Ordinary people also live extraordinary lives. Visit any funeral in any city in the world. You will learn of the uniqueness, the importance, and the impact of the life of each person.

I doubt if any of you have attended a funeral in which you heard the message, “Yeah, Mr. X was okay, but nothing special. He was about like anyone else.” Instead, you will hear moving stories and sincere expressions of love and loss.

Very few individuals capture the hearts and imaginations of the world, but almost every person who has ever lived captures those of his or her family.

Think of the love and respect you feel for your parents and grandparents.

Wouldn’t you love to obtain a history of your grandmother—her childhood experiences; schooling; courtship and marriage; her soaring triumphs and crushing tragedies; her lessons learned; how she overcame her challenges; and how she spent her everyday living?

Having such a record would mean so much to you.

Just as you would love to have a history of your grandmother, I suggest that your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren would love to have yours.

The more valid history of the world would chronicle the lives of ordinary people like you and me. People love those stories—think of the great successes of the books by Willa Cather and Laura Ingalls Wilder. The appeal of Little House on the Prairie lies in the lives of ordinary people set in their time. Sure, most ordinary people don’t suffer the mishaps of Charles Ingalls (dozens of gun shot wounds, cholera, small pox, being run over by wagons and millstones, etc.), but the primary focus of those stories lie in their family interactions, their work, and their communities.

Providing your story to your progenitors will represent one of the greatest gifts you can give them—yourself.

A few tips for writing your personal history follow:

Start small

You will do a better job if you just write short essays on specific themes: your schooling, your sporting activities, your neighborhood, your work, etc. You can feel overwhelmed if you outline your whole life and start from the beginning.

As you finish an essay, pass it on to your family. Don’t wait until you have the whole story. Give them each creation as soon as you complete it. You will never feel like you have finished the project, so if you wait to share it until you have finished, the project will sit uselessly in your file drawer forever.

Provide details

Your personal stories will live more vividly in the minds of your family if you provide details of events, settings, people, and impressions. Describe your houses, schools, deceased family members, cars and pets.

Express how you felt

Your stories will move your family to greater understanding if you describe your feelings about the events and people in your life. These feelings will enhance your stories and cause your personal history to build stronger understanding than the public histories you read in school.

Share failures too

Your children and grandchildren will experience failures in their lives, just like you and me. They need to know of yours. Describe how you endured and overcame those failures.

Tell of lessons learned

Your personal history provides you the greatest opportunity to share the lessons you have learned in your life. Use this chance, you may not get another.

Start today.

Related Quotes

You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things— to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals. Sir Edmund Hillary

Do, or do not. There is no try. Yoda

A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop. Robert Hughes

Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory. Mahatma Gandhi

I ran into two smelly parts: a skunk must have been really close; a sewer vent. The vent was near the trail in a good place since there was nothing else close to it. The litter was not too bad: 2 pounds 3 ounces total with 11 ounces of it recyclable.

This section took me through some areas of foot high native prairie grasses. They were beautiful as they bowed to the strong winds.

I almost stepped on a decent sized snake when I took this picture.

The hike was 6.4 miles in a time of 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Papio Creek

Continued on the Keystone Trail today–from Q Street to Cornhusker and back. I hiked 7.4 miles in 2 hours and 35 minutes. The first half was easy because I had the wind at my back. I laughed as I watched the cyclists pedaling as if they were riding up a giant hill.

I’m starting to see some corn coming up for the first time this Spring.

Baby corn plants

I saw a Sandpiper on the trail today. They’re rare in Nebraska. Today’s major litter was GU and PowerAde Gel packages. The section is wide open without many places to enter the trail, so most of the users here are athletes who are going some distance. Hence, the athletic fuel. I’m surprised that they throw their packages on the ground. I’ve found that athletes rarely litter. The major offenders are fishermen who leave by far the most junk and the grossest garbage. Smokers are the next biggest offenders. I always pick up dozens of cigarette pack. Dog owners are the third-most offenders. They tend to leave their doggie’s turds in sandwich bags. Thanks for that. I’m careful how I pick them up–very careful.

