Like My Dad Says: Be Great

This was originally written for a blog I no longer maintain.  If you find this post interesting, there are many more like it at glassysix.blogspot.com.


9 FEB 2010


My most fundamental belief is this:  Everything I do has an effect on everyone else in the world--we are all inter-connected in some way.  We are all equal. We all have the same influence.  The idea of philanthropy, therefore, is something we can be doing all of the time, as long as we focus our daily individual efforts towards achieving positive outcomes.

There are more than six billion people on the planet, which is enough to make all of us feel insignificant in the big scheme of things.  But, we are hardly insignificant.  If you were to consider the causal nature of my most fundamental belief, you will realize that whatever you are doing right now is similar to the effect an earthquake in Japan has on the California Coast two days from now. You have no idea how or where your actions today will end up next Tuesday.

I have always appreciated people that have attempted to hold me to high standards.  There is little reason for me to approach life with a jaded or cynical view.  Ultimately, we are all each other's mentors. The better I live my life, the better everyone else can live their own. And maybe someone reading this blog will do something that inspires greatness half a world away.