Identify a purpose greater than yourself and commit to it completely if you want to live a radically inspired life
Indifference is a stifler of potential. Retired marines often struggle with normal life. During active service, they’ve become used to a strong sense of mission. Therefore, they feel unmoored without a mission. In life, when we have a sense of purpose and a mission, we begin to experience an ignition to our potential.
Jim O’Leary got his inflection point the day 9-year-old John got burned. He had been a typical 17-year-old with youthful exuberance. Everything changed that day. He became a hero that saved his brother’s life. Despite the third-degree burns he suffered; Jim went all in to save his brother’s life.
“99 When things get hot, when the fires of life rage around you and against you, you can pull back and retreat and let things be destroyed. Or, you can step back in and save what matters from the fires that are threatening to destroy your marriage, your career, your joy, your life.”
John O’Leary
The choice you make depends largely on knowing why you should do it.
When you are inspired by a purpose, your potential will ignite and your thoughts will enthusiastically imagine, collaborate, initiate, and create.
When everything you hold dear in life goes up in flames, it is important to remember to have faith and fight instead of plunging into despair. The only way you can fight is if you know why you should fight. So many people are busy with the “how” of life that they forget the “why.” We are occupied with paying bills and doing chores that we get weary from them.
How often do we stop to ask ourselves why we are doing these things?
In the hospital where John was treated, one person that stood out in his medical team was a certain Lavelle. Lavelle was a janitor who cleaned his room. The lead doctor, Dr. Ayvazian, told Lavelle that by keeping the room clean, he was literally saving John’s life. If the room were unkempt or not properly cleaned, infections could kill John. With his skin burned, the likelihood of getting infected increased.
The seemingly mundane task of cleaning the room turned out to be a crucial part of John’s recovery. Lavelle was not driven by money but by the life he could save by cleaning the room. Had he been indifferent, John could have died.
Indifference kills but purpose breathes life into our existence, our work, and our relationships.
Did you know? The motto of the US Marine Corps is “Semper Fidelis” and it means “Always Faithful.”