Priceless

Day in and day out, most of us go through life working, paying bills, trying to raise our kids and occasionally having some fun. Throw in some community service and exercising one’s faith, and the competition for our time and focus becomes fierce.

With so many choices, and so little time, we can easily fall into a mode of a short term or tactical existence.

“What’s in it for me?”

“All I care about is NOW!”

“Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”

“Why worry about tomorrow?”

“What difference can one person make?”

Regardless of who you are, where you live, how old or young you are, or how poor or wealthy you are; we all can make a significantly greater impact on others and the world than we think. We may not observe all of the results, or even see a major difference in our lifetime, but we can see significant results if we merely modify our view and perspective.

Two examples will illustrate my point.

Most people have heard of Laura Ingalls Wilder who authored the Little House series of books. I had never seen the television show until we found it looking for family entertainment that would benefit our 7 year old daughter.

I always believed that Mrs. Wilder wrote her story of growing up in pioneer America as a diary, but was astonished to learn that she didn’t publish the first of nine books until she was 65 years old. The last volume was published when she was 76 years old. The television show premiered 17 years after her death at 90 in 1957.

While her books touched many before her passing, how could she imagine the exponentially larger audience that she impacted through television? Even today, nearly 50 years after her death, the show is pertinent to promoting a wholesome family life.

The second example is more personal.

My daughter, Elizabeth, became aware of my writing as we came to the publication date of my third book, The Four Letter Word That Builds Character. Finding the mention of her name in the book, I could see her eyes opened to the possibility of writing like she sees Laura Ingalls Wilder on the Little House on the Prairie television program.

As I have told friends, if my efforts merely expand her vision of life’s opportunities, they will have been worth the efforts.

At a book signing at Barnes & Noble one night, Elizabeth asked me, “Am I supposed to sign the books?” “If someone asks you”, was my reply.

After my presentation, Elizabeth was given the job of opening books to the correct page for me to sign. She executed it as if it were the most important task there was.

In a few minutes, the first inquiry came after I signed a book. “Elizabeth, would you sign our book also?” Without flinching, she looked the inquirer eye-to-eye and replied, “Sure.”

That evening, she signed several books. But, more importantly, my daughter’s view of the world and its opportunities was changed in ways that will impact the rest of her life.

Similar to the credit card company ads, all of the toil, sweat and tears that have been invested in writing the two books that mention Elizabeth pale in comparison to the positive impact that my latest book and the illustrated book signing have made on her, which is PRICELESS!

In spite of what we might think, we influence others by our words and deeds. It’s our choice as to whether it’s negative or positive, will touch few or many, and will last a moment or many years.