On the air today, I talked about the “DASH.” I mentioned that when you look at a tombstone you see a name, something nice about the person, the year they were born and the year they died… and a small dash in between. The dash is what we do with our lives. It’s who we are and it will one day be our legacy. I want to take you a little deeper into the word DASH:
The “D” in DASH stands for:
Determination
Live your life with determination.
You will be an influence on a lot of people whether you want to be or not. The only question is whether you will live your life in the DASH as a positive influence or a negative influence. And where you came from, how you were raised, or what you’ve done is not what’s most important. What’s most important is the choice you make today…from this day forward be determined to live life in the DASH as a positive influence.
The “A” in DASH stands for:
Awareness
Live your life with awareness.
- Be aware that everything you do and say has consequences far beyond what you can see with your eyes.
- Be aware that “Bad company corrupts good character.” Be careful who you hang out with.
- Be aware that you are living in the dash and one day it will be set in stone. What will others say about how you lived your life in the DASH?
Live your life with awareness.
The “S” in DASH stands for:
Service
Live your life in service.
Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
How are you going to give to others? So many people come knocking on your door or calling you, asking you to support their cause. You’ve got a finite amount of time, so it’s important to start thinking today about what cause you want to serve. You can do that by deciding what you are passionate about. Do you know what your passion is? You’ve seen Chariots of Fire, right? In that movie, Eric Liddell said “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure.” What gives you pleasure in your life may be what you’re passionate about…it may be your message to share with others. Now, what gives you pain in your life, may also unlock the key to what you’re really passionate about.
What about you? Maybe not having a father growing up has cause pain in your life, maybe alcoholism, maybe a death in your family, maybe living in bad conditions. Whatever it is, it can be used for good. Whatever difficulties you’ve gone through in your life or are going through now, you can turn your pain into passion…and your passion into serving others who are experiencing the same thing.
Live your life in service.
The “H” in DASH stands for:
Humility
Live your life with humility.
In the best-selling business book, Good to Great, author Jim Collins found that all truly great leaders have two things in common. First, they have extreme personal humility. Second, they have an intense professional will to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Now I want you to remember that humility does not mean that we think less of ourselves, it just means that we think about ourselves less…and others, especially our spouse, our children, our co-workers and our friends, more.
Want to be a great leader? Want to be a great influence in the lives of others? Then live your life with humility.
When you live your life in the DASH-with determination, awareness, service and humility-you will positively influence the lives of other people…and the lives you touch will be changed forever. And guess what…your life will be changed forever as well.
Until next time,
Mark
