How to Be the Hero of Your Own Life
© Copyright 2005 Anne Alexander
How do you know if you are living your life well? Do you measure it
by your accomplishments? This is a short story about an amazing
young person who helps us define how well we are living our gift of
life.
When I attended my step-daughter's college graduation this past
May, I thought the commencement speaker was a very
accomplished person. Whether one is positive, negative or neutral
about Hillary Clinton, she has accomplished a great deal,
persevered through many storms, set high goals and reached
many of them.
What I didn't realize until recently was that another individual with
an amazing success story was also there at that graduation. She
was, in fact, one of the graduates, and with hundreds of students
streaming across the stage, I honestly have to say I don't
remember her as she received her diploma.
But I learned recently about this hero of the Agnes Scott College's
Class of 2005. Jessica Berry started college with my step-daughter
- they were in the same English class. During her first semester
Jessica was diagnosed with Hodgkins-Lymphoma cancer. Despite
multiple treatments and periods in the hospital during a stem-cell
transplant, she was determined to continue her education.
According to her classmates and professors, Jessica had a
positive, upbeat spirit and an amazing focus on graduating college.
She was on track to be a teacher, but the disease got the upper
hand and six days after she graduated, she died. It's a very sad
story. And yet I am inspired by the way Jessica set herself a goal
and, despite the odds, achieved it. And in that process, she showed
that it is not our achievements that are so important in our life, it is
who we are. Our personal qualities and character traits are what
allow us to strive for a particular goal. These qualities are what
really matter: they make us successful human beings.
Jessica did not succeed because she graduated, just as she did
not fail because she died. She succeeded because of the courage
and determination, the bright spirit that she displayed through
those four difficult years. She succeeded because the qualities she
lived have inspired me and many others. And she has helped us
become conscious of how well we are living our lives.
None of us knows how much time we have left. Let's take a cue
from Jessica Berry and live full out, pursuing our dreams,
authentically and with integrity. If we do that, whether we reach
them or not, we will have succeeded.
Ready to be a power professional? Get business coach Anne Alexander’s free 8
part e-course "Maximize Your Professional Success," at
www.authentic-alternatives.com/maximizenow.htm Warning! For real
people
only. No fakers, please.
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