The Difference between Fame and Significance

We all make ripples in the sea of history, some more significant, some more noticed. The value of events that shape history, and what we pay attention to, do not necessarily correspond. Fame without substance is fleeting even if it burns hot, but things of merit ripple far beyond the moment the stone splashes the waves of history and sinks beneath the surface. If we must choose between significance and being noticed, the nobler of choices is to cultivate significance with our lives because this is the key difference between a meaningful life and fleeting fame of whatever caliber.

Self Respect

No matter how much we want to be, or think we are rule makers, or that we can hope for an exception, we are really only game players. Gravity works no matter how we feel on any given day. Relationship possibilities exist in a membrane of a fixed set of rules that determine the possibilities and the potentials. Relationship seeds only grow to their full potential in the right soil and the right climate. We can nurture the environment but we can’t control everything. We can’t rush the development process beyond its own growing capacity. To influence the game we have to know and respect the rules, and even though that is sometimes painful, it is the highest form of self-respect we can have.