Are you relevant? Really?

Relevant: Having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand. (mirriam-webster.com)

Think about it for a minute…. You work. You play. You have relationships. You have family. You are probably involved in a group of some sort – church, sports, business, hobby, etc. You do things. You interact. You dream. You may donate money or even time to a charity of some sort. But are you Relevant?

What do you do in your daily life that is relevant? What do you do that makes a significant impact on humanity?

Yesterday, CBS Sunday Morning had a segment on Shakira, the pop singer. I must admit, my idea of her has been that she’s just a superstar “booty-shaker” who sings. I never really paid much attention to her beyond that. But, the interview showed a side that made me appreciate her as a human being. Shakira negotiated, planned, funded, and organized a school that provides education, meals, and safety for more than 1,700 students in Columbia. And, while the kids are in school, the parents are being trained and educated, too, so they can be better parents. What’s impressive is she didn’t just write the check – she was actively engaged in the entire process, and still is today. In the interview, she said something that made me pause to think:

I wanted to become relevant,” Shakira said. “I always felt that I could make a change, a difference, even if it was a small difference, I knew that I could do something.”

If a “master review” of life was completed today, would I be considered relevant? Would you? How much positivity have we extended into the world? What have we contributed that is significant and demonstrable? Life is not just about each of us as individuals, it’s about all of us as a collective. You can’t be relevant if you only focus on yourself. Yes, I know we all have to take care of ourselves. But, if that is all we do, humanity will fail.

So, take a good look at what you are doing in life, and determine if you are Relevant. If you are, can you do more and add to that relevancy? If you are not, to what area of life can you contribute something that will make the world a better place? Think about it.

Now, act on it.

Live To Be Relevant!

If you want to learn more about Shakira’s “relevant contributions”, visit CBS Sunday Morning:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shakiras-biggest-hit/