The Power of One

Each one of us is unique in the world and can uniquely contribute through our experiences to others around us. A great man once said, "if you would be remembered after you are dead, you must write things worth reading, or do things worth writing about."

Today I have fallen into an experience where I see this occuring in an inspirational and touching way. One of my best friends, Travis Alexander, was murdered this past year and just a few days ago on CBS, there was a 48 Hours episode called Picture Perfect. It is the story, based on both sides of the case, of what happened toward the end of Travis' life. Travis lived a life full of vigor and was succeeding in ways people twice his age dreamed of. He spoke with passion and helped people to change their lives - his words were powerful and wrought with emotion. He touched and sparked the lives of others he met as easily as we change channels on the television.

He not only wrote things worth reading but he was in the process of doing things worth writing about - the most important of which was the way he lived his life. In just the first few days after the 48 Hours special I have recieved many emails regarding the effect Travis' story has had in their life. Some of the words written in Travis' Facebook group as well as some written in personal correspondence to me are beautiful examples of the sparking effect one life can have in others. Travis touched all of us who knew him... and now that he has passed on from this mortal plane of existence, sadly, he is touching the lives of many he has never met.

Travis' and I spoke often about changing the world. How? "One person at a time," he would say. "It all starts inside." We agreed on so many things in regard to personal development. The end goal in the development of self is the development of others, for no sooner do we begin on the path of self improvement than we realize that it will never end. Upon realizing this the immense joy we felt begins to fade, although we still love the process. It is still there within us, but dulled in a sense. A new joy replaces it - greater than the first... the joy of watching the eyes of another light up as something sparks within them and they change their stars. Anyone who has experienced a life changing moment and sees the same thing in the eyes of another relives their own. It is that feeling, that experience, that moment that touches us so deeply we never forget.

Certain individuals, although we all possess the potential, live in such a way as to allow others, through brief glimpses into their lives, to have such an experience.Travis was on his way to helping people all over the world but he left us before he could reach his full potential... but perhaps he achieved what he came here to achieve. Perhaps in touching all of us, or even one of us here today, he had the effect he was destined to achieve. Perhaps through one or many of us thousands or millions of lives will be changed. I know many of the individuals Travis spent his time with and based on the caliber of people they are and what I know of their desires I believe that Travis' story and influence will ripple throughout this generation in the minds and hearts of the people - through each of us.

To remember is to hold a memory in our minds. What is significance? When others hold our memory in our minds. Travis is significant... to his family, to his friends, to me and to many others he has never met. To know an individual it is not necessary to meet them, simply to spend time with them. Whether in person or through reading their words or exploring their exploits we can come to know individuals as surely as if we knew them. When it comes to inspiration and the sparking influence one can have in the life of another it does not matter if we have met them, only that their story... their example has touched us.

Travis lived a life, that aside from the complications existing at the end, millions of people dream of living on a daily basis. I speak not from the perspective of his success but from the perspective of how he lived his daily life, his routine, his life. May we all take the influence of the Travis' of our lives and let it spark something within us.

One person. You. Me. Any one of us can have this same influence in the lives of others. Love them today, for we know not what tommorrow holds. Leave them smiling at the end of the day. Touch thier lives. Spark their souls. Be that One in someone else's life... nothing else can compare with the joy in your heart and the gratitude in their eyes as such a moment.

Continue to smile and above all remember that it is not what we do that makes a difference... but who we are. The power of one is within us, it is our very self.