Community Involvement: Fortune Favors the Prepared Mind (Part 1)

Community Involvement: A Two Part Series

So sorry for the delay in my post!  I have been bogged down with back to school, work, and planning my daughters first trip to Disney World- in a nut shell life has been super hectic. (Seriously! Life and work have been beyond hectic, but I have a great post coming about family time and our trip to Disney World!) But as promised I am sharing some insight into giving back. Now keep in mind, these are my personal opinions and there are many ways to give back. But for the purpose of this blog I will focus mentoring to younger people.  This many not be everyone's favorite way to give back, but I know it is mine. The first part is going to focus primarily on why should we give back. The second installment will focus on the motivation for giving back. Therefore, with much anticipation: "Community Involvement: A Two Part Series." 
 

Fortune Favors the Prepared Mind: Pay it Forward

I am a very firm believer that knowledge is generational. This really dawned on me during our latest family vacation to Disney World. We noticed that for Cinderellas Royal Table Dinner, there were only about 40 tables  in the whole castle with a Disney Park filled to the brim with families. Then my  dad turned to me and asked, "How did you know about this and get these reservations?" I responded, "A friend told me and they also informed me that I would need to get these reservations 180 days in advance."  Now take this same idea and apply it to your everyday life situations. How do we know what to do, how to act, and were to look for information??? Someone has told us, someone has given us an advantage, some during the course of our lives has informed us.

This is how fortune favors the prepared mind. 99.5% of the time, success is not luck. Some is ready and prepared to take an opportunity that has been presented to them. Your world changes when you know: knowledge really is power.

For almost all people who have seen success (success being defined by the individual), at some point in their lives they had support. At some point in their lives they had someone telling them that as an individual they can achieve, they can do, they can be successful in their own way. This is a very true and real display of the vast power of words. This could have been a parent, a teacher, a neighbor, a mentor, anyone - but they had the support and the people, or that person, to inform them that they could. I recently attended a function that was circled around community involvement for the next generation of youth in my city.  It made me realize the importance of being involved. If I look at my life in a linear way, somewhere along the line someone (many people in my case) was involved in my development. 

Therefore we give back to help others, to be that person who tells someone, "You Can." To be that person who cares genuinely for someone else's well being. Who truly show someone else we believe in their abilities. Our goal is to give back, because someone as given to us. Many times people get trapped in the idea of 'it is not what you know, but who you know.' Then people start the negative internal dialogue with the 1001 reasons for why they could not. But, giving back in this sense is opening some one's eyes to the possibilities. Showing them the way and the light. To be that person to another that one day reflects on their lives and says, "I didn't give up because of you." (Although you may never hear it from the person.)

This is not about "equality" in the political sense, this is about doing what is right. This is really about paying it forward, because in some way we have been blessed beyond our comprehension and it is only right to return that blessing to someone who may need it in their own years to come.  This is why we give back, not for the fame or glory, not for prominence or importance, not to be selfish but selfless. 

So as I sit and I look at these soon to be college students and young adults it prompts me to want to be more involved with them.  Not to be boastful, but I believe I have a rather unique and realistic story. A story that is relatable and understandable to young adults. (If you would like to know more about my story Fear of Flying or Strength I Have.)

Just remember, someone was there helping you up… Don’t you think you may want to return the favor?