Today I picked up 2 pounds and 9 ounces of trash. Fifteen ounces of that was recyclable.

I also picked up a playing card–the Queen of Clubs. Does that mean anything?

I started at Mercy St. near 72nd and hiked to Q Street before I turned around to hike back. This section took me under a railroad trestle. An a-frame shelter protected the trail users from falling ballast rocks and hot oil.

I also passed under Interstate 80. The noise of the passing cars traveling at 70 mph overhead was impressive. It reminded me of my hitchhiking days when I slept beneath Interstates all over the U.S.

The trail system has a unique marking system designed for the safety of users.

Trail marker installed by Rotary

Here is the explanation of the marking project given on the trail map:

“Trail Marking Has Enhanced Safety for Trail Users

“To commemorate Rotary’s Centennial, the 11 Rotary Clubs of Omaha and Council Bluffs accepted the challenge of marking 105 miles of recreational trails to improve safety for trail users. The project, completed in 2005, placed 8″ round markers at each mile of the trail and 5″ markers every tenth of a mile.

“These markers aid emergency response personnel in locating injured or distressed trail users more quickly…”

Thank you Rotary!

Today I hiked 5.7 miles in 2 hours. I picked up 2 pounds 3 ounces of trash. Nine ounces of it was recyclable.

We buy most of our furniture and appliances there. Kathy just purchased a refrigerator, dishwasher, range set there.

But, and it’s a big but, the trail around it is covered with litter. I’m sure the wind takes the trash from the parking lot and sends it into the grass around the trail. I only picked up the trash within a foot of the trail and I could have picked up 100 times more than I did. It is a walk after all.

NFM is a respected and responsible corporate citizen so I hope they’ll respond well to my letter challenging them to clean it up. I estimate they could have a couple of people spend two or three hours once a month to keep it very clean. The first time will take some work. I’ll offer to help them.

By the way, NFM started by a Russian immigrant, Rose Blumkin, in 1937. Warren Buffett bought 90% of it in 1983 for $60 million on a handshake.

My walk also took me past Ak-sar-ben. Founded in 1895 by the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, it housed a race track until a few years ago. Now it’s the home of the River City Roundup and several 4-H events. But mostly it’s being turned into an upscale research area. Very beautiful. Ak-Sar-Ben is “Nebraska” spelled backwards.

The sky toggled between sunny and overcast throughout the two-hour walk. I covered 3.5 miles of the trail twice, out and back. I picked up 1 pound, 14 ounces of trash. If I had the time and enough bags, I could have picked up a hundred pounds.

One older couple stopped me and called me a good citizen. They’re visiting from Denver and were impressed with the trail system.

I plan to hike the full Omaha trail/bike path system one piece at a time. The system is impressive–86.28 miles according to the map. I’ll do the whole thing twice since I’ll hike out and back to the car most days.

While I walk I’ll pick up the trash on the side of the trail. 

I started picking up trash on the trails in 2003. As I hiked the six-mile Lake Wehrspann Trail near my home several times a week, I became disgusted by the litter. I kept getting irritated that “they” weren’t cleaning it up. It was so gross. As I continued to hike it for a few months I decided I could be “they”. I’m a fiscal conservative and don’t expect the government to take responsibility for every area of life. So I became “they”.

I bought a one-inch dowel rod, drove a nail into the end, filed the nail head to a point, took a plastic grocery bag to the lake and quickly filled it up. I dumped it, filled it again–twice. 

After that I took two bags, filling them both each time. With my regular clean up I started filling only one bag, then a half bag.

On Mondays it’s messier than other days, but I still rarely collect more than a half bag.

It’s interesting because when I think I’ll rest for the day and not go out, I think, “Hey, they need me there. Who’ll clean the trail if I don’t?” It gets me out there.

