STEP 10
Leave a lasting legacy.
In this final step, you’ll uncover the power of turning attitude into action by discovering the importance and self-fulfilling reward of making a difference in the life of someone else.
Before I started my own business, I read a book entitled Releasing Your Potential by Dr. Myles Munroe. Two weeks later, by coincidence (or divine intervention), we met on an airplane. He told me about a sixteen-year-old young man who lived in Ghana. He came from a very poor village. All he ever wanted to do in his whole life was to make a difference in the lives of others. As a teen, he left home in search of riches and wealth to bring back to his village. He eventually ended up working on a cocoa plantation.
For seven years, he had no contact with his friends or his family. One day he returned to the village. The people gathered around, and someone asked, “What do you have to show for seven years of being away? What did you bring us? Where are the riches?”
The young man responded by reaching into his pocket and pulling out three tiny seeds.
“Is this all you have to show? Three tiny seeds?” someone asked.
Without speaking a word, he turned, went to the family hut, and planted those three seeds nearby. From those seeds grew the first cocoa plant to be cultivated in his nation. And the second and third as well. Today, cocoa is one of the primary crops in Ghana. According to legend, it was started by one African man who planted three tiny seeds.
Dr. Munroe told me that story and said, “Go plant some seeds. Go do some positive things for others. God’s going to bless you. Remember, there are some people who will say they’re going to help you in life, but they really won’t. Don’t depend on them because in many cases they won’t have the information, the wisdom, or the insight to help you get where you need to go. Why? Because they are seedless. There are other people who will bless you, for they will give you the seeds of life. These are the people who will connect to your dream and your passion and help you move forward.
“When you go to the supermarket, sometimes you’ll see two kinds of fruit, seedless fruit and fruit with seeds, but you don’t know the difference until you look inside. And that’s the way it is with certain people. You don’t really know who they are until you look within them.
“I want you to plant yourself like a seed because, like a seed, the outer shell is going to die off, and when that happens you will cast off all of your past negative experiences. You’re going to become grounded in what your purpose is and what you’re supposed to do. And you’re going to endure some long winter nights and some hot summer days. There’s a price you’ll pay for living your dream. You’ll have to make some sacrifices, but it will be worth it if you’re willing to stay committed. You’re going to take root. When you’re rooted, you’ll become fully committed, and you’ll be unswayable. No one will be able to talk you out of achieving your purpose. One day, you’re going to come up through the soil, you’ll start to rise, to take action, and the momentum will carry you forward. When you surface, you’ll see the results of your efforts, and you’ll know that you’re ready to make a difference. You’ll be ready to plant some positive things—seeds—in other people.”
I understood exactly what Dr. Munroe meant. After our plane landed in Atlanta, we learned that there was a delay for his connecting flight. “I’m supposed to spend two more hours with you,” he said. We talked about life for a while longer. He told me about his upcoming leadership conference in the Bahamas. He invited me to come. I opened up my day planner to check the date. IBM had me booked up all week except for Friday. That was the day he was scheduled to speak.
As it turned out, I got there in time to hear him speak for two hours, and it was well worth the trip. In two hours I got what some people will never get in a lifetime. I learned that the most important thing we can do with our lives is to understand our purpose and release our potential so that we can plant positive seeds—seeds of hope, love, encouragement, and faith—in the lives of others.
I’m thankful today for all the positive things that God, my pastor, my family, and my friends have planted in me. In the previous chapters, I’ve shared with you my philosophy, methods for assessing, managing, and monitoring your attitude, and practical ways of applying those methods to your everyday life. I’ve introduced you to a process that allows you to transform your positive attitude into positive action. My goal has been to help you recognize that your attitude makes a difference in everything you do. No matter what has happened to you in the past, no matter what state you are in at any given moment, you have the power to turn your life around and to pursue your goals and dreams by adopting an empowering attitude and taking the actions necessary to move forward.
