Paying it Forward: Make a difference, influence the influencer
I give thanks for those that learn, lead and teach. Calls to mind, "Teach a person to fish . . . and they can feed their family." Updated: Mentor a leader, see the ripples into tomorrow and beyond.
How do you view the future? I seek to make a difference. Otherwise, it seems like we aren’t really helping things along -- just coasting with others.
Most seek opportunities offering challenge, growth, camaraderie, satisfaction and impact. We want to matter. I find it looking the future in the face.
We live in the best of times. Fifty-seven years ago on December 3, 1967, Dr. Christian Barnard in Cape Town, South Africa performed the first human heart transplant. And 31, 238 US heart transplants were performed between 2012 and 2021.
In addition, 50% of those patients can expect to be alive after 10 years; 15% after 20 years.
We manipulate molecules, proteins and atoms to make medicines and products. Many solutions were only dreams of a few years earlier. Imagine today’s students in 2030 after a few years in the workforce.
I lean in, believing our best years lie ahead. Adaptability is a word heard frequently of late. I have the joy to spend time with those most adaptable – students who want to learn.
Most have already learned how to lead. Like riding a bike, a bit of hands-on and their confidence propels them forward as fast as they can go.
Southwest Rotary and our partners the Optimist Club of Wichita Falls and the Road to College students and mentors placed and retrieved over 800 flags. All together 35 teams worked, half placing flags Saturday morning and half retrieving flags before sunset Veterans Day.
Saturday, one route team of Road to College mentors was placing flags when Mayor Tim Short stopped to thank them for their service. He shared a Wichita Falls Challenge coin with each person. They proudly displayed their coins when they returned
Thank you, Mayor Short, your influence will have a long tail as these leaders interact with dozens of students and their families throughout our community.
In coming days, these mentors’ ripples of support will spread to others who need just a bit of a push before they smoothly ride in service as well. Can you influence the influencers?
Published Wichita Falls Times Record News, Trends section, Sunday November 24, 2024.
Jack Browne is a community volunteer and former engineer, who became a technology sales and marketing executive over 40 years at Motorola Austin, MIPS Technologies and other silicon valley companies. How are the children doing?