Day 5.127 Be THAT person

You know those people in your life that have made an impact? Some, you might have noticed, are so powerful, connected, focused and charismatic that they have actually created change.

I was leading a small group in an exercise program last night. We were somewhere near the halfway point and I began to notice a slight shift in 'responsiveness'. We had been hammering away for thirty minutes and were now at a turning point.

You know the one.

Go or no go. Give or take. Do or die.

A conscious decision to engage that sinister sentry at the gate of change. All you need to do is say 'I am coming in', and without a password, you will be admitted to the utopia known as 'outside the comfort zone'.

And then the magic truly begins.

What happened last night was the rare reciprocal phenomenon that comes with team effort. The group wanted to go. They wanted change, they wanted challenge and they were all hungry for growth and improvement. They wanted the stage. The stage to do the heroic, to rise above the ordinary and discover the depth of their courage.

And they wanted to be led there. As all good mercenaries, students and soldiers do.

Give me the order.

Command me.

Take me to that place.

Almost at once we felt the power. Some looked around to see how others were reacting, some simply made a minor adjustment to their game face and carried on, all as I watched and smiled. Because I like this.

We had it. This is it. What we train for. The magic.

We ripped through the final thirty minutes in the rhapsodic light of purpose. We had discovered our meaning. We gave it up for each other, committed to the team effort. We were winning a 'good' war, playing our small part.

And just like that it was over.

The lightening was in the jar.

As we warmed down in the glow of success I thought about life changing situations and the people along this path that have inspired me. Maybe not to greatness, but certainly towards improvement.

I look around the room as we end our session, at the sweaty and vibrant faces that have shared the fleeting power of what we had accomplished. To you I owe the quality of my life.

I think that everyone we encounter could be that person. SHOULD BE ONE. A person who creates change. A person who challenges us to be our best. Someone to whom we can pledge loyalty, devotion and service.

As I turn out the light I know that this is the goal.

BE THAT PERSON.