I am safely home from my visit to Eastern Europe where I taught conversational English with a great group of people. We had a very good turnout for the school despite some difficulties with advertising. As you can tell by the picture, the weather was not exactly what we’re used to here in Georgia. This frozen waterfall was located in a park near the church where we taught our classes. It snowed for the first three days and, being from the South, all of the teachers felt compelled to have a big snowball fight between classes. Of course, this brought stern and suspicious looks from the locals, but they tolerated our childish playfulness. That is one of the things Americans are known for.
This trip was an affirmation of the fact that significance is far more rewarding than success. The students are given evaluation cards at the end of the classes where they have the opportunity to provide feedback on the school and their teachers. Countless students wrote that the school was one of the best experiences that they have had in their lives. Those that were returning from previous sessions talked about how much they look forward to the courses each time we visit. The classes provide an atmosphere that is a welcome respite from the environment to which they are accustomed.
In this particular country, people have not yet taken for granted the freedoms that we enjoy every day. They were tremendously thankful for the school and the teachers and continually made their hospitality apparent with gifts and gratitude. One of the most rewarding parts of the trip was simply seeing all of the smiling faces during our classes. In their culture, smiles are hard to come by – particularly in an academic setting. Just being part of an activity that brought so much happiness to these wonderful people was far more rewarding than the “successes” I achieved during my self-centered corporate life.
I encourage you to do something like this and truly experience significance. Stop thinking about your desires and how you can get ahead and spend some time fully invested in someone else’s interests. Given the right motivation, you may find that success isn’t that hard to give up.