Sharing Wisdom Earned the Hard Way
I’ve had my challenges, but they certainly pale in comparison with those faced by many others. My friend and mentor, Art Berg, was one of the most inspirational people I ever met. Art passed away in February 2002, two months shy of his fortieth birthday. The impact he made in his forty short years lives on. At the age of twenty-one, Art had just started his own tennis court construction company and was about to marry his fiancée, when he was in a serious automobile accident. Art’s friend, who was driving, fell asleep at the wheel, sending the car into an embankment and throwing Art from the vehicle. Art’s neck was broken, leaving him with little use of either his arms or his legs. His doctors said he’d probably never be able to work, never have children, and never compete in sports.
He lost his business, and for a long time he was unable to get a job. He was advised to forget trying to lead a normal life and to accept his “handicap.” But Art had not lost his positive attitude about life. One of his favorite affirmations was by Napoleon Hill: “Nothing bad ever happens without equal or greater benefit in return.”
Art chose to believe that, and he chose this attitude: “I decided that this could be the greatest experience of my life.” Determined to be self-reliant, he convinced Bell Atlantic to hire him by telling the company that if he didn’t outsell their top producer in thirty days, he would leave without cashing a paycheck. He won three national awards for sales excellence in his first three years there. He married his fiancée, and they moved to Utah, where he opened a chain of bookstores. In 1992 he was named regional Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He then wrote a book, Some Miracles Take Time, and started Invictus Communications Inc., in Provo, Utah, to manage his public speaking career. Art became one of the top professional speakers in the country. At the age of thirty-eight, he was inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame and was to be president of the National Speakers Association in 2003.
Such a catastrophic physical blow certainly would have embittered many, but Art was one of the most optimistic, enthusiastic, and giving people I had the pleasure of knowing. In addition to everything else he accomplished without benefit of his arms or legs, Art became a world-class wheelchair athlete. On July 10, 1993, he set a world record by becoming the first quadriplegic at his level of ability to race an ultra-marathon of 325 miles between Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah.
I have a poster of Art hanging on the wall in my office. He’s in his wheelchair, head down, climbing a steep hill during a twenty-six–mile race in St. George, Utah. What the poster doesn’t reveal is that the hill stretches for five miles. In fact, it was so steep that if Art had raised his head more than an inch above his knees he would have tipped back. Without the use of his fingers, Art could never grip the wheels of his chair. So he pushed with the heel of his hand, then used his wrist and the back of his hand to propel himself forward. One push at a time, Art reached the top of that hill.
It was by one push at a time that Art made all of his life accomplishments—both professionally and personally. While most people spend their energy seeking the course of least resistance, Art sought the course of higher elevation. He didn’t ask how much it would cost, how much it would hurt, but rather how high it would take him. Art didn’t just talk about great ideas; action was his hallmark characteristic. He never seemed to worry about failure. “Fail faster,” he would say, “in order to succeed more.”
Art was a great example of someone whose powerful positive attitude sustained him and empowered him, even when he went through one of the most devastating tragedies imaginable, and even though every day he had to live with the fact that he was disabled. “Pain comes to teach us,” he said. “If we become frustrated, we’ve lost the lesson. When we see pain as having a purpose in life, it drives us closer to our dreams.”
Art took what he learned about the power of a positive attitude and dedicated himself to sharing it with others. “Before the accident, I was looking for a way to make a living,” he said. “Since the accident, I’ve been looking for a way to make a contribution.”
Art’s contributions will not be forgotten. They have truly changed lives.
My friend’s story is truly incredible, but I don’t want to leave you with the impression that you have to have an extraordinary background to make a difference in this world. Just as every one of us has the power to choose an attitude that empowers us, each of us has the ability to reach out and empower and help others by sharing our gifts, no matter what they are.
Why did Art do the things he did? He used to tell me, “Because it glorifies the One who has brought me this far and stands as a witness that given time, effort, and the power of God who loves me, all things that lie within His perfect will for us that we righteously desire are possible. They become the miracles along the way, which give us perfect hope for a brighter day.”
Art made the day much brighter for those whose lives he touched. Whenever I spoke with him on the phone, I could always count on three things happening. He would always mention something he was going to do for or with his family. He would always motivate me to believe I could do the impossible. And at the end of every conversation, he would tell me, “I love you, brother.” To Art, I’d like to say, we really do miss you and want to say thank you. Thank you for teaching us to take one more push. And while the difficult takes time, the impossible just takes a little longer. We love you, brother.”
