ORDINARY PEOPLE, EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

As we come to issues of IMPACT, two things stand

out to me.

The first is what an incredible privilege it has been to

share my thoughts with you every week. I have to admit that

much of the time I failed to appreciate and treasure this

privilege. There were weeks when it seemed like a chore.

But there were many other weeks when TIPS seemed to "write

itself." Sometimes, I was basically a scribe, simply

reporting the ideas a client gave me, or sharing something

I heard or read during the week. I humbly confess, too

often I've failed to give full credit to the clients,

friends, colleagues and heroes to have inspired me.

And, of course, there have been times TIPS has seemed like

real work. Sometimes an idea would tease me, glimmering

just out of reach and I had to search for the words.

As we come near the end, it's important to share with you

that this bit of work, difficult at times and begun almost

as a flight of whimsy over twenty years ago, has turned out

to be one of the great blessings of my life.

The second vital point is to say, once again, how

profoundly I believe that every human being deserves to

live an extraordinary, fulfilling life.

From the outside, I think most of us appear to be pretty

ordinary folk. Most people will never invent the internet,

walk on the moon or be famous for anything at all. Most of

us live our lives in relative obscurity. We do our work,

pay our taxes, win or lose a few battles, and are blessed

to be loved by those who know us well.

And yet, at a deeper level, we all know the potential and

joy of living well.

IMPACT has been dedicated to the proposition that a few

fundamentals, practiced daily, can make all the difference.

I've never tried to catalog the full list of those

fundamentals, and I won't try to list them here, but these

few strike me as essential:

1.  Tell the truth and live with integrity. Be who you are.

Stand tall. Own your opinions, your values, your dreams,

and let who you are shine brightly in a world that can seem

dark and random.

2.  Work hard on things that matter. I believe in the  joy

and dignity of human effort. I've often railed against the

silliness (the sin?) of wasting our lives on petty chores

when, instead, we can pursue our passion and work with God

to create a better world.

3.  Love yourself and others. Be kind. Give thanks. Share

hugs and laughter. Life is short, make it count. I love

Jimmy Buffet's observation that, "Having fun is about as

good a hobby as there is." Make mischief, be creative and

draw outside the lines.

4.  Have big goals. Life should have direction and themes,

it should have purpose and commitment. Don't let yourself

wander or drift. Be the captain of your own ship. Set your

sails and go someplace interesting.

5.  Pay attention to little things. Thomas Leonard taught

me to "clean up the tolerations." Pick up your socks,

confront the petty bullies of life, read to a child, leave

the world a little better than you found it. In the

morning, appreciate the miracle of each sunrise, and in the

evening, let the sun set on a day well lived.

One of my most important insights has been that living a

great life is actually easier than living a miserable one.

Living well is not hard. It involves some easy disciplines.

It means avoiding procrastination and sloppiness. It means

living within your means and trying new things. It means

taking risks and making a few mistakes, but the rewards are

joy, love, peace of mind and a legacy of profound and

enduring success.

Make this a week of amazing and extraordinary joy.