WHAT REALLY MATTERS?

What really matters in Life? When you were a child, did anyone tell you? If that did not happen, it should have. Knowing what really matters in life helps you create a blueprint for your life. It helps you develop a sense of purpose . . . a sense of direction. If you do not have a sense of purpose or a sense of direction, you will find yourself drifting along in the Ocean of Life . . . you will find yourself swept up in the currents and waves of the Ocean of Life. Life is about purpose. Life is about direction.

If no one ever told you what really matters in life, I will. There are only three things that really matter in life. These three things are all that the world wants to know about you no matter where you live in the global village that we know as Planet Earth — the space and place you occupy along with 7.6 billion souls. Your happiness and success are directly connected to these three things. And these three things that really matter are actually questions that the world asks you:

1. How smart are you?
2. What do you have to offer?
3. Can you be trusted?

That’s right. The world is not interested in your ethnicity, religion, politics, culture, or economic or social status. The world does not care to know how much “bling” you have or whether you live in a multi-million dollar condominium on the 40th floor of a glass and concrete skyscraper or in a one-room hut with a dirt floor in a remote rural village. It has no interest in knowing whether you have a six-figure bank account or only six cents in your checking or savings account. The world is really about substance and not superficiality.

HOW SMART ARE YOU?

Graduating from high school in the first percentile of your class, obtaining a perfect Scholastic Aptitude Test (“SAT”) score of 2400, graduating from Harvard or Yale or Columbia or Princeton or the University of Pennsylvania magna cum laude is a small piece of the puzzle that determines your level of intelligence — how smart you really are. Now, don’t get it twisted. You should strive to graduate from high school in the first percentile of your class. You should strive to obtain a perfect SAT score of 2400, and a goal of graduating magna cum laude from any institution of higher learning should be at the top of your “To Do” list. But it is not the “be all” and “end all” of determining how smart you are. Intelligence is not just about “book learning”. Intelligence is about “wisdom”. The world determines how smart you are by looking at how you apply the knowledge and intelligence that you have. The manner in which you apply your knowledge and your intelligence is a barometer for the level of wisdom that you have acquired. It is important to be proficient and well-versed in mathematics, business, law, English, the arts, science, information technology, engineering, manufacturing, communications, journalism, and social media. But what valuable life lessons have you learned? What lessons have you learned about compassion, hope, faith, sacrifice, and “standing in your own truth”? What you have learned or not learned about compassion, hope, faith, sacrifice, and “standing in your own truth" will have a direct bearing on the manner in which you apply the knowledge and intelligence you have acquired.

When it is all said and done, it is the choices and decisions that you make that speaks volume to the world about how smart you are.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER?

When the world looks at you it asks, “What do you have to offer?” The world wants to know if you have skills and talents. Do you have the skills and talents needed to create high quality products and services for the 7.6 billion souls who live and work in the global village we know as Planet Earth? Will your skill set create and manage a farm that will produce vegetables and fruits and meat which will help to feed some of the 7.6 billion souls who occupy Planet Earth? Do you have the skills and talents needed to create and manage a new business in your community which will provide your neighbors with jobs as well as easy access to goods and services? Do you have the skills required to build housing to help put a roof over the heads of 7.6 billion souls throughout our global village? Do you have the skills necessary to teach mathematics, science, reading, writing, foreign languages, history, accounting, law, marketing, music, and art to our global village’s 2.2 billion children — the Next Generation of Leaders, Husbands, Fathers, Wives, and Mothers? Will your skill set bring healing to the world? Will it eradicate illnesses that prevent the children and adults of the world from living happy, healthy, and long lives? Will your skill set and talents transform blighted, chaotic, and violent communities into a safe, nurturing, and economically and spiritually vibrant oasis?

Once the world has established that you do indeed have skills and talents, it will then want to know whether you excel at a particular skill or talent. How well do you perform a particular skill or talent? Having talent and skills and excelling at the talent and skills that you have is not just important to the world. It is also important to you. It helps to shape your self-esteem, your feelings of “worthiness”, and your vision of your destiny and the work that you were put here on Earth to do. It is tied to your sense of direction and sense of purpose. It is tied to how you define and see yourself.

CAN YOU BE TRUSTED?

You may find it hard to believe, but the world runs on trust. When the world looks at you, it asks: “Is your word your bond? Are you trustworthy?” In other words, do you do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it? When you promise to show up at a certain place on a certain day at a certain time, do you actually show up? When you promise to call someone on a certain day at a certain time, do you actually pick up the telephone and call them? When you promise to send an e-mail to someone to convey information or to forward a document, do you actually send it? And if you find that for some reason you are unable to do what you promised, do you immediately contact the person, apologize, and tell them that you will not be able to do what you promised — and explain why — and when you will be able to deliver your promise? Or instead, do you tell yourself, “The heck with it!” and not offer an apology or explanation as to why you are unable to keep your promise to the other person? If you consistently engage in this type of behavior, you are telling the world: “Don’t trust me!”

Each time that you either do what you say you are going to do, or do not do what you say you are going to do, you are building your reputation. People who do not know you, but may want to befriend you, hire you, or do business with you, will want to know if you have a “good” reputation or a “bad” reputation. Consistently delivering what you promise, will earn you a “good” reputation, while consistently not doing what you have promised to do on a consistent basis, will earn you a “bad” reputation. Would you want to start a friendship with, or hire, or do business with someone who has a “good” reputation or a “bad” reputation? Would you trust someone who consistently does what he or she promises to do? Would you feel comfortable being in the company of someone who consistently does not do what he or she has promised? Would you feel confident working with or doing business with someone who has a consistent track record of breaking promises and not showing up when they say they are going to show up?

You can be brilliant and have exceptional skills and talents, but if, for whatever reason, you have consistently demonstrated that you cannot or will not keep your promises, the doors of opportunities which were open to you will abruptly slam shut!

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Diane A. Sears is an author (www.xlibris.com; www.amazon.com), publisher, Social Justice Contributing Editor for the Good Men Project (www.goodmenproject.com).