Leaving a Lasting Legacy
My attitude was forever changed when I received a book and a letter from a gentleman whose name I have forgotten, unfortunately. We attended a self-development course together. In the letter, he noted that I had been a blessing to him throughout the three-day course, and he was sending the enclosed book, See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar. Zig was one of twelve children from a Depression-era family in Yazoo, Mississippi. He became a successful salesman and then one of the top motivational speakers and authors in the country.
His book was a blessing to me and so much more. I read it over and over, every day for a year. It helped change my attitude and ultimately helped change my life. See You at the Top was one of the first motivational books to enlighten me about the power of attitude. Many of the godly principles that were woven throughout the text made a tremendous difference in my life.
Zig has inspired millions throughout his career. Not only is he leaving a legacy in the lives of those he has personally touched through his books and speaking career, but many of those individuals have been inspired to leave legacies of their own.
When Janelle Hail was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1980, it was the words of Zig Ziglar that gave her the courage she needed to face the trials that lay ahead. Janelle had heard Zig speak two years earlier. His message went beyond positive thinking. His was a way of life that brought inspiration and hope. Yes, she learned to think positively, but she also learned to dream dreams and find ways to accomplish them.
Yet when cancer entered her life, fear exploded within her. And it lingered. Even after the surgery and a positive prognosis, the contemplation of death and leaving her precious children and husband behind was a constant torment. Dread overwhelmed her as the question echoed in her mind, “Is this the day I’m going to die?” It was fear—not breast cancer—that became her deadliest enemy.
Although these thoughts plagued her unmercifully, she hung on to the words of Zig Ziglar. They gave her an inner strength and feeling of security, because they were rooted in solid love. She finally came to the point where she could utter the prayer “Thank you, God, that I have two hands that can work. I have two feet to carry me where I need to go. I have a mouth to speak of Your goodness; but most of all, I have a heart to love and help others.”
In that moment, God healed her heart. Janelle knew that this disease and the fear it generated were not going to stop her life unless she wanted it to. And she did not want it to stop her! She wanted to learn from it and grow and be better, not bitter, from this experience. So she embraced the positive in her life and began to envision how God could use her. With this new life springing up inside of her, Janelle had no choice but to share what she had learned. She thought, if Zig Ziglar’s words had touched her life so profoundly, why couldn’t she touch other people’s lives?
Though she was still recovering and had hardly enough strength to help herself, the need to give to others became a desperate one for Janelle. She had always related well to women, so it seemed only natural to reach out to women suffering from breast cancer.
In 1991, Janelle founded the National Breast Cancer Foundation, where she serves today as president. This national outreach focuses on education and early detection of breast cancer, even offering free mammograms to homeless and uninsured women. Janelle Hail understands the fear women have, and she travels nationwide to share this message, speaking to corporations, associations, women’s conferences, in homeless shelters, and to needy women in situations connected with her breast cancer organization. To date, the National Breast Cancer Foundation has touched over ten million women.
A few years ago, more than a thousand individuals like Janelle Hail, whose lives had been touched by Zig Ziglar, gathered for a tribute in honor of this humble man of God. When Zig was first asked if he would be willing to accept a tribute on his behalf, he was somewhat hesitant. But he had a change of heart when he learned that all proceeds would be donated to the Living to Change Lives Foundation.
The nonprofit organization focuses on character-building programs for young people. Living to Change Lives is responsible for legislation passed in Texas to teach character education in public schools. In a society where many children lack positive role models, this voluntary program introduces students to the importance of courage, trustworthiness, integrity, respect, courtesy, responsibility, fairness, caring, good citizenship, and school pride.
What has become law in Texas had its roots in another curriculum the Zig Ziglar Corporation embraced and had published in 1997. Coaching to Change Lives evolved from the belief of two Texas high school football coaches that changing kids—by changing their character—would change the future.
