Because you make a difference!

The past week has been full of lessons for me. Life has always been the best of my professors. I keep on learning and I know you are too. Let me start by sharing a story with you.

A professor was in the habit of giving his students a little gift at the end of the school year – a blue ribbon with the words “Who I Am Makes A Difference®” printed in gold letters on the ribbon.

As he gave each student their ribbon, he explained why he had appreciated teaching them, and why his course had been different because that particular student had been present.

One day it occurred to him to see what effect this little custom would have on the community. He gave each student 3 blue ribbons instead of one, and told each of them to give one ribbon to someone they knew who, in their opinion “made a difference.” He also told them to give the two other ribbons to that same person, with instructions to hand them out to others who had made a difference. After that the students were to come back and report what happened.

One student who had a part-time job gave his ribbon to his boss, a grumpy fellow who nevertheless appreciated the honor.

“I admire everything you've done,” the student said to his boss. ”I think you're a creative genius and a real fair guy. Will you allow me to pin this blue ribbon on your shirt as a sign of my appreciation?”

The boy's boss was surprised but also pleased. “Yeah, sure, why not?” he said.

“And will you take these two other ribbons,” the student continued, ”and give them to someone you think makes a difference, like I did for you? It's for a project we're doing at school.”

“All right,” the boss replied.
That night the boss returned home wearing the purple ribbon on his shirt. He greeted his 14 year old son and said, ”Something strange happened to me today. One of my employees gave me this ribbon. See what's written on it? 'Because you make a difference.' He gave me another ribbon just like it and told me to give it to someone who's made a difference for me, someone who is very special and means a lot to me.

“I had a pretty hard day, but on the way home I said to myself, 'There's only one person I want to give this ribbon to.' I know I tell you off a lot because you don't work hard enough at school, because all you think about is going out and having fun with your friends, because your room's always a mess… But tonight I want to tell you that you are very very important to me. You and your mother make all the difference in my life, and I'd like you to accept this blue ribbon as a sign of my love. I don't tell you I love you very often, not nearly enough, I know. But I do love you, and I think you're a wonderful kid!”

As soon as he stopped talking his son burst into tears. His whole body shook with sobs. His father took him in his arms and held him close, saying, “That's okay, it's all right. Did I say something wrong?”

“No Dad.” his son replied, “It's just that… I decided I was going to kill myself. I was going to do it tomorrow. I had it all planned out. I wanted to kill myself because I was sure you didn't like me, even though I tried hard to be good. Now that's all changed…”

Now these are the three things I would like to share with you from the story:

You are one lucky fellow!
You may not know this but you are very lucky. At this moment, there is someone somewhere who is wishing to be like you. Don't be surprised. That's how the world is. You may not like what is happening in your life. You may be depressed and all that but someone is wishing to be in that very position you are in. Have you ever thought about this: what if I was born in Somalia? You wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. Famine, drought, hardship would have been your pals. Wherever you are, whatever situation you find yourself in, count it all joy.

You make a difference!
And yes you make a difference in someone's life. You may not know it but you are a role model to someone. It could be your niece, nephew, son, daughter, a facebook friend or a follower on twitter. Someone somewhere draws inspiration from you. Someone somewhere gets a smile on the face as soon as he/she sees you. Whatever you are doing, put it at the back of your mind that it is affecting the life of another…… so do the right thing! There is inside you all of the potential to be whatever you want to be all of the energy to do whatever you want to do. Imagine yourself as you would like to be…. doing what you want to do and each day, take one step towards your dream. Though at times it may seem too difficult to continue, hold on to your dream because you make a difference in someone's life.

You don't have to give up!
Stressed, depressed, sad……add the rest. We can go on and name all the negative things that come our way. These are part of life and we cannot avoid them. We always face them and will always do as long as we have life. We get rid of all these emotions when we are in our tombs. Until then, you will lose a family member and get sad….you will lose that job or contract and be depressed….you will be heartbroken and feel like the world is coming to an end BUT the message is clear….DO NOT GIVE UP!

Entertain not the ideas of suicide. Embrace hope and face the future because you are born for greater things! There may be times when you feel as if you have taken a million steps towards your dreams, and acted on your plans, only to find yourself in the same place that you began from. At times like this, you must not give up. You must continue on. Though you may feel lost, bewildered and alone, continue to believe in yourself. Do not allow discouragement and doubt to blur your vision and wash away your dreams. Visualize your way beyond the detours, standstills and obstacles.

You will realize your dreams.

Share with us what you learned from this post. God bless you!