Emulating Martin Luther King by being bold, expansive, and magnetically service-oriented in life and work
If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, I think he’d be a “Magnetic Entrepreneur” like us.
A person who is “magnetic” is naturally charismatic and attractive and humble. She or he proactively effects change, and people respond profoundly to that energetic movement.
The life of Dr. King demonstrated all of these characteristics, illustrating what is possible and desireable in terms of a genuine commitment to social justice and to service.
I think what contributed to his tremendous influence in America (and in the world) was his bold, expansive commitment to progressive change — not just in people’s behavior but also in changing people’s mindset and belief systems.
His work and ministry in the tradition of Ghandi was truly transformative.
Today, we commemorate Martin Luther King and his legacy on this great National Day of Service (He was actually born on January 15). Though Congress declared it a National Day of Service in 1994, I have to say (embarrassingly) that I had no idea until just last year when Michelle and then President-Elect Barack Obama breathed new life into it again.
This year, Obama declared that Dr. King’s work remains unfinished.
However, the work of being of service is not Dr. King’s work. It’s OUR work.
In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a sermon called “The Drum major Instinct.” He described how all of us want to be important. We want to be recognized as great at who we are and what we do.
What stops people stepping out and demonstrating their greatness is they start comparing themselves to other people. They think they are just Plain Jane and that “being great” requires some special skill or talent.
The way of the Socially-Conscious Magnetic Entrepreneur knows this isn’t so.
In that now-famous sermon, Dr. King stated:
“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s ‘Theory of Relativity’ to serve. You don’t have to know the Second Theory of Thermal Dynamics in Physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be that servant.”
We have the opportunity to be bold, to be expansive, and to be committed to serving others — not just today, but incorporating this moral imperative in our daily lives…..seeking opportunities to serve in our families, in our neighborhoods and our communities, in our nation and our world.
Will you stand up and step out as expansive and BOLD in your life and in your business?
How will you do this?
When?