When Dennis Parker and D. W. Rutledge arrived as assistant coaches at Converse Judson High School in San Antonio, Texas, they knew there was something missing in the players they coached—some intangible quality that it took to make a champion. It was clear the team had the talent to be better than it was. Parker understood that problems on the football field were not physical but mental. That’s when these men launched a concept that was initially scoffed at by most of their peers.
Rutledge and Parker ascribed to the Stanford theory that 8 percent of an individual’s success is based on ability, while 92 percent is based on attitude. So they decided to test this hypothesis and proposed to move kids out of the weight room and into the classroom to teach character development. It wasn’t long before their critics stopped laughing, sat up, and took notice.
The results were astounding. After only one year in the program, Converse Judson went from having a very mediocre season to a winning record of 14 and 1 in 1982. This team of converted athletes then proceeded to seize the Texas AAAAA State Championship the following year.
Stories like this were duplicated time and again over the next fourteen years, as the careers of Parker and Rutledge moved them to coach at high schools and colleges throughout Texas. Their newfound philosophy turned athletic programs around and led numerous teams to state championships. Suddenly, teams that hadn’t seen victory since 1940 were setting records.
Football scores weren’t the only things to improve. Test scores went up as kids developed confidence and self-esteem. What started as a program whose sole goal was to win football games evolved into a life-changing curriculum. Rutledge and Parker had discovered a gold mine and wanted to share this valuable treasure with as many coaches and kids as possible. Zig Ziglar made that possible by turning Coaching to Change Lives into a published curriculum available to any coach who wanted a practical tool to teach players principles of character, attitude, integrity, goal setting, self-image, and responsibility. Now these life-changing principles are being taught in classrooms across Texas.
One need only look at the wave of school shootings and youth violence in our country to understand the importance of building character and leadership in our society. Zig has made a positive difference in many lives, but his involvement with the Living to Change Lives Foundation will have an even greater impact. Through his work with young people, he is creating a lasting legacy that will benefit generations to come.
It doesn’t matter where you’re born, how much money you have, or what your educational level is. What matters is that you recognize you can make a difference and that God has a purpose for you.
Restoring Lives
While Living to Change Lives is capturing the hearts and minds of the youth, another organization is making a difference in the lives of men who were not so fortunate to have that positive influence at a young age. Apostle Otis Lockett, Sr., had a vision. He believed that men who were bound by drug and alcohol addiction could be restored. Restored to health. Restored to their families. And restored to become productive members of society. To make this vision into a reality, Otis founded the Malachi House in 1993.
Today Malachi House operates a Christian discipleship program in five housing facilities in North Carolina. Behavioral, emotional, and spiritual issues are addressed as men learn to develop and maintain a healthy, drug-free lifestyle; maintain economic self-sufficiency; and acquire job readiness skills. Malachi House stands as a testimony that it is never too late to make a difference in someone’s life.
Education Is the Foundation
for Creating a Legacy
It’s been three decades since Nido R. Qubein came to this country from Lebanon as a teenager with fifty dollars in his pocket. He knew just enough English to get by. His dream was to work very hard and become a successful American citizen. I’m not sure how you define success, but take a look at Nido’s accomplishments since setting foot in this land of opportunity.
Today Nido is one of the top business consultants and professional speakers in the country, having earned some of the highest honors given to speakers. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in numerous profitable business ventures and is chairman of a national public relations company, the Great Harvest Bread Company, Business Life, Inc., and the Miss North Carolina USA program. Nido also serves on the board and executive committee of a Fortune 500 corporation, and he has authored a dozen books on leadership, sales, communication, and achievement.
I’m exhausted just reading that list! And Nido’s accomplishments don’t stop there. He also has a number of philanthropic interests. Nido has served on more than thirty voluntary boards, including the YMCA of the USA, which oversees 2,600 YMCAs across the country. As chairman of the Qubein Foundation, Nido has provided financial resources for community programs and provided endowments to several universities.
