Countdown to The Superman Effect- 48 days

Magic moments are all around us if we slow down enough to notice them. Four years ago, I joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and became a big brother of an eight year old. For those of you that are not familiar with Big Brothers Big Sisters, your little brother or sister usually comes from a broken home where one of the parents is in prison. My little brother coincidentally was a mirror image of me as a child and I had no say in choosing him. He is not great at sports but loves archeology and space science. Like me as a child, he has a fascination with the story of the Titanic and can describe the design of the ship, the passengers on board and even the china that was used on that fateful day. He has an incredibly loving mother but life is challenging because of very low financial means. I have seen him as much as possible given my schedule with a full time job, completing an MBA and doing the best I could to help raise two daughters.

The first year we were together, not much happened and I questioned whether I was making an impact on his life. I felt as if I was just “fitting him in” to my schedule. Two hours at a time was all I could spare. After all, I had a family of my own. I knew how much he needed a male figure in his life, and I just figured, well I am better than nothing. Then came the day he revealed to me out of the blue his sole purpose in life. In many ways, this day was one of those defining moments I write about in The Superman Effect. He confided in me that his sole purpose in life was to help his mother. “I won’t go to College. I will start working as soon as I can to help my mom.” I spoke to him about the opportunities that College will give him. How smart he is and how much more he will be able to help his mother with a College degree. I spoke about human dignity and the respect he deserves. How special he is and how much I admire his commitment to his mother. You could see the light bulb go off. No one had talked to him yet about the importance of an education and of his intrinsic value as a human being. He has so little in the physical but his potential is endless.

Everything changed for him that day. You can tell that he started believing in himself at a higher level. The amazing thing is that I changed with him. As I was speaking to him, I was speaking to myself, reminding myself of my value and of my own commitment to my family (which he was now a part of).

My little brother became much more outgoing and even testified at the state capitol in front of legislators to introduce a bill naming the Colorado State Turtle. He has touched my life more than I will ever touch his. I truly believe that I played a small part in positively shaping his future and that he will accomplish great things. But the magic is in the recognition of the moment. Life can move so quickly but when you stop and look into a child’s eyes, a wondrous world is revealed. Change has taken place and you realize that there is no separation between you and the ones you love.

He knows about my decision to leave my job at the university and write a book. He had one question for me: "Can I go with you to book signings and help you?" Magic moments.