From Success to Signifigance

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Be a person of SIGNIFICANCE.

As we sojourn through school, into university, and through our lives, we have been taught and conditioned to garner success. Of course, we want success in our marriages, careers, and relationships. Sports players strive for the pros, middle managers strive to be CEOs and career politicians strive for the votes. We strive for greater education, to make more money, and to be recognized for excellence in some arena. Let me share with you a few thoughts today about transitioning from success to significance.

Being successful is largely having to do with greatness attributed to yourself and making your name great. Significance is not about the amount of money you make. It’s not about the status you achieve. It’s not about the degrees you earn. Significant people do something well. It’s not being a scientist or doctor, or priest or politician it’s adding value to others.

Significance is derived from thinking about others first. What a change, a breath of fresh air you would be in your relationships, and your work if you took time and intention to add value to others. In a world where people take to get to the top, what if you were a giver, a contributor? Thinking about others makes your world expansive. Thinking about yourself contracts your world. How can you add value to others in your work or school?

  1. Can you lend a hand?

  2. Can you be more encouraging?

  3. Can you be an active listener and pay attention to the lives of others?

  4. Can you ask questions about other’s children, hobbies, etc?

Being selfish is natural, easy, and automatic but being a better person is not easy or automatic. Live your life with intention. Being intentional will help you not only be successful in whatever you put your hands to but it’s the key to transitioning into significance. Take an action step to move from passivity to intentionality and thus from success to significance. If you can be significant to others then it will make you a person of trust and influence which go hand in hand with being successful. As John Maxwell says, “Once you’ve tasted significance then success won’t satisfy you.”