How in the world does he find time to do so much? Gratitude, he says. You see, Nido was blessed to have his college education paid for by an anonymous donor. So he’s giving back. As of 2004, the Nido Qubein Associates Scholarship Fund had awarded $3,000,000 in college scholarships to 600 students. In 2005, Nido assumed the position of president of his alma mater, High Point University. Nido believes that life is one-third earning, one-third learning, and one-third serving. My friend Nido lives out his philosophy and is one of the most giving and caring people in the world. His attitude is making a difference and leaving a lasting legacy.
Nido understands the value of education and is doing all in his power to see that others can enjoy the same opportunities he did. Nido gives his time, and because he has worked hard, he has the financial resources to give as well. But you don’t have to have the personal resources Nido did in order to contribute to education.
When retired phone company employee Don Kastle visited Fort Logan Elementary School in an impoverished neighborhood of Sheridan, Colorado, he was disturbed by what he saw. Students in tattered clothing, often without shoes, were working in a building that was all but falling apart. Teachers there had given up their annual raises to help cut costs, but the school was badly in need of repairs that the school board could not afford.
Kastle decided to adopt Fort Logan Elementary School. He enlisted fellow members of Telephone Pioneers of America, an organization for phone company retirees, in a campaign that collected clothing for the students of the school. They also collected thousands of dollars in used office equipment and computers from a local law firm. And the volunteers built a new playground for the students, who responded by behaving better than ever before. According to school officials, Kastle’s effort made a difference. Kastle created a legacy by motivating volunteers who continue to come back each year.
Then, of course, there are the teachers. The men and women who put themselves on the front lines every day, investing in the lives of young people. You read the remarkable story of Brian Shaffer in Chapter 8. He is changing lives and building a legacy in inner-city kids. You can’t put a price on the work of Brian and other teachers like him. Unfortunately, many educators throughout the world are not getting the recognition they deserve. Many are underpaid, underappreciated, and overworked. Marva Collins was a teacher in Chicago’s public schools for fourteen years before she left the district. She was frustrated by her experiences in the public school system and dissatisfied with the lack of quality education her own children were receiving at prestigious private schools. Marva established an educational program on the second floor of her home, and in 1975—with five thousand dollars and six children (two of her own)—she founded Westside Preparatory School in Chicago’s Garfield Park.
In the first year, every one of the youngsters in her school increased their scores on standardized tests by at least five grades. What makes their phenomenal success more remarkable is that these children had been labeled “learning disabled, problem children, and borderline retarded.”
Marva’s success with youngsters labeled as “unteachable” by the school system led to an offer to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Education, but she declined in order to stay with her own school. She, like many teachers, is certainly making a difference and leaving a lasting legacy. The lives of hundreds and hundreds of young people have been changed for the better because of her belief that “every child is a born achiever.”
I am thankful for Marva Collins and Brian Shaffer—and all the people who are committed to education. To all the teachers who are making a difference, I pray and hope you will never give up. Education is the foundation for all the legacies that have been and will be created in this world.
The Power of a Wish
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is making a tremendous difference in the lives of young people and their families. Its purpose is to grant wishes for children with terminal or life-threatening illnesses. The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded when a small community of concerned friends and strangers came together to grant the wish of one little boy who wanted to be a police officer for a day. Since then, it has grown to an organization with seventy-five United States chapters and twenty-seven international affiliates on five continents. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted more than 127,000 wishes to children around the world since 1980.
I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at their national conference a few years ago. I did not fully understand the great work of this organization until I found myself in a ballroom with more than five hundred other people listening to a mother share her story of how one wish for her dying daughter had brought the family a moment of joy, happiness, and laughter.
Four-year-old Aaron Alexander was honored that day as the fifty-thousandth child to be granted a wish by the foundation. Aaron suffers from sickle cell anemia. On the day we met, he was running around getting into everything like a typical little boy. Aaron’s wish had been to be a cowboy. Make-A-Wish flew him and his mother to the Selkirk Ranch in Dillon, Montana, where he dressed like a cowboy and worked alongside the ranch hands. A parade was held in his honor. His mother told me how much being a cowboy had changed her son’s life. She said that before his wish was granted, Aaron would always complain about being tired and in pain, but since returning from Montana, he often runs around the house saying, “Mama, Mama, I’m a cowboy, Mama, Mama, I’m a real cowboy now.”
