It’s A Sign

 Who doesn't love a good mystery?

I traveled to Wisconsin in mid-June to speak at a conference called Character . . . The Wisconsin Way put on by the Jefferson School District.  I flew in to Milwaukee and en route from the airport to the conference center, my brother Mark pointed out a very plain but simply powerful digital message on a billboard that reads: What Is The Content Of Your Character? It stayed there about six seconds and was gone. 

 When I inquired about it, Mark, who works as an account executive for Clear Channel Outdoor, said that he doesn't know who had sponsored the intrigue.

 After that day, I saw five more messages: Your Character Is Your Fate, What Service Can I Be?, Your Shadow Never Leaves You, It's Time To Be Better Citizens and my personal favorite, Find Yourself In The Service Of Others.  I liked this one so much, in fact, that I came home and put it on the marquee in front of our school.  And what would a campaign like this cost?  Mark told me that it would be somewhere between $150 and $300 per board per day to get that kind of outdoor advertising exposure.

 These mystery messages made from neon-green letters on a stark black background not only caught my eye but piqued my curiosity: Who is behind this creative campaign for character? The Foundation For a Better Life? The Character Education Partnership? The Josephson Institute Of Ethics? The Character Development Group?  A Philanthropist With A Little Extra Money? 

 Or does it really matter? If it works as a way to encourage some personal reflection, to get people to think and wonder, to spur someone into action, to maybe even make this world a better place today than it was yesterday, then it's a sign, a sign that made an impact and that's all I need to know.