As I take today and mark another year on the earth, I reflect on more than a few things – not because this birthday marks a milestone or is significant in any real way – just because of where I am in general with life, career, etc.

As I think about where I am and look back, I consider a few key things:

• If money was no object and nobody else needed help I would spend all my time with my family doing things we love.
• If there were no bills I would quit my job and work on designing things that helped people.
• Reality can be frustrating, and I would much rather do things because I cared about doing them, rather than needing to do them to get paid.
• …more

As I really look closely at things, there is a thread tying many of these things together, and it’s this – I hope one day I find myself in a position to leave behind some work that has changed things in some way. Rather than just making things with limited uses, or temporary purposes, made of paper or things that end up in the trash (hopefully recycling bins), I hope I can leave behind some lasting impact for someone, or some cause.

On the plus side, I can look positively on an item from the recent past that I had almost forgotten about entirely. A few months back I had been selected to be on a list with some of my heroes, all who are dedicated to design for change and labeled as “role models” by an organization named, Creative for a Cause. An honor indeed – some of these folks are seriously heavy-hitters.