“A first rate man should be willing to take at least some difficult jobs with a high chance of failure.”  ~ Charles Munger

As you expand and grow as an individual through your personal development work, you’ll find yourself getting a life. It means you’re now climbing Maslow’s Hierarchy and have moved far beyond survival mode. Perhaps you have the inclination to try something else. I’d like to suggest carving out a portion of your time and dedicating it to public service. 

There are any number of opportunities for passionate people with leadership skills. Possibilities might range from animal shelters, scouts or other youth organizations, workshops for the handicapped, school boards, and any number of additional local government boards. 

The political arena was my particular choice, therefore, I will focus on that. For many, politics (even small-town local politics) has a repugnant feel to it. However, if you don’t think politics a worthy endeavor, consider the state of many third world countries. Corrupt police, raw sewage flowing down streets, and varying degrees of chaos every direction will tell you very quickly that the quality of government is important. 

That said, make sure you understand some difficult and undesirable facts before jumping into the politics pond. You WILL be criticized both publicly and privately. You WILL find yourself in the newspaper and social media. You WILL be the butt of jokes. You WILL suffer public defeats. At times, you’ll want to pull your hair out at a meeting, then go home and drink heavily. Then finally, at some point, be ejected from office. 

It’s all happened to me. However, I think it was worth it. In any organization or community, there’s a small group of people that make things happen. If good things for a community are going to occur, then competent people with a backbone need to be sitting at the table.

Fortunately, I’ve been at the table and did my part to bring about many community successes.  Two of those accomplishments include bringing a large unique set of playground equipment specifically designed for the handicapped into our park system. In addition, we worked to develop a trail around our community lake. A trail that is regularly visited by walkers, joggers, bikers and those in wheelchairs. 

I did nothing on my own but was privileged to be among the spokes in the wheel that made this happen. Good things don’t fall out of the sky and good communities don’t spontaneously happen. It will involve difficult conversations, pain, work and setbacks. But, I can tell you the satisfaction is tremendous when I see a wheelchair bound person using the trail or the playground equipment being put to good use. 

For me, the challenges of the political arena were worth the significant and permanent upgrades and forward progress in my small community. I encourage you to find some type of public service you’re passionate about, then get involved.

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”  ~ The Diary of Anais Nin