Motivational Monday #18

With everything that’s going on in the world today, it’s so easy to begin to think “I am just one person so how can I really do anything to change this world for the better?”

Most people decide early on that as just one person, they really can’t do anything that will make a real impact on the world and they quit dreaming of how they can change the world (or in many cases, they quit dreaming all together!)

Unfortunately, what most people forget is that change in this world actually begins with just one person….

Alfred’s Story:  Why You Should Write Your Obituary Before You’re Dead

In Chapter 4 of The Unemployed Millionaire, I share this powerful story about a gentleman named Alfred from Stockholm, Sweden:

Although Alfred was tutored at home, he was mostly self-educated. He was an avid reader of literature and became fluent in several languages including English, French, Russian, German, and Swedish. More importantly, he also became a chemist.

Alfred soon began experimenting with nitroglycerin and received a Swedish patent for a detonator dubbed the “Nobel Lighter.” He soon set up a factory near Stockholm to manufacture nitroglycerin. Unfortunately, nitroglycerin is dangerous to handle and Alfred’s factory blew up in 1864, killing Alfred’s younger brother, Emil.

The explosion did not slow Alfred down, however. Within just a month, he organized other factories to manufacture nitroglycerin. Three years later, Alfred combined nitroglycerin with an inert substance that made the explosion safer to handle and store. This new, safer explosive was Alfred’s invention, which he called dynamite.

Despite being a pacifist, Alfred saw his invention used for war. In 1888, Alfred’s brother Ludvig died in France. When Alfred read the obituary in a French newspaper, his grief turned to dismay. Instead of reading his brother’s obituary, he found that he was reading his own obituary, which the newspaper had mistakenly printed!

“THE MERCHANT OF DEATH IS DEAD!” the headline proclaimed. Upon further reading, Alfred found that his obituary described him as a man who had simply gotten rich by making it easier  for people to kill each other.

Dismayed by what he had read, Alfred vowed that his real obituary would be far different than what the French newspaper had printed. Instead of a man who had become wealthy from the misery and suffering of others, Alfred decided his obituary would portray him as a man of peace who had used his wealth to benefit humanity.

When he died eight years later in 1896, Alfred had left more than $9,000,000 to fund awards for work that helped promote peace. You probably know Alfred best from the awards that are still given out today in his honor. They’re called Nobel Peace Prizes in honor of Mr. Alfred Nobel.

Alfred Nobel and 11-year old Maura’s “Just One Girl” film are proof that YOU matter and you do have the power to change the world for the better – no matter who you are or where you’re at in life.

How do you want to be remembered? Right now, you have the power to shape your own destiny and write your future obituary. What will it say? Only you can decide how you want your life to turn out.

To get more inspiration, motivation, and over $2,000 in bonus personal development materials, pick up a copy of my book, The Unemployed Millionaire here: http://www.MattMorris.com/book.

P.S. If you missed last week’s ‘Squirrely’ Motivational Monday, watch it here: Motivational Monday #17.