I saw an ad recently about a hospital and it started with a doctor saying, “Everybody’s here for a reason.”  In the case of this ad that quote was about every patient being in the hospital for a reason, an illness, but it got me to thinking about how that quote could actually mean more, and more importantly, change how the hospital team, and all of the rest of us for that matter, might be more engaged to serve.

Imagine that statement, “Everybody’s here for a reason” to be about all people on this planet and the potential contribution everyone makes to the world rather than the reason patients are in the hospital. Imagine how you might work differently if you were a doctor or nurse and you were always thinking that the patient under your care matters to history, perhaps they could be the person who finds the next miracle cure or is the next Rembrandt or will change the course of history in some highly significant way, how would that change the level of your care and change your passion for the work?

All of us who work every day are in a similar position.  What if we all served our customers and fellow teammates with the thought that they mattered to the course of history, that they were vital to the universe in some way, how would that thought change our passion for serving with excellence?  What if our purpose was to make sure we made those we serve successful because they are here for a reason, a reason that could change the world? Would that change how you do things?

What drives your passion?  What drives you to want to deliver excellent work?  Have you ever thought that all of the people you serve daily are here for a reason and that reason could be gigantic?  It’s a pretty simple concept, kind of like that thought about the butterfly whose wings start the winds that cross the earth but imagine the earth without those winds.  I believe we are all in a position to influence life-changing, world-changing things, but to do it we must raise our thinking about others to consider that they might be potential world changers and then serve them accordingly.  Everybody is here for a reason, and although we don’t know what it may be, it is high time to start acting in ways that recognize that.