The Change-Maker

Our week kickoff was reading and discussions about a topic nobody escapes, family time versus career time. It is a matter of where you set your priorities and values, what matters to you: money, career success, or family. Sadly, for many people, the family is not a priority, and their happiness is fragile and transitory. On the other hand, for whom spouse and children are number one in their list, most likely, their joy might be forever; they will not die in solitude either. Mine was a great week in this class, learning that our career, job, business, and money must serve us to sustain our life necessities and to help others. Otherwise, we might end up being the slave of master money with no time to enjoy our life. It was a good lesson on measuring the cost of our career or business success.

Then we jumped into the exciting task to make a change in the world. We do not want to be entrepreneurs only to make money or gain financial freedom. If your goal does not include a way to make a change in the world is not worthy. It will disappear with us. But if our achievements carved a positive mark in some people, our community, our country, or the world, then our accomplishment remains for generations to come.

One of the most important lessons learned on this topic is that our mission or vocation is a calling from God. He gave us talents, intelligence, resources, and life to fulfill a mission. The first step in our pursuit of success in life is to find our vocation: what is our calling? The second step calls for tools necessary to complete that mission: education, preparation, resources; you name it. Whatever it takes. Also, we learned that not everybody has been called to the same mission or comes with the same vocation. As the parts of our perfectly created body, all are different in size, form, and function, but all are equally important. We do not have many Bill Gates, or many Steve Job, or many Mother Theresa, or many Nicolas Tesla. But each one lived with one purpose: to change the world. We must not compare with others to set our standard because each one of us is unique. The comparison would destroy the plan of God, giving to his children equal opportunity to choose and to become the best that we can be.

 For each one, the destination is unique, the game’s rules are the same for all, and integrity is the most inclusive of all. We learned to set up a path trailed with steppingstones that will take us to reach our stars, but side by side of that path, we need guardrails to protect us from falling out. Those guardrails are preset moral values helping us to stay on the straight path. Our road to success is not paved smoothly. Eventually, we will find roadblocks, and giant potholes, and other obstructions necessary to help us to develop our full potential, exercising our moral muscles and wisdom.

One step at the time, with help from faithful and wise companions, we arrive at our summit to the top of the mountain, and we enjoy the ecstasy of victory. And now what? Have I done any good to others than myself? Did I make any change in the world? How many people did my achievement impact? We may want to have the right answer to each one of these questions handy for our eulogy.

The readings and lessons of this week encouraged me to realign my goals and purpose in life with the ones that God has for me. I wish my last words in this mortal life might be: “My Lord, my God, mission accomplished!”