Don’t Let Anyone Tell You You’re Nothing Special

You’re changing the world in big ways. Let me show you how.

Maybe you’re working sixty hours a week at a job that doesn’t fill you with joy. Maybe you come home from work with calloused hands. Maybe you walk through the door wearing a greasy apron or reeking of motor oil. Maybe you don’t have a title like CEO before your name. Maybe you have to pray over your car every morning so it will crank up.

I’ve been there. I am there.

Get up, go to work, pick up the kids, cook dinner, bathe, watch an hour of television, and go to bed. That’s basically my whole existence, and it could be your life is pretty much the same.

If this is the case, it’s easy to look at ourselves and say, “I’m a nobody” or “I don’t matter.” After all, we live in a society that worships money and status, so it’s easy for us to feel ashamed that we haven’t made a name for ourselves, acquired a six-figure salary, or lived a life of glamour and adventure.

However, I’m begging you not to feel ashamed.

You are not ordinary. You are extraordinary.

Dr. Gayle Joplin Hall says it all when she states:

You matter. You are visible. You are wanted. You are needed. You are appreciated. Your life makes a difference.”

Here’s how.

• If you’re a parent, you’re the reason for someone’s survival, someone’s happiness, someone going to bed at night and feeling safe and secure.
• If you’re a mechanic, you’re the reason someone breathes easier when they head out on the road.
• If you’re a caregiver, you’re the reason someone doesn’t forget medicine that eases their pain or keeps them alive.
• If you’re a carpenter, you’re the reason someone sits outside on their new deck and enjoys nature’s beauty.
• If you’re an Uber driver, you’re the reason someone doesn’t drive drunk and kill a family of three.
• If you’re a Doordasher, you’re the reason someone bonds with their children instead of spending an hour making dinner.
• If you’re a hairdresser, you’re the reason someone feels more beautiful and confident.
• If you’re a farmer, you’re the reason someone can put food on their family’s table.
• If you fix air conditioners or heaters, you’re the reason someone sleeps better at night.
• If you’re a fireman, you’re the reason someone is able to keep the only photo they have of their dead father.
• If you’re a librarian, you’re the reason someone finds that special book that makes them a lifelong reader.
• If you’re a soldier, you’re the reason our country remains safe and free.
• If you’re a radio repairman, you’re the reason someone can turn up the tunes that bring them joy or inspiration.
• If you work in retail, you’re the reason someone finds that perfect outfit to make them feel excited about their first date after their divorce.

The bottom line:

Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson states:

“To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

So never be ashamed because of what you do for a living or how many dollar signs you don’t make.

Please remember this when you’re feeling “ordinary.”

You are priceless. You are amazing. After all, you’re changing lives and making the world a better place.

As Emerson says, “You have succeeded,” and you should feel pretty damn proud of yourself.

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