Understanding the Assignment

This weekend, we honored and celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most prolific and transcendent leaders in American history. As a history geek, I am always interested in learning more closely, the details of his legacy and impact on our society and culture; impacts that well outlasted his time on earth (he would have been 94). Whatever your long weekend was spent doing, I hope you were able to take a moment, no matter how brief, and consider the man and his mission, behind yesterday’s United States holiday.

This weekend I did something I normally don’t do – I relaxed nearly all-day Sunday and most of yesterday! I am normally going 100 miles per hour, either pursuing items & efforts that support my emerging classic car business or doing something around our house or with my family.?But this weekend, was almost all leisure time with family and friends which was a welcomed change of pace. Recently, I’ve been reading “How will you measure your life?” by Clayton Christensen?(thanks Amanda Choi ), and it’s been an incredibly compelling read that blends the timeless values of family, friends, and personal values with the challenges, pressures, and eagerness of being an ambitious professional. In the book, the author shares that we often underinvest in the relationships that matter most while we focus on building our careers, and then later return to them later in life, only to find they’ve been malnourished for years. In the book, this concept is related to parenting children, investing in romantic relationships such as marriages, and even those of more distant family and our inner and extended circle of friends.

I too, fall into this trap at times and just like all elements of myself I’m constantly aiming to be more excellent in, I can become frustrated when I slip. But as with all aspects of evolution and transformation, we must play the long-game and focus on smaller incremental improvements over time. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. understood these concepts well, and most definitely understood the assignment he elected to invest his leadership in. He invested in the relationships necessary to further the vision of civil rights that he and many others share. He did this by investing in The Church and its national congregation. He did this by investing in local, state, and federal politician relationships from a local town hall to The White House. And he did this by investing in those closest to him that played critical supporting him during his greatest times of need. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also focused on creating impact that compounded with each march, broadcast, news article and added chapter of activists across the country, and continue to progress today.

As we all proceed in our newly started 2023, it’s important that we each continue to focus on our top priorities in our relationships, and understand the assignment ?? We won’t always get it right, but if we focus on creating progress over time and investing in the relationships that matter most (before we need them), we will find that our lives are more full, meaningful and transcendent of our own ambitions.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.