Monday, May 09, 2005

First Impressions

Which is better: to err on the side of caution or to reach for the stars? The former leaves a person wondering what could have been, the latter often ends in heartache. Is it truly better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?
Playing it safe leaves room for pain but the result is too often mediocrity. Reaching for the stars sometimes means grabbing at air, but every now and then a monumental accomplishment is acheived. Isn't that worth it all?
Today I learned that it is important to invest in people. Most people I know just want to feel that someone cares. They want someone who is willing to invest a little bit of the one commodity we all receive equal ammounts of: time. We all are given 24 hours every day. To invest that time in a person is truly a worthwhile effort.
There are three essential ways ofinvesting time in another person's life. First of all, everyone want to find someone who cares about their well-being: what is going on in their life? Are they sick? How is their family? What is an obstacle they are trying to overcome? Do they just need a shoulder to cry on? Find out how they are doing. And then care.
Secondly, everone wants someone who cares about their dreams. What do they want to do with their life? What sort of things do they hope will happen in the future? Find out what makes them tick, what gets their fire going. And then help them towards their goal.
Finally, everyone needs someone to give them an encouraging word. They need to hear verbally that they are not worthless. They need to hear that some else believes that they can do anything they want. They long to feel that they have a purpose and can be useful. Find out how they feel needed. And help them arrive at the realization that their life does have a point.
All of this takes time. Make sure you don't waste the prescious little you have every day. Invest in something that is worthwhile: lives are only lived once.

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