Inspire The People Around You

1^st July, 2008

Dear Club Leaders, 

Greetings. 

Have you ever observed that it only takes a spark to light a fire, and soon all those around are warmed up in its flame. If so, how much good you can do to the other by living a significant life? 

A life of significance requires nothing external. You can be significant with or without material landmarks. A life of significance is far more concerned with what you give to others, than what you gather for yourself. People may forget what you say and do to them. But they will never forget how you made them feel. Your true significance calls for an answer: “Am I making a difference in the lives of others?” 

Great people have influenced others in every area of life throughout centuries. For instance, Henry David Thoreau was the impetus for Gandhi’s and Martin Luther King Jr’s civil disobedience, which ultimately changed the world. Socrates taught Plato who taught Aristotle, who collectively remain the greatest philosophical trio in the history. 

Remember that it only takes a spark in you that can inspire many to face the challenging world with enthusiasm, hope, and courage. Make a conscious effort to inspire the people around you. If your words and actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become better persons, you are not less than any great and significant people in the history. 

“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not differ or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again“  Let this be your motto in the Rotary year 2008-09, when you are at the helm of affairs in your Club to Make Dream Real. 

May your life-spark be tiny glimpses of a larger flame. 

Ashok Mahajan

Director – Rotary International