By Marissa Levin, CEO of Information Experts

How engaged are you in building a bigger and better future for you, your company, your family, our world?

That was one of the questions I pondered as I absorbed every word that Matthew Kelly delivered at a recent Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) event. Kelly is a master organizational consultant to several Fortune 500 organizations on the issue of employee engagement. He is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller “Off-Balance” and “The Dream Manager.” Kelly led 125 entrepreneurs through the thought-provoking exercise of questioning our own engagement, as well as the engagement of those around us, such as our employees.

“Everything built in history has been built by people who think the future will be bigger than the past,” said Kelly. “Employees don’t always think that. Employee engagement follows a spectrum. On one side you have employees that are fully and passionately engaged. Then it continues to 80 percent, 60 percent, 40 percent, 20 percent, and then finally to the Q&S employees: those that Quit and Stay. They quit but they don’t tell anyone. These employees are completely disengaged, toxic, and destructive. Imagine the damage that a disengaged employee could do with your top customer.”

Those that live an engaged life are excited about a bigger future. This doesn’t just apply to work. It applies to our relationships with our spouses, children, friends, extended family, and communities. In every aspect of our lives, we are either constantly engaged or disengaged.

Those that are disengaged are those that don’t believe the future will be bigger and brighter.  They don’t believe they have control over the outcome. These are the people that don’t show up to vote in an election because they believe their one vote won’t make a difference, or that a change in leadership won’t make a difference. These are the people who skip their workouts or choose not to change unhealthy habits because they feel that one minor change can’t make a big impact.