Leave the world better than you found it.

I came across this quote the other day - 

Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it.

             Wilferd A Peterson

With that said, let's get back to the words of Mr. Peterson who offers a nice laundry list for finding success and offers a very valuable message. 

The people you associate with will influence and shape you... don't underestimate the impact. "The dreamers, the believers, the courageous..." is a reminder of the qualities we should surround ourselves with as we look for success. 

Our social structure is one of our greatest teachers and our desire to fit in, to emulate and be accepted is so influential it will impact how you see the world, the inflection in your voice, and how you do what you do. Do not underestimate how you are influenced by the people you associate with. Those who "dream to reach for the stars" will take us there while those who see it as a flight of fancy will surely show us how to stay forever planted. Individuality and "free will" is ultimately yours but make no mistake that those people around you heavily influence who and what you are... so choose well. 

The universe demands balance and as much as you are being influenced, you are also an influencer. It is important to ask yourself,"Am I dreaming for the stars?" Remember you are helping others do the same and with this you have been given this cosmic opportunity to make a difference.

Our "success" as a species has been an iterative process; person after person and generation after generation. All striving to make a difference, all building upon themselves over countless generations, culminating in our current every day occurrences ... exploring our solar system, real time global communication, manipulating the building blocks of life, or understanding why we should plant two trees for every one we cut down - A continually growing list of what we can accomplish.

In total they say 108 Billion people have lived on the earth since we "got involved" about 150,000 years ago* and everyone, with intent or not, has influenced where we find ourselves today. There are the historical notables of course (sometimes simply because of good PR) but the fact of the matter is, whether we go down in the history books or not, we as individuals can make a very conscious, impactful difference.

And if you listen to Wilferd A Peterson, you can make a difference that in it's humblest way, leaves the world better than when you found it. 

Find your passion and bring the world along! A good definition of leadership, don't you think?

It's one of the reasons I like beBee.

iamgpe 

* apologies to the creationists.

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