C ontrary to what the major media may have us believe, good news does sell. And what's more, people not only want to read good news; they want to write about it as well. At a recent national writers and editors conference, we were flooded with dozens of story ideas from journalists after they saw a PowerPoint presentation on the magazine. (For tips on how to jazz up your own talks with PowerPoint, check out the Technology column on page 15.)

One writer said, “Thank you for reminding me why I got into this business in the first place.” Some people think I’m kidding when I say I came to The Rotarian because as a hard-news reporter, I got tired of hanging out with the people who were causing the problems and instead wanted to spend some time with the people solving them. But it’s actually the truth.

A lot of us start out in life with grand plans to do something great in our work and a sincere desire to change the world for the better. And then something happens. It’s called life. In the rush to get ahead in our careers so we can make the mortgage, get that promotion, run that business, or cover tuition for our kids – well, sometimes we lose sight of our more youthful desires. And we forget to take the long view of not just what we’re doing but why we’re doing it.

Invariably, something unexpected happens in our lives, and for many of us it’s a wake-up call. It could be a death or a birth, or something not even that dramatic. It adds up to a moment of epiphany and the realization that in the grand scheme of things, our time here is a gift. But we realize it’s limited, and that rekindles our desire to do something really constructive in the world.

At least that’s what I hear a lot of Rotarians saying over and over again. They say they’ve spent a lot of time building successful careers, and now it’s time to give back. They give back in so many different ways in nearly every corner of the world.

For some, a vocational service project might be the perfect choice. The beauty of these projects is that when we share our professional expertise, especially with the young, we can not only help energetic youth meet their career aspirations but also boost their altruistic dreams. Then they can carry on where we left off and ultimately create even better good news.