So, today I skipped out of my Toastmaster district conference for a few hours and hiked the north section of the Keystone Trail. Starting at the skate park and hiking to Democracy Park and back I covered 3.5 miles of the trail (seven miles since I hiked and back) in two hours and 23 minutes. 

I bought a fishing scale so I could measure my litter collecting results: 1 pound 1 ounce. It sure looked like more than that.

In my blog accounts I’ll keep you abreast of my progress and tell you about my experiences. If past hikes are any indication, I’ll have some interesting experiences.

My Gear

Keystone Trail near Democracy Park

Another value alignment concerns how we pursue wealth.

How we view our financial status makes a significant difference in our quality of life. Some live to build fabulous wealth. They feel that no obstacle is too great to keep them from their financial goals. Their families, their health, and their integrity pale in importance and often become casualties to their wealth pursuit.

These people feel that once they have acquired their fortune they will feel happy, and only then will they be able to really enjoy life. Yet most of these money-seekers continue to seek greater wealth, even after they have achieved a massive fortune. Their obsession with financial growth compares to how a person afflicted with an eating disorder looks at weight loss—it’s never enough.

If the wealthy have more happiness than others, why do so many live tragic, lonely lives? Suicide, drug addiction, violence, and family turmoil seem to plague so many of the rich and famous.

Yet in the end, our fortunes count for little.

Have you ever seen a moving van in a funeral cortege?

At the end of our lives, the size of our fortune will not matter to anyone (except to our heirs). What will matter? To discover what will matter to you at the end of your life take the eulogy test.

The Eulogy Test

You need not apply to take this test—you pay no application fee. You need no blue books nor number two pencils. To take the eulogy test, you need only a few minutes of contemplation. This important test has only one question: How would you like your life to be described at your funeral?

This simple question can help you change the course of your life. It can help you discover if you are chasing the wrong dream?

Would your eulogizer say, “He really knew how to make a buck. We all admired his impressive earning ability.”

Or would he say, “Here lies a man who devoted all his free time to reality shows. He built his life’s schedule around them. ”

I doubt if either of these dreams sound like what you really want. True greatness does not come from our earnings or from some of the other pursuits that we give priority. The topics of discussion by the dying rarely include these meaningless subjects.

I’ve read that the last reflections of the dying center on love for family and the joys of contributing to the lives of others.

The dying want to confirm that their life mattered.

Making Your Life Matter

So what do you want your eulogy to cover?

It’s never too early to begin providing your eulogizer with meaningful material. Involve yourself in the lives of your family members, touch the lives of others, and follow your own path to true greatness.

Transcend the dulling effect of popular culture—find your own unique ways to build those around you. Add some meaningful passion to your life.

Don’t wait to make your life matter!

Related Quotes

To do good things in the world, first you must know who you are and what gives meaning to your life. Robert Browning

We all have two choices: We can make a living or we can design a life. Jim Rohn

Happiness and high performance come to you when you choose to live your life consistent with your highest values and your deepest convictions. Brian Tracy

What a therapeutic and wonderful thing it is for a man or woman to set aside all consideration of personal gain and reach out with strength and energy and purpose to help the unfortunate, to improve the community, to clean up the environment, and to beautify our surroundings. Gordon B. Hinckley

Happiness is not the result of circumstance. It is the result of loving others. Lloyd Newell

We love to see the hero achieve the goal to which he has so fully committed. We’re happy when he saves his child from the evil stepfather, or saves the world from tyrants, meteors, or alien beings.

We thrill to see the underdog defeat her archrival for the championship, or the girl find the guy of her dreams even though she hated him earlier.

Each hero has a main overriding purpose that drives her past every obstacle to achieve her desired end—no matter how difficult.

Contrast that vision with one where lines of beaten down 9 to 5 workers slog to their jobs with slumped shoulders, arms hanging limply to their sides. Each expressionless automaton waits in line to drop his card into the time clock and plop glumly into his chair in an endless row of cubicles.

With which figure do you most relate; the movie hero or the blank-faced 9 to 5 worker?

