Personal Success and Your Backyard

I was recently rereading some e-mails from Will Marre (American Dream Project) and felt this one needed to be shared.  This was written back in 2007 and the message is still as strong today.

“I’ve been off the Grid for several weeks. We’ve been improving the website and extending the reach of our blog so I’ve had some time to think, really think. During that time someone asked me what our core message is. For someone who is an idea junkie, that is not as easy to define as it sounds. So, it took some reflection. And here it is in all its blinking simplicity: Change Your World, and The World Changes.

We are not powerless. There are answers on the sea of uncertainty we find ourselves adrift upon. Our research partner, DYG, reports that since 9/11 our societies’ psychological self-confidence has continued to decline and that our individual response is to face the truth that in the end we are responsible. Responsible for our own lives, our own future, the quality of our relationships, and the moral culture of our circle of influence. This is not the time to throw up our hands, nor to exhaust ourselves over- defining our problems. It is time to choose our lives. In so doing, we’ll have a rippling impact that will make all the difference.

Consider this:

• If we are sick of foreign wars, make peace with our personal enemies.
• If we are concerned with our nation’s debt, save our own money.
• If we are sickened by materialism, buy only what we really value.
• If we are concerned with global warming, conserve, walk, telecommute.
• If we are worried about the environment, recycle, plant trees, grow something.
• If we are angry with our leaders, propose and post real solutions.
• If we are worried about health care costs, eat right, exercise, and sleep.
• If we are worried about crime, drugs, and violence, participate in a neighborhood watch.
• If we are sad about the decline of marriage, make ours the best example of commitment and fulfillment we can.
• If we are worried about terrorists, put some boundaries between ourselves and those who use or abuse us.

I hope you can see what I’m trying to get at. These suggestions are simply metaphors for thinking about our lives. They are not meant to be absolute or literal statements. These are simply reminders that for every big overwhelming problem in the world, there is a version of it in our lives. If we focus on what we can control, our own lives will bloom and our influence will spread. So right now, what big-huge world problem is most disturbing to you? How does a version of that show up in your life? How’s the ecology of your relationships, the sustainability of your lifestyle, the humanity of your judgments? More than ever I believe that when we change our world, the world changes. I am sure there is something we could each change for the better right now. I know there is for me.”

In our quest for personal success we often overlook the simple things we can do right now and right here.  Instead being on this quest for personal success, like some Don Quixote, if instead we look at developing our personal development and personal empowerment and use these attribute for the betterment of our backyard and community, then our personal success will be an automatic byproduct. 

Yes, this will take a level of mental strength many are not use to, but if your quest has been all about fighting windmills, perhaps is time to make a change.

Let me here your thoughts on this in the comments below.