For the past year or so, I’ve used Fridays as an opportunity to post inspirational, feel good stories to Facebook. It was my way of offsetting some of the more negative posts that a lot of us tend to inundate our feeds with throughout the week. I am as, if not more, guilty in this…though I like to think of mine as discussion starters :)The title of the posts grew out of a line from the movie “Dave.” For those of you not familiar, it’s a flick about an actor (Kevin Kline…who I met on the set of Saturday Night Live years ago…tall man) who impersonates a corrupt president who had a stroke. Dave (Kline’s character) has a day job as a temp agency owner who believes that anyone who wants to work should be able to work.
Dave: If you’ve ever seen the look on somebody’s face the day they finally get a job, I’ve had some experience with this, they look like they could fly. And its not about the paycheck, it’s about respect, it’s about looking in the mirror and knowing that you’ve done something valuable with your day. And if one person could start to feel this way, and then another person, and then another person, soon all these other problems may not seem so impossible. You don’t really know how much you can do until you, stand up and decide to try.
For some reason, that quote got stuck in my head (along with a ton of other useless information that serves no apparent purpose). But this one did end up serving a purpose. It makes me want to be a better person. It makes me want to highlight people who go above and beyond what is expected of them in today’s society. And I hope it makes others want to do the same thing.That’s what inspired “Because On Fridays We Inspire.” Until now, it’s been a single, weekly post by one person. But I think it could be bigger.
We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light…We all have something to give. – President George H. W. Bush, 1989 Inaugural Address
So, here’s what I’d like to do — and it involves each of you: Every Friday, use your first Facebook status update to highlight a story of inspiration you’ve heard or read about. Headline it like I do with an all-caps BECAUSE ON FRIDAYS WE INSPIRE. Encourage your Facebook friends to do the same (or, at the very least, share your first Friday post).President Bush pushed for a thousand points of light. I think we can highlight millions of them.
(Image via Creative Commons. photosteve 101)
Mike Maney 