| Driving to work one morning last week, I was | | | | forward to reconnecting with old friends and to |
| stopped at a light behind a large SUV, the woman | | | | making new ones during the September conference |
| driver scurrying madly through rush-hour traffic. Her | | | | ritual. I hung out, as usual, with three of my favorite |
| vehicle proudly displayed two college decals, one | | | | women on the planet; Alyse and LaNeil are each |
| from Harvard and the other from Dartmouth. | | | | eighty-two years old and Shirley is sixty-five. They |
| "Wow!" I thought. This mom's got a couple of really | | | | each possess vitality rarely seen in people half their |
| smart cookies on her hands. | | | | age. Their faces glow. Their eyes twinkle. They are |
| The light changed to green and as she got a little | | | | warm and wonderful, healthy and vibrant, curious and |
| further ahead of me, I noticed a bumper sticker at | | | | generous. |
| the bottom of her SUV which read: "I have no idea | | | | They devote their time to causes which they |
| where I'm going." | | | | enthusiastically embrace. They are passionate. They |
| What a contrast! This mom who raised two kids | | | | work diligently. Without pay, they serve as foot |
| smart enough to gain entry into two of the toughest | | | | soldiers for the critical issues of our time. They have |
| schools in the world...and she has no idea where she's | | | | something to wake up for. They have a following; |
| going?!? ("B-I-M-B-O" crossed the synapses of my | | | | people depend on their leadership. Young people rely |
| brain...) | | | | on their mentoring. Still others seek their wisdom and |
| If you wake up in the morning without a plan, with | | | | knowledge of the issues in an effort to become |
| no idea of where you're going, how in the heck are | | | | better equipped to deliver the same message with |
| you going to get anywhere worthwhile? How are | | | | vigor to listeners entangled in their own network of |
| you going to enjoy the dizzying liberation that | | | | friends and associates. |
| naturally flows out of living a life with purpose? With | | | | One of the secrets of discovering your significance is |
| no roadmap, no idea of where you're going, the | | | | to find that for which you were created. I can assure |
| prospect of waking up to the same old same old, the | | | | you: we were not created to live in isolation. Nor in |
| humdrum, the mundane responsibilities that face all of | | | | self-serving, self-indulgent behaviors that bring |
| us: getting breakfast ready for the family, separating | | | | immediate but short-lived satisfaction. We were |
| the reds from the whites, driving carpool, fetching | | | | created for community. For service. For expanding |
| groceries, answering old emails...you're likely not | | | | our little corner of the universe for the benefit of |
| "zoo-ed" up to even get your tired little feet out of | | | | others. To take on missions larger than self with |
| bed! | | | | far-reaching implications for the generations to follow. |
| I'm not dismissing the role of motherhood, or its | | | | If you are looking for a secret to living with |
| everyday oftentimes mundane realities. Hardly. I've | | | | exuberant vitality, find a cause. Join a mission. Seek |
| been doing its drills for twenty years, quite happily | | | | to connect your inner passion with the vision of |
| thankyouverymuch. And children or no children, we all | | | | someone who has come before you. With one who |
| face everyday tasks that are capable of draining the | | | | is working in the center of the universe to effect |
| lifeblood out of the most enthusiastic amongst us. | | | | massive change. |
| Let's face it: few people face those proverbial four | | | | Want glowing skin? Sparkling eyes? A youthful |
| daily loads of laundry or paying overdue emails with | | | | bounce to your step? Longevity? Vitality? Find |
| unabashed gusto! | | | | something to wake up for. Be it your own kids or |
| But there's more available. And it's well within reach. | | | | your spouse, your neighborhood or your elected |
| This weekend found me in Washington, D.C. for an | | | | officials, worldwide hunger or inexcusable illiteracy: get |
| annual conference of like-minded men and women | | | | involved! It'll help you put that foot on the floor |
| across the country. It offered leadership training of | | | | every morning and encourage you to truly get up |
| the highest caliber. Having attended this forum | | | | and at 'em. |
| regularly for the past ten years, I always look | | | | Onward and upward! |