Sunday, October 19, 2008

Motive Fate

The president of Argentina was asked why South America, for all its natural wonders and resources, still lagged far behind North America in terms of prosperity and progress. The president thought for a moment and said, "I have come to this conclusion. South America was discovered by the Spaniards in search of gold but North American was settled by the Pilgrims in search of God."

Whether talking about our choice of job or use of free time, our motive says a lot about how well we'll do a thing. For money or passion? Because we have to or because we want to? There may even be degrees within the larger motive. When we volunteer for an activity, is it because we feel passionate about it, or because other people say that we should do it? Everyone's definition of a truly meaningful causes is different - feeding the hungry, serving God, teaching children. If you could do only one activity for the rest of your life, what would it be? Likely something that you become so engrossed in that you lose track of time. Something that you would do no matter how horribly wrong something went, so strong is your belief in the worth of what you're doing. Find it, and do it! And if you have a choice, stop doing some of those other things.

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