If life is like a song, what would your song be and how would you sing it?
I have an older cousin, Aaron, who went abroad to study since young, and he was often talked about in our family as the model of our generation. My grandparents and parents always asked me to imitate him. As I grew up I found most of the teachers, mentors, and professional trainers saying the same thing—model after the successful people. As a result we often end up becoming copies of someone else.
The advice has a great deal of validity because it’s easier to learn from those who have been there and done that, than to reinvent the wheel. The question is, does it really work? I found a serious problem with this model of learning.
The main problem is each of us is created differently. Just look at your finger prints, there is no one else on this earth, out of nearly seven billion people, who has the same finger prints as yours. The most serious problem is that, by copying others, you end up missing your own calling.
When you miss your calling, you miss the opportunity to make an impact with your life. If you sing someone else’s life song as if it is your won, your voice doesn’t touch people. People say, “Fake it till you make it!” But the reality is if you fake it, you will never make it. People wants to hear your heart, not your hoke.
Does it mean we shouldn’t model after the successful people after all? No, that’s not what I mean. I think the problem is, we were never taught to go beyond the superficial level of modeling. When we model someone, we must go deep, by not just modeling the mechanics of their achievement, but to draw from their life stories, an inspiration to find our own calling.
Sometimes the discovery of our calling comes when we are at the end of our lives. I remember the day a bus crashed into my car. Even though I wasn’t hurt and it lasted only a few second, the moment was like eternity. Every thought went away when I face the truth of possible death. It makes you want to reverse your life and live it a new way. If we can handle our lives with the same level of consciousness of that moment, we would live our lives differently than just coping someone else’s story.
A smart young girl, in a youth group I was leading, who just graduated from high school with flying colors, was asked to share her experience as a straight A student and give some advice to the juniors. She said, "Just take every exam as if it is the last exam of your life."
I also know a minister, who has touched numerous lives with his life-transforming messages. When he was asked how he did it, he said, "Just preach every sermon as if it is your last one."
As I learned more, I began to see a pattern in the great minds. They perform their tasks as if there is no tomorrow. That’s what we need to model after—their state of mind, their moral, and their principles, rather than their tricks of the trade.
In fact, life is really short; a hundred years on earth is just like a blink of eyes. So, fulfill your calling as if this is your only chance, and let your life be a song that touches God's heart and saves people's souls!
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Rev. Dr. Samuel Stone
http://samuelstone.com/article.php/What-Inspires-People