A university professor, on the brink of retirement, asked me whether I would continue with my graduate studies. I responded that my heart wasn’t into it. He smiled and said you should only do something if it makes you come alive… and then tried pushing me to stick to magic.

Magic was something I loved, but not enough to make me jump out of bed in the morning.

That’s when I turned the conversation on him.

He taught grade one, high school and then made the journey to being a professor.

Looking back, his greatest moment was teaching grade one. Why?

“At the end of the year, I taught kids how to read.”

In regards to being a university professor:

“If you think you can change the world with an essay, then go ahead and become a professor.”

We think of success in how high we can climb, but as this professor reflected, real success is in the impact you’ve had on people.

Yes, you can certainly do that as a professor… and many have… but the most underappreciated people are the ones making the biggest impact on our future.