So, what if?  Isn’t it MetLife that has built a whole marketing campaign around the slogan, “for the ‘IF’ in life’?  In other words, just in case something were to happen to you have you considered the implications to your family?  Are you appropriately insured to provide for those closest to you?  It sure seems like this slogan would be better stated, “for the ‘What IF’ in life.”  People that know me the best know that I am the consummate contingency planner.  Although I’m not particularly proud of this it just seems to be part of my makeup to live in the world of the “what if.” It’s one of those characteristics however that has a double-edge to it.  On one hand it serves me well for thinking strategically about things.  On the other it causes me to burn up some serious and most often unnecessary energy trying to anticipate and plan for the unknown.  Sometimes I just think the answer lies in having many of my “what if’s” become my “so what’s.”  But there is another “what if” that I believe carries the opportunity to be a real game changer for our life.  Think about this.  Each of us most likely has a calendar that is chocked full of appointments. After the end of each day we probably look back on the day and remark, “where did the time go?”  If we’re even more honest with ourselves we look back on those days that turn into weeks and then into months and wonder what we actually got accomplished with all of those appointments. Surely we moved the ball down the field but did we find a real sense of accomplishment?  Did we come away with a sense of purpose? So, what if? What if when we look at our calendar rather than see “1:30 – 2:30 meet with Bob to discuss 2011 Financial Budget” we were to see this in our mind’s eye, “1:30 – 2:30 love Bob…while there discuss 2011 Financial Budget?” What would the implications be to our life if our hearts were poised to lead with love and sought to first and foremost affirm the worth of the individual in our midst?  Don’t you think that at the end of any given day we would come away sensing that the day was much bigger than just a series of endless appointments? Do you think it’s possible that our work would no longer feel just like a job to us?  What keeps us from leading with love?  Is it a fear of rejection or having to risk the authenticity required to become more real, more human?  Perhaps the answer here as well is found in having our “what if’s” becoming our “so what’s.”  Peace.