What Will Your Dent in the World Be?

I turned 40 a few months back.

We lost a child eighteen months ago.

And the clock keeps ticking.

I just read about the shooting in Aurora, CO 60 miles up the road from us.

For some the world stopped. For the rest of us it keeps turning.

What will our dent be?

How will we change the world that we live in that is noticeable after we are gone?

We know we don’t have forever.

And we should leave the world with a noticeable dent that can be attributed to our life.

What part of the world, our community, our school systems, our companies, our businesses will be changed for good because of our place in the story?

Leave no good thing left unsaid
It is easy to say bad things, complain, point out shortcomings. It is much more difficult to say good things. What good thing are you leaving unsaid? What phone call should you make? What letter should you write? Recently I’ve told my wife how thankful I am that she loves me in spite of my many flaws.
Turn off the TV and create something instead
Have you ever made something with your kids? Don’t know where to start? How about the Dangerous Book for Boys/Girls? How about that hand-made canoe you’ve dreamed about making since Scout camp when you were 12 years old?
Write down your inner thoughts
That voice that you hear inside, those ideas and dreams, write them down. Don’t let them drift away into yesterday’s list of “I should have”. Translate those inner workings into pen and paper. Then revisit them. Befriend them. Challenge them. Dare to live them out.
Get in the Game
Teddy Roosevelt said, “the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena….” Get in the game. What game are you watching as a spectator that you know you should be playing instead?
Stop waiting for permission
No one is going to give you permission or an invitation to say “Hey that great thing you’ve been contemplating, you should go ahead and start it”. We all wish that call would come, but for most it does not. You have all of the permission that you need. Get going.

What part of the world are you going to change today?