Armageddon – The Return
I’ve launched the assumption that each of us is probably born for a life mission, endorsing a quote from Winston Churchill. The hero archetype is not just a mesmerizing concept exploited by Hollywood to make yet some more money (Armageddon movie for example). Self-help gurus and academic psychologists equally agree that one of the fundamental human needs is significance, the need to know your life matters, that you’ve been born for a particular and important role to play on Earth.
Armageddon – Am I also meant to “save the planet”?
“Oh really? Then how can I fulfill this need in my petty life of bondage?” you may ask. “I am stuck with bills and a mortgage to pay, a job which takes all my time and energy I’d need to take on the world, kids to raise and a family to attend to. Where is the sense of mission in that?”
Herein lies the trick: What qualifies for a life’s mission? What makes a hero out of an ordinary person? The impact of media coverage? The amount of lives saved or money made?
Commercially the value of a business is given by the amount of people reached, depth of impact and uniqueness of the service. But how do you quantify the value of a person? Is a famous doctor more worthy than a devoted mother of three? Is a brain cell more important than a liver cell or skin cell or a muscle cell?
Consider this little story from Michael Neill’s “Supercoach” book: A man walking on a beach came across an old woman throwing starfish that had washed up on shore back into the sea. She said she was saving the starfish. The man looked at the thousands of starfish that lay dying along the coastline “For every starfish you throw back into the ocean, several more wash up on the shore, how can you possibly be saving the starfish?” The woman picked up another starfish and threw it back into the sea: “I saved this one!” she smiled.
This is what I’d offer you as an answer to “what qualifies for a life mission?”
Your sense of mission lies in your attitude, not in your amplitude. If you, “the most ordinary person” apply yourself to do “the pettiest of jobs” for one single “insignificant creature”, with all your energy, enthusiasm and care as if it was the most important thing in the world, then you’re hero material. So was Mother Teresa before she was discovered by press in the 1950’s. Just a simple nun, attending with utmost love to most basic needs of some of the most forgotten and “insignificant” people in the world.
You make a difference to the whole world if you make a difference to the smallest thing in the world by meaning to do it with your heart. Your mission lies in your intention to serve whomever and wherever you are.
“We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa
For 15 years she has built businesses, brands and managers in Europe with two of the most respectable multi-nationals (Procter&Gamble and Mars Inc.) and acquired a solid expertise in marketing, business management and leadership. In 2007 she made the choice to dedicate herself exclusively to building people and assist them to unleash their full potential.
Magda works now with leading companies in FMCG, advertising, media, PR; banking and financial services; law and consulting services to assist:
– professionals and entrepreneurs to top their performance,
– leaders to inspire their teams and make a difference,
– public figures to develop their charisma and influence.