I suspect that your life falls somewhere between these two exaggerations. 

These two scenarios differ in that the movie heroes let nothing stop them. They believe that their aim MUST be achieved—they feel a strong sense of mission. 

Some 9-to-5′ers just need to show up, do their small, unimportant tasks, and go home. They live to leave their work.

Those who MUST accomplish their end know that their task is so important that they can’t let anything stop them! They feel driven by a higher purpose—significance.

The key to great achievement is finding that higher purpose—the sense that what we are doing is so important it MUST be done.

For those of us with families, our greatest significance comes from our work in our families. By raising our children well, we make our greatest contribution to society. Fathers and mothers teach, nurture, and mold our society one child at a time.

That said, we can also find wonderful significance through our work and our contributions to our communities.

Say you work as an insurance agent. How do you view your purpose? Do you sell insurance, or do you serve others by protecting their property and helping them feel secure that their loved ones will be cared for after they are gone.

Do you work in order to pay your bills, or to build wealth?

For each of your goals and tasks, find the higher purpose. Why must you achieve them? Make a list of your reasons. Who is counting on you to accomplish them?

Do your purposes make you move past any obstacles in your path? Do you feel you MUST achieve? 

In your work, think often about your consumers. How will their lives improve because of your efforts? Do you believe in your product or service? 

If you cannot find significance in your work you can either change your career or find your higher purpose in activities outside of work. Discover ways to find your significance through volunteer service opportunities. Your community needs you.

What will make you act with the same passion as your favorite movie hero? What higher purpose will drive you to your goals?

Related Quotes

There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.
Napoleon Hill

We all have two choices: We can make a living or we can design a life. Jim Rohn

Happiness comes when you believe in what you are doing, know what you are doing, and live what you are doing. Brian Tracy

Anybody who believes in something without reservation believes that this thing is right and should be, has the stamina to meet obstacles and overcome them. Golda Meir

I see so many of my kind who have gone mad for want of something to do. Florence Nightingale

I only wish I could work to some purpose….I have no right to these easy comfortable days and our poor men suffering and dying thirsting in this hot sun and I so quiet here in want of nothing. Clara Barton

Recently a huge new store opened not far from our home. This gigantic store features dozens of departments spread over two stories. Entering the store, the customer sees the team wear to the left and golfing gear to the right. The designers built the store to force the customer to wind through the various departments before coming upon the items they want to purchase.

A full-sized Ferris wheel towers over the center of the first level. For a dollar the customer can purchase a ten-minute ride. As the wheel lifts the customer above the first floor merchandise and over the second level to up near the ceiling, the customer gains a new perspective and can locate every department of the store.

From the perch above the crowded merchandise racks he gains a greater appreciation for the massiveness of the store. He can see where he needs to go to get what he wants. His vision expands.

Sometimes as we browse through life we can lose sight of the visions of greatness open to us. We can become so involved in the here and now, the daily tasks of making a living and raising a family, that we lose sight of why we do them.

Sometimes in our doing, we concentrate so much on the “how to” we forget the “why to”. 

Developing vision entails seeing the big picture–the why. Visionaries see the “why” and the eventual outcome before they start to find the “how”. They see the outcome before it is apparent and they focus on that outcome as they work their way toward it.

When we forget the “whys” we can easily become distracted and veer away from our ultimate visions. When faced with challenge, those who know why they want to succeed will press past the opposition and overcome it. Those not in touch with their ultimate motives glide with the flow and lose their drive when challenged.

How can we insure that we develop the vision we need to succeed? 

Determine why you want to achieve your aim

As you set goals and make plans to achieve them, identify and record why you want to achieve them. You may identify these reasons for achieving a goal: the joy of conquest; the gaining of wealth; the pursuit of wisdom; the improvement of health; the satisfaction of serving others; the honor of serving a great cause; or the desire to please a spouse or parent.

