Passion for Significance

One thing seems common to all human beings: a passion for significance.  I've never met anyone who wanted to be insignificant.  Everyone wants to count, to know that what he or she does each day isn't simply a means of making a living, but "a living of making meaning".    -Mark Sanborn, The Fred Factor

The key part to take note of in the above quote is a living of making meaning.  Regardless of who are what you are its important to realize that the way that you conduct yourself in business and in life in general isn't about you. Its about people that you interact with and what you do to improve their lives.  This is what being a 'Fred' is all about.  The Fred Factor is about not just doing your job or living your life the way its expected of you.  Its about making it your own.

Mark starts out talking about the first Fred, his US Postal Service mail carrier.  A man named Fred who took every chance he had to make sure that Mark recieved his mail but also that Mark and his home remained safe. To do this Fred would put Mark's mail between the door and screen door of the house while Mark was out of town and hold whatever didn't fit until he returned so that it wouldn't appear as if no one was home for extended periods of time.

Fred immediately showed that he cared about Mark and built a relationship with him.

It left an impression on Mark and because of the book and the seminars in which he used stories of this unique individual, Fred has influenced many people.  Its left an impression on me and has opened me to look at how I can be a Fred in someone elses life.

The most recent example of a Fred in my own life is a man named Gary.  This past winter my car ran pretty well. I didn't have that many issues with it, outside of the ones that I caused myself,(doh!) but one particular night my car refused to start.  It was the coldest night of the entire winter, my battery was low (the one in the car too) and it was 2am in the morning.  Gary not only braved the cold to help me get it started, he let me borrow his car until the next morning so that I could go about my business.  And that wasn't even the end of it.  The next day after we both had some sleep I picked him up, with his car, and we sought to tend to my stubborn car.

In the end we got the car started but the act of kindness that Gary showed was well worth the frustration I had over my car.

Be a Fred and spread the infectious joy that results from it.

Has anyone ever shown such kindness to you?  If so, feel free to tell the story in the comments below.