, and then silently non-existent.
Instead you be as those men and women of renown, who realized that they were merely individual yet united links in the infinite chain of humanity – and that their lives were nothing more than a unique opportunity to effectively strengthen the chain, and to ensure that one day the circle of all life would be restored to be never broken again.
Here’s a question I have for each reader: are you living your life with purpose and having a positive progressive impact in all the offices and groups you are a part of? Or are you being negatively impacted by adverse realities and occasions, and positioning yourself to be all but forgotten the moment you are gone?
Or maybe you’re somewhere in between and ultimately aren’t living as impactful a life as you desire to lead. In each occasion, I would recommend that you visit us at Life Pinnacles, for our reason for existing is to have positive progressive impacts in as many lives as possible – and our mission is to help others as they work towards fulfilling the same cause in their lives.
If you decide to join us, you will receive access to my very first admission in my “Declarations of Independence” series, a compilation of short works dedicated to illuminating man’s search for fulfillment, and independence from all those things which are preventing him from finding it.
D. L. Anderson is a speaker and life trainer whose goals are centered on helping others live a life of purpose, excellence, and balance. Drawing on 15+ years of experience in various fields including information technology, consulting, and business management, D. L. Anderson is very excited to be able to effectively teach others the same principles which have made his life both fulfilling and successful.
His latest book is the self-help book, Unlocking the Mystery of You: The Pinnacle of Purpose.
Visit D.L. Anderson’s website or visit him on Twitter and Facebook. You also have the chance to win a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card! Enter below.
Giveaway ends March 27.
An excellent post, D.L.!
Thanks for this interesting post and giveaway!