“It is difficult to feel accomplished when you’re not accomplishing something that matters to you. Doing something ‘for your own good’ is rarely for your own good if it causes you to be less than who you really are.” ~ Ken Robinson, The Element
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” ~ Steve Jobs
“Circumstances do not push or pull. They are daily lessons to be studied and gleaned for new knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge and wisdom that is applied will bring about a brighter tomorrow. A person who is depressed is spending too much time thinking about the way things are now and not enough time thinking about how he wants things to be.” ~ Andy Andrews
“When a king begins to act like a king, it is not long before someone else is king! Serving is a way we can place value on one another. A wise man is a server.” ~ Andy Andrews, The Traveler’s Gift
“Seek wisdom. Wisdom waits to be gathered. She cannot be bartered or sold. She is a fight for the diligent. And only the diligent will find her. The lazy man – the stupid man – never even looks. Though wisdom is available to many, she is found by few. Seek wisdom. Find her, and you will find success and contentment.” ~ Andy Andrews, The Traveler’s Gift
What Will Matter
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought by what you build,
not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but our significance.
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught,
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew,
but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter is not our memories but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that maters doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.
~ Michael Josephson
