I hadn’t heard these inspiring words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., until today, but they are already among my favorites of the quotes attributed to him.

If you want to be important — wonderful. If you want to be recognized — wonderful. If you want to be great — wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve … You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

I like the refreshing take on the “greatest among you shall be least” citation from the Bible. I’ve always taken that to mean that being selfish will leave you empty or diminished somehow, or even that you’ll receive the smallest portion at God’s table (whatever that may mean). The way Dr. King describes it turns that notion on its ear: He says instead that by serving, you will reach your ultimate potential. People are at their best, Dr. King points out, when they are helping others. It’s not so much that you will be punished for stockpiling whatever you can gather, it’s that ultimately you will be missing out on the best reward: the satisfaction of making contributions that benefit someone beyond yourself.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting things or desiring success and recognition. Despite all that we can collect, though, we are at our finest — and we are most fulfilled — when we are reaching out, not taking in. Thanks, Dr. King.

My first thought upon reading this article was, “Does he really want to be in the Guinness Book that badly?” I’m encouraged to see that George Hood of Aurora, Illinois, who apparently broke the world record for riding a stationery bike on Saturday, used the feat to raise money for an organization that helps families of slain police officers. That’s a wonderful and worthy cause for anyone to ride a bike for 85 hours. Even better, he may have given the biggest donation in the organization’s history:

Hood hoped the feat would help raise thousands of dollars for the Illinois chapter of COPS, an organization that helps the families of slain police officers. Illinois COPS president Jennifer Morales has said Hood could be the largest single fundraiser the local group has had. Baron said Hood raised $25,000 for the group – $5,000 more than his goal.

Congratulations to Mr. Hood on achieving his goals, physical and philanthropic.

I wonder why people are so compelled to earn world records. I understand the desire for excellence when it comes to athletic or artistic achievements because those pastimes are widely followed and performed by a large population of people. In other words, holding a world record in track is significant because millions of people around the world run on a regular basis. Holding such a world record means that very likely no one, or at the least a very small number of people, can surpass your effort at that activity. That is an accomplishment to savor, no doubt.

I have no interest in diminishing Hood’s achievement because it is remarkable, but it’s important to note that he did not technically ride for 85 consecutive hours. For those of you wondering how he went to the bathroom, here’s your answer: “Hood took a few brief power naps along the way. Guinness Book rules allow a five-minute break for every completed hour of cycling.”

Nonetheless, I could not match Hood’s achievement without a serious period of conditioning training, and I have zero desire to try. Nicely done, George! [Image: AP via CNN.com]