Today (January 19, 2009) we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. – his life and his contributions.
In 1994, The U.S. Congress charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with transforming the King Holiday into a national “Day of Service.”
I’m don’t have a very high opinion of any “holiday” that begins or ends with the word “day.” “Mother’s Day.” “Father’s Day.” “Day of Service.” Even “birthday.” I’d prefer that everyone treated EVERY day in the same spirit as these “holidays.”
But to the degree that any of these “days” remind you (and me) about how we COULD be on every other day, and give us a taste of that so that we have a physical / mental / emotional and even spiritual first-hand experience and appreciation for how we could live our lives all the time, I’m glad and grateful that we stop to focus on our “bigger” self at these times.
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During my studies in Applied Psychology at the University of Santa Monica, I dedicated a full year of my life to studying “service” Reading about, viewing movies about, and talking to people who had dedicated some – or all – of their life to being of service in some way or another. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, of course, one of them.
As a result of this life-changing year-long experience, I created a “formula” for how I now live my life, and teach this to others as part of my “Success Mastery (TM)” System.
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The SERVICE INQUIRY PROCESS (TM)
Here’s the “Service Inquiry Process” in a nutshell:
The Service Inquiry Process is made up of possible question elements, strung together as appropriate to each circumstance.
It begins with:
HOW CAN I BE OF GREATEST SERVICE…
to which you can then add:
TO MYSELF? (Remember the advice you’re given by the flight attendant. Put YOUR mask on FIRST, even before your child’s. Take care of yourself in a way that ensures your ability to then be of service to others.)
TO OTHERS?
and…
TO THE WORLD IN WHICH I LIVE / THE WORLD THAT WE ALL SHARE? (In order to remind yourself that the quality of your life, your children’s lives and future generations’ lives are dependent on what YOU do TODAY.)
If you ask this question in full, and stop here, you have:
HOW CAN I BE OF GREATEST SERVICE TO MYSELF, TO OTHERS, AND TO THE WORLD IN WHICH I LIVE / THE WORLD THAT WE ALL SHARE?
This inquiry, at this level – (… THROUGH MY LIFE?) – is the most powerful way that I know to lead you to the answer to the question “What is my Purpose in Life?” Put another way: “Why am I here?”
Even at this “meta” level, your answer WILL (not even “may”) evolve over time. It may shift dramatically as you age, grow, learn and discover, such that what you absolutely knew to be your Life Purpose when you were 20 has changed completely. Or your Life Purpose may change more subtly. Perhaps you knew from early childhood what you were meant to do in this life, and your Purpose hasn’t shifted, although it’s matured along with you as you’ve aged.
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You can also apply the Service Inquiry Process in the following two ways.
1. CIRCUMSTANTIALLY.
So you can ask all or part of:
How can I be of greatest service (to myself) (to others) (to the world in which I live / the world that we all share)…
and add, for example:
…IN MY PROFESSIONAL EXPRESSION? to discover how to best use your talents and interests to serve others through your work and/or business.
…IN MY MARRIAGE? (RELATIONSHIP?) to transform your life of love and add another dimension by turning it also into a relationship of service to yourself, your beloved, and the world.
…IN MY “FREE TIME” to discover how to add a new dimension to what you love to do when no-one is telling you what you “have” to do.
But you needn’t stop at these three examples. You can do this Inquiry for any and every aspect of your personal, relational, professional, and even spiritual life.
2. IN THIS MOMENT.
One of my mentors shared with me that idea that “power” is not the ability to control yourself, someone else or some outcome. Instead, true power is the state of being you are in according to the degree that you are present. You are MOST POWERFUL when you are FULLY PRESENT.
So by doing the Service Inquiry Process in this way:
How can I be of greatest service to myself, to others and to the world in which I live / the world that we all share IN THIS MOMENT?
you lovingly demand of yourself that you come fully present, in this moment, in the spirit of service.
VERY POWERFUL!
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THE SERVICE INQUIRY PROCESS FOR GROUPS
Up to this point, I’ve suggested how this Service Inquiry Process can be of value to you, personally.
And it also has great value to groups: Businesses, organizations, affiliations, clubs, “just-for-fun” gatherings, religious institutions, even government agencies.
Simply change “I” to “WE”:
How can WE be of greatest service to OURSELVES, to others and to the world in which WE live / the world that WE all share?
Ask this question at the “meta” level by stopping there.
Or add:
“…THROUGH OUR BUSINESS?”
“… THROUGH THIS PROJECT?”
“…THROUGH OUR PLACE OF WORSHIP?”
“…THROUGH OUR KNITTING GROUP?”
“…THROUGH OUR YOUTH GROUP?”
and the result will be your group’s “Purpose.”
A business or organization would refer to the result of this inquiry as their “Purpose Statement” since it reveals the alignment of the members of that group with their agreement as to the reason that that group exists, and how that group wishes to express itself in the world.
Group Inquiry has the greatest meaning and the greatest impact when it’s done after each group member does the Service Inquiry Process for him or her self, and brings that level of personal awareness and personal power to the group Inquiry.
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Take a moment today on this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, this national “Day of Service,” to do your own, personal Service Inquiry Process. Ask yourself:
How can YOU be of greatest service, in this moment, in YOUR individual activities, and through YOUR life?
Then honor today, honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and honor yourself by doing at least one thing that comes up as a result, being as fully present as you can be in the spirit of service.
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Jay Aaron
Strategic Visionary / Visionary Strategist
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
Web site: http://JayAaron.com
All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron. All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to http://Jay Aaron.com
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