Having an opportunity to speak at the Make-A-Wish conference and meeting Aaron showed me firsthand the power of fulfilling a child’s wish. President and CEO Paula Van Ness said, “The power of the wish is that it creates moments of hope, strength, laughter, and dignity that improve the lives of our wish children, regardless of their medical condition. My vision is that one day everyone walking this earth will experience the life-affirming, life-altering, addictive, and exquisitely blessed power of a wish.”
Giving Year-Round
Organizations dedicated to charitable endeavors aren’t the only ones making a difference. Corporations that value more than just the bottom line have also gotten involved in philanthropic pursuits. Limited Brands, parent company to Bath & Body Works, makes it a point to make a difference in people’s lives through a program it created called the Giving Tree.
Committed to empowering women, nurturing children, and improving education, this amazing program encourages each of Bath & Body Works’ 4,000 store teams to adopt families through domestic violence shelters during the holiday season. The associates purchase wish list items for shelter residents. During the 2003 holiday season, Bath & Body Works teams adopted more than 9,000 families through domestic violence shelters and United Way agencies, providing nearly 30,000 children with requested wish-list items and with books to advance literacy.
Store teams have so enjoyed giving and making a difference in the lives of others that what started as a holiday program has grown into one that gives all year long. For Mother’s Day 2004, the Giving Tree provided wish-list items, along with hope and encouragement, to more than 20,000 women in domestic violence shelters. Education materials on breast cancer awareness and domestic violence awareness are available to all Bath & Body Works store managers and associates.
According to Deb Flannery, director of stores philanthropy for Limited Brands, employee participation in the Giving Tree and the number of lives touched has been truly inspiring. “It is our hope that our associates will adopt the value of ‘giving back’ into their lives permanently and encourage others to do the same.”
The Gift of Sight
Another corporation giving back is LensCrafters. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at the LensCrafters annual general managers meeting on more than one occasion. The audiences were among the most enthusiastic I’ve had the pleasure of addressing. After meeting the former president and CEO, Dave Browne, I could easily understand why. The entire organization is committed to making a difference with their Gift of Sight program. Dave told me, “We make decisions with our heads and commitments with our hearts. Each one of our associates has made a decision and a commitment to our Gift of Sight program.”
The program delivers free optical services to needy people in North America and around the world. On one designated day called Hometown Day, all LensCrafters stores in the United States and Canada open early to donate eye exams and eyeglasses to needy people in their communities.
I recently received a letter from Jay Scott Stoelting, executive director of LensCrafters Foundations. Scott shared a story about one Hometown Day recipient:
Our most memorable Hometown Day story is about a student we’ve never even met. We were almost finished delivering exams and free glasses to about twenty students from a local school when the teacher asked if we could repair the glasses of a student whose mother would not let her participate in the Hometown Day. When we opened the envelope containing her glasses we found the frame with lenses but no arms. The girl had taken twisted ties and looped them through the hinges, then connected a string through the ties, which she wore around her head. The teacher told us she had worn them to school every day despite her classmates’ critical jokes. We were moved by this girl’s situation and determined to replace her glasses. But when we discovered the prescriptions for her existing glasses were –8.25, –4.5, we all cried. What that means is that her vision was very, very bad. We chose a beautiful frame and made the new glasses, which her teacher delivered. Although we didn’t see the girl’s face when she received them, we had the satisfaction of knowing the gift of sight had made an incredible difference in her life.
This story illustrates that even when you cannot see the results of your work, you are still able to know in your heart that you made a tremendous difference in someone else’s life. Don’t ever forget that there are so many needs and so many ways in which you can make a difference.
An Attitude of Service
Marian Wright Edelman, a Yale Law School graduate and civil rights activist who founded the Children’s Defense Fund, said, “Doing good for others is just the rent you pay for living on this earth.” She’s talking about taking on an attitude of service and turning that attitude into action by serving others, no matter who you are, where you are, or what you do. We all have time to serve if we make time, and we should all make time as long as we have time.
