You love me... You really love me!

As I was reading one of my fav. blogs today something that the author said struck a thought or rather peaked my curiosity to think more about a deeper question. He talked about how he had just reached his thirtysomething birthday and was thinking about the milestones he had or had not reached yet. The comment that struck with me was when he said "I need to somehow make my mark on the world." You hear that comment often from many people, and I just wonder what is the ratio of those who actually want to make an impact on the world without much public recognition but for the benefit of doing something for the greater good, as oppose to those who want to make their mark on the world in a way that just gains them popularity and praise from everyone else? Do you give in charity (be that monetary or giving of your personal time) just to have others tell you how generous you are, or for the tax deduction? Are you the type of person who would give a friend the money to save his home from getting foreclosed, but always constantly remind him and others how you saved him from losing his home? I think some level of vanity exists in everyone, but how much do you try to fight the negative connotations it can have? In addition to living my life and being successful for me and my family, I would love to be able to do many different forms of charity, relief work or invent something that will truly benefit the world; that is how I would like to make an impact on the world. But would I be happy still if no one other than those directly affected, know or care that I helped? How important is fame and notoriety to you when determining what you want to do with your life?

Clarification

Just thought I might give a little clarity on a previous post (How did I get to this point?). I gave a little info on my school background not to state how bright I was, because in no way am I claiming to be a genius, but rather because to the simple eye it seemed that initially I was destined to be a successful doctor or lawyer when I was younger. It's funny how you take things for granted thinking you have it all figured out, but most often in life you will go through many tests and challenges, sometimes taking many different roads. In the end you may end up where you want to be but sometimes you walk the path you need to be on and not the one you thought you would be on. I am not saying that you can't have dreams and goals, you may just achieve them in ways differently than how you expected. I believe that the Most High, our all-knowing Creator does not give us burdens that we cannot handle, and although I have always been taught that, it took a little more growing up for me to finally understand it. When I was younger whenever something did not go my way, I would get really upset or depressed about it, but recently in the last few years I try to approach set-backs differently. I try to understand how I can learn from the situation; how does it make me stronger? I also try to remember those who have less than what I have, and I try to remind myself that after hardship, will eventually come ease...