When you feel like backsliding on your goal quest focus on your reasons for wanting to achieve it. This can help give you the strength to keep striving.

Find daily inspiration
Study inspirational material every day. Some of your study may focus on how to perform, but you can add material that reminds you why to achieve. This will keep you motivated and inspired to focus on your vision.

Books by qualified authors, inspirational tapes and CDs, and scriptures can fill this great need.

Frequent escapes
Conferences, vacations and other escape opportunities can help you tune your mind and can help you remember your reasons for setting your goals. Hours in the car, airport, plane, bicycle or tent can provide great opportunities for deep reflection and evaluation. 

Keep a journal
Recording your feelings and your daily activities can help you remember why you want to overcome your challenges and reach your goals.

Reminders
Desk pictures, passwords, index cards and other reminders can help you focus on what you want to achieve and why.

Raise your sights, elevate your vantage point, and lift your vision. As you do so you will improve your life.

Related Quotes

All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience. Henry Miller

The biggest lesson I have ever learned is the stupendous importance of what we think. If I knew what you think, I would know what you are, for your thoughts make you what you are; by changing our thoughts, we can change our lives. Dale Carnegie

You are the fruit of the thoughts you have planted and nourished. If you want a better harvest, you must plant better thoughts. Robert Allen

Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. Harold B. Melchart

High achievement always takes place in a framework of high expectation. Jack Kinder

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstances. Bruce Barton

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. William Jennings Bryan

We succeed only as we identify in life, or in war, or in anything else, a single overriding objective, and make all other considerations bend to that one objective. Dwight Eisenhower

Throughout the week I marveled at the high quality workers with whom I labored. They had climbed to the tops of their specialties; they displayed contentment, even excitement, about their work. Each seemed to feel they held an essential role of an important mission. I saw no evidence of carping or gossip. Supervisors had such confidence in their staff members that they felt no need to involve themselves in every decision. Trust, cooperation, and creativity abounded.

One staff member called the clinic, “The Disneyworld of Healthcare.”

They loved their jobs.

Do you love what you do? I hope so. But like many people, you may look with some dread in the mornings to the upcoming work day. Do you feel trapped in a job you dislike? Do you dislike your employer or your coworkers? Can you see yourself working in your current company ten years from now?

If not, what will you do about it?

If you feel dissatisfied, I empathize. In the course of my career, I have occasionally felt trapped in a job I did not love. In those cases I did not always take personal action when I should have. I kept thinking things would improve. They didn’t.

Each of us has specific needs that must be met for us to love what we do.

• Enjoy our coworkers and superiors 
• A desire for learning opportunities 
• Feel challenged 
• Make an important contribution 
• Freedom and autonomy 
• Growth potential 
• Adequate compensation 
• Recognition or appreciation 
• Creativity

If you don’t receive your needed rewards, what can you do? I doubt that you are being held prisoner. Do you need to change employers? Should you learn a new skill, obtain more education, start a business, or gain a new skill?

I’m please to say that many of you have written to me and described how my messages have nudged you to take some control of your circumstances and you made big changes. You have told me that you finally started the business you always wanted, have completed your first book, and some of you have decided to return to school to complete or improve your education.

If you don’t love your work, you have choices:

• Stay at it in hopes that you’ll learn to love it, 
• Start a new job search,
• Go to school and learn new skills, 
• Start your own business, 
• Win the lottery, or 
• Marry somebody rich.

I encourage you to examine your work and evaluate your contentment. Next, identify your needs. Will changing jobs meet those needs, or would one of the other options listed above better meet them?

Don’t settle for unhappiness. Don’t shortchange yourself. Think of your loftiest dream. What would you love to do? Don’t settle for anything less than your highest aspiration.

Realize that you won’t attain that dream by waiting for it to come to you—you must climb the mountain to experience the exhilaration of conquering it. The mountaintop will not come to you.

Don’t settle for less than the best you can become. How sad to hear someone say, “I wish I had….”

Make your remarkable leap. Then you can do what you love and love what you do.