I was reminded of this while hearing a speech by Johnnetta Cole. Johnnetta is a dynamic and accomplished woman, serving as president of Spelman College for ten years and coming out of retirement to reside as president of Bennett College. In addition to her duties as Bennett College president, Dr. Cole was recently named chair of the board of the United Way of America. She also serves on a number of corporate and charitable boards. Yet in spite of all those commitments and her incredibly busy schedule, Dr. Cole stays true to a commitment she made to an eleven-year-old girl in 1998. That’s when Dr. Cole became a Big Sister through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. In the speech I heard, Dr. Cole talked about her decision to mentor this young girl who had stolen her heart. While she thought she’d be the one enriching this girl’s life, Dr. Cole realized that they have a relationship based on mutual love, respect, and admiration.
We can all find the time to give back, because along our journeys there have been those special people who took the time with us. As Dr. Cole stated in her recent address, “Anybody can be great because anybody can serve. All you need to serve is a heart full of grace, and a soul motivated by love.”
Make a Mark and Make a Difference
Several years ago, I was on the road speaking when I hit a wall. I was sitting on the bed of yet another hotel room, drained physically and mentally. I felt myself slipping into a negative attitude, and I did absolutely nothing to stop it. I picked up a room service menu and stared at the same entrees that I’d been staring at for twenty-four straight days on this road trip. I couldn’t shake a nagging sense of dread and dissatisfaction.
I sensed that I was headed for a slight case of depression, so I yanked out the Attitude Tool Kit and started a tune-up: Why am I feeling this way? I’ve got my own business. I’ve got a busy schedule. I’ve got a great staff. My books and tapes are selling all over the world. I’m making good money. I have a new house and a car. I have all the material things I ever wanted, and I’m pursuing my purpose and passion.
The tune-up was going well, but then I dropped a wrench into the works. So why do I feel so unhappy? I can hear myself complaining all the time about things that never bothered me before.
I pulled the plug on my inner dialogue for the night, which you have to do sometimes when you know that weariness is pushing you into negative attitude territory. But the next day I still had a lot of negative nagging going on. It stayed with me until I met my cousin Gina for lunch in Chicago, and she told me that she was going to attend a service that evening by Dr. Creflo A. Dollar, the charismatic pastor. He began his church with eight members in an Atlanta elementary school and built it into the dynamic World Changers Church International in College Park, Georgia, which has a congregation approaching 25,000 people. His ministry is worldwide, with offices in Australia, the Republic of South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Several more are scheduled to open in India, Brazil, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Hong Kong.
I was familiar with Pastor Dollar. I had watched him several times on television on the Trinity Broadcast Network and had even attended his church a couple of times, but I declined my cousin’s invitation to go along. She tried to talk me into it, but I was feeling tired. After our lunch, I returned to my hotel room. My negative inner dialogue picked up where it had left off the previous night, so I pulled the plug again and took a nap. Maybe I’m just road-weary, I thought. Three hours had passed when I awakened. I felt energized, so I decided to join my cousin after all. When I arrived at the theater, I couldn’t believe the number of people outside. There must have been at least five thousand standing in line to get in.
I overheard some people in the line saying that they’d driven nine hours to get there. Someone else responded, “There are a lot of people who’ve driven farther than that.” Pastor Dollar’s ten-thousand-seat church is fifty minutes from my home in Atlanta, and I’d only made the effort to drive to his services twice, I thought.
I walked down to the first row to see if I could find Gina, but there were too many people and she was nowhere in sight. Still, I wasn’t worried. I felt comfortable there, more comfortable than I had in many weeks. I felt like something important was about to take place.
Transcending Self and Reaching Out
The youthful Pastor Dollar appeared on the stage to the applause of the crowd. He immediately began his sermon on the topic “Making a Mark That Cannot Be Erased.” To make a mark, he explained, is to really make a difference in somebody else’s life. Often, when you do that, it has a ripple effect. Your helping or guiding someone else touches many lives by virtue of having touched one. It’s contagious.
