Monday, July 3, 2017

To Play or Not To Play? Being a Part of Something Larger than Ourselves

Recently, at Deltek's annual conference, we were encouraged to help Deltek set a world's record. Four hundred and sixty-eight of us participated in creating a Guinness world record for the largest human image of a cloud.
Many times daily, we are given multiple opportunities "to play or not to play". Whatever decision is reached, it is my hope each of us will consider how to be a part of something larger than ourselves, in a good way.
One of my favorite quotes is "Trust yourself (and) create the kind of self you will be happy to live with all of your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement." For me, this is what Deltek was demonstrating, ... how to go from possibility to achievement, ... when they asked us to participate in setting a Guinness world record for the largest human image of a cloud. 
Deltek proclaims, "We did it! Congrats to all the Deltek Insight attendees, Deltek employees, The Gaylord National Hotel staff and others that jumped in on the fun and helped us set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS achievement at DeltekInsight!. We are now the title holders for the largest human image of a cloud, (all 468 of us)." #GWRDay and #DeltekInsight!
P. S. I took a minute to reflect on why I participated. It was certainly not for the certificate from Guinness or fame and fortune. ... It was just because they asked. ... I was there, physically able, the time was allotted, and I was felt I was part of something bigger than myself. ... As it turned out, it was also fun. The group was laughing and joking. There were a lot of smiles and selfies being taken. ... I am glad I chose to play and can now celebrate in the achievement.
When I looked about the conference break area where the event was happening, many were standing on the sidelines, choosing not to play or participate. It made me wonder why. I mean, after all, they would have contributed to making the record even larger and they were already present. Was it because they felt the idea was embarrassing, maybe it is hard to embrace their inner child, or plastic raincoats make them feel claustrophobic, or they were not feeling well or it was not part of their job description or maybe they thought their business standing or respect would suffer? ... Regardless, they chose not to play. For them, it stayed only a possibility.

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