It's Not All About You

"It is not about you."

I remember reading these first four words in Chapter 1 of Rick Warren's best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life." I remember pausing and having this succinct discussion with myself that went something like, "Wait a second, if it's not about ME, then who on the earth could it possibly be about?"

Now, I want to assume that I used to be a little less full of myself when I read this book in 2002 than I used to be in my previous years. I had experienced my fair share of personal and professional struggles, pain, and brokenness. I thought I had at least encountered an adequate amount of trials and tests to establish that the world did not spin around me any longer. However these four words sure hit me right smack dab in the center of someplace. That "someplace" ended up being a pleasant place.

You see, the actual question for all of us is, "What on earth are we here for?" I can't answer that question for you personally, but I would submit that we're either here for an important reason or we are here just for the heck of it. Assuming we're here for some superior reason than a random accident, the following rational inquiry becomes, "What's our purpose?"

I want to take the liberty to encourage you with the realization that our lives epitomize a point far larger than our individual personal fulfillment, pleasure, or happiness. To quote the book, "The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point - ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like what do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose."

We're here to serve.

we're all writing chapters of our life testimonies -- both good and bad. Our actions affect the end result of every chapter in the book. But our book is also regarding other people.

The insurance trade supplies us with an amazing platform to serve. When we peel back the sheets, we realize that literally everything we seek to complete is exactly related to serving somebody. We serve our potential client, and we finish up having a client. We serve our prospective new Agent, and we end up with a new member of our family. We serve the Groups we symbolize, and we finish up nurturing the health and life of our work atmosphere. The Business serves the field force, and we end up having a field force who strives to look after the welfare and profitability of the Business. Every sole dollar of new business earnings generated as annualized life premium results from someone SERVING someone else.

we're here to influence and inspire.

John Maxwell is right on point when he says that we won't believe in the leader if we do not believe in the message. Winning firms work on what I refer to as the Law of Attraction. Citizens end up being part of an association because they believe in it and the message they hear and see. They end up with the craving to desire what those in the Business have and believe if they partner with them they can get what they want. Our job is to live out our life of influence and inspiration in such a way that we show HOW to be triumphant, and inspire them with the drive to be ready to do what it takes to get in position to win.

The more we recognize, believe, and accept that it's not about us, the more we will find ourselves blessed beyond our wildest imaginations. That's just the way it works.

Stay Strong! Lead On!