It’s important to understand that the smallest gesture can have a major and lasting impact on a person’s life. We don’t always know the outcome or how many lives we touch, but it’s true beyond a doubt that when you extend a hand to one person, many others move forward.
When I first heard Pastor Dollar’s words that day, they were channeled into my spirit. I realized that with all my negative internal dialogue, I had started to lose sight of my many blessings. I’d become self-centered and self-serving. In my road-weariness, I’d fallen into a pattern of boredom and self-pity. Sure, I was tired. Sure, traveling around the country can wear you out. But I’d lost sight of the fact that I was living my dream.
Pastor Dollar reminded me that my focus should be on showing my thankfulness to God for his gifts to me by developing them and sharing them. I connected with Pastor Dollar’s vision when he talked about really making a difference and becoming a “world changer.” That’s when a light went on inside of me, and I realized that I needed to become a more spiritual being. Pastor Dollar asked the question “Who wants to profit in life?” We all raised our hands. He replied, “To profit, you must plant the word of God inside yourself. You must not only be a hearer of the Word, but a doer of the Word. There are sixty-six books in the Bible; sixty-six bags of seed that are the words of God. If you want your success; if you want to produce your harvest—you must plant those seeds.”
I experienced a breakthrough that night, a major shift in perspective. It was at that moment I decided to rededicate my life to Christ. As a Christian, I wanted to do more than just carry the title. Instead of approaching the world from an attitude of What’s in this for me? I embraced an attitude of What can I do for God, and what can I do for others? Pastor Dollar made me realize that I needed to view the world from an attitude of thankfulness and humility. I realized that the greatest rewards you can obtain in life are those that come when you forget about gathering rewards for yourself and instead look to create them for others. To be a world changer, you first have to change what is inside you.
I left the amphitheater that night with a renewed spirit and a new attitude, committed to making a mark that cannot be erased. Looking back on that night, I wonder what would have happened if I’d never taken the first step. I hate to think what my life would be like.
Pastor Dollar’s words that night made a life-changing difference in me. His ministry is truly changing the world, one person at a time. His Changing Your World television broadcast now reaches an audience of more than 900 million people daily on a vast network of stations in practically every country on the planet. Some sixty ministries and programs within the church invest in people’s lives to meet physical, financial, emotional, and spiritual needs throughout various communities. The Career Center, for example, assists people in gaining employment that meets their skill levels. Fifty percent of referrals are hired. The church’s Food Distribution Facility provides over 120,000 pounds of food annually to needy families. And the Joseph Project focuses on giving a second chance to former inmates or those who have had run-ins with the law.
Also a renowned author, Dr. Dollar’s books bring readers hope and practical tools for victorious living. His topics include debt cancellation, healing, prosperity, prayer, marriage, and child rearing. His teachings have enabled thousands to experience restoration, healing, and financial breakthrough as a result of applying simple biblical principles to their lives. “Nothing blesses me quite like the testimonies of people whose lives have been changed by our ministry,” said Dr. Dollar. “We have been entrusted with an awesome responsibility to share the good news with those who need it.”
Dr. Dollar is making a difference. My goal for writing this book was to make a difference in your life so that you in turn will make a difference in the life of someone else, thus making a mark that cannot be erased. I believe you have greatness within you. Now it’s time to let the rest of the world know. If you continually practice the steps outlined in the book, you’ll notice a positive change in yourself and in the way people perceive you. Each day you have the choice to decide what type of day you’re going to have.
As you go about the business of being a positive force in your own life and the lives of others, I ask that you take the time to let me know how you’ve been able to incorporate the ten life-changing steps into a plan of action. Feel free to write us at Harrell Performance Systems, Inc., 8374 Market Street #504, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202, or send me an e-mail at Keith@keithharrell.com. You can also visit our Web site at www.keithharrell.com.
God has given us all special gifts, but they are not for us alone. Our gifts are meant to bless the lives of others, and that’s what making a mark is all about. Remember, your attitude is your most priceless possession. I wish you a super-fantastic journey in discovering the power and spirit that lives within you. Attitude…is everything!
In all that you get, get understanding.
—PROVERBS 4:7