MOTIVATION – A Life Worth Remembering

MOTIVATION –  A Life Worth Remembering


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2011

I’m an avid 94.7 Highveld radio listener and even (and perhaps more so at this time of the year) as the question is asked by the DJ’s, I am conscious of my own decision to ‘make a difference’.  Before I go any further, let me tell you the question that all of the DJ’s are asking – it is “Are you making a difference?”

Augustine of Hippo said “The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering”.

Think about it for a moment – why are we actually on this planet?  The truth of the matter is that we are born, we pay taxes (well some of us do) and then we die and there is nothing that we can take out of this world except for the name that we have made for ourselves.  The name that we take out of this world is determined by the manner in which we have lived our lives, what we have achieved and the difference we have made (good or bad).

Sadly millions of people have passed into obscurity, never to be remembered or even thought of.  People who lived mundane lives, never adding anything of value to the world that they came into.

For me, I guess, it is about striving to leave my little corner of the world a little bit better than it was when I arrived in it.

Have I achieved this – I suppose I have to a certain extent.  Will I ever achieve it to the extent of my potential?  Who knows – I certainly will give it my best shot though!

What I do know for sure though, is that life would be pretty meaningless for me, if I did not continue to try.  If I just stopped giving back and just took what I could get.  Just the thought of a life like that makes me realize that I would have lost my purpose and that for me, a life without purpose would be a life without meaning.

So I try and live each day to the full.  I try and make a difference to ensure that my world, such as it is, is a little better or even just a little different to the day before.  As I look around me in wonder at all the beauty that still does exist in the world today, I know that I am not alone in my quest.

I know that I will be remembered – the question of course now, is will you?

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za