To live in the hearts one leaves behind

Point to Ponder:

“All those honors are great, but personally I would ask that anyone who wants to pay tribute to me, for any reason, I would say there is one thing you could do above everything else and that is: Never let a day go by where you neglect to tell your loved ones that you love them.” - Walter Payton, one of the greatest human beings and one of the top ten American football players of all time.

Story Line:

In this FR, I would like to share a story about people and an event that has influenced my career and life in a significant way. The message is relevant for all time but especially more so important in current times.

The story is about three executives of high technology industry, my superiors in the first job, two of them were in their early 50s and the third in late 50s. All of them had very successful careers; one of them was a General Manager and President of the Fortune Fifty company; the honor accomplished by the time he was 38 years old. The other person was head of manufacturing and the third person was the CEO of a company in Asia. For whatever reason, two of them often told me stories from history or their life and career experiences. The practical lessons I learnt from those stories are something not taught in any schools or normal training classes. Additionally they had been very kind and helped me in many other ways in career and personal life*.

It was the first week of March in 1984 (25 years ago). I had met two of them in a party in previous week and the third one for dinner on the 8th. As in the past, they shared some reflections from their career but on that occasion they talked a lot more about their families. The memories of those evenings and every piece of conversation are still fresh in my mind. Each one of them told me that they planned to retire in 2-5 years. They shared some of the things they planned to do in retirement. They also said that they had taken time off on that Friday to go fishing outside Golden Gate Bridge towards the north of San Francisco.

On the following Sunday morning, I got a call from a friend. He asked me if I had read the newspaper. Those three people whom we knew dearly and respected immensely were missing at sea. They never returned.

That event and those great individuals made a huge impact on me in shaping my life and career that followed. “To live in the hearts one leaves behind is not to die.”

Reflection: 

The reflections that two of those three individuals had shared had similar message as contained in the following paragraph from "Never Die Easy", the autobiography of Walter Payton. 

Make everyday count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have a right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you. You can make your life anything you wish. I hope my story is at least the example of that. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

Most important thing though, if you love someone, tell him or her, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store. Remember, tomorrow is promised to no one.

___________________________

* http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/10/in-asia-most-of.html

Comments

[Anand Shah]

Slight Correction: one of them was General Manager and President of the division of Fortune Fifty company, not the entire company. I missed the word division in my story. Anand

[Takahashi]

Conditions very stressful now. Job lost not under control, but family lost then everything gone. Stress cannot go to children.

[Nanseng]

Great story, Anand. I also listened to a web audio today, reminding me that we should never live like a bag of bunch of chemical reactions.

[Ed]

Hard to forget a day like that and the impact on our lives. I, too, remember that Sunday when I got the call. Thanks for sharing. Ed

[Tom]

The message is clear: Do not wait for someday. Make every day count. Live balanced life.

[(sent by a friend)]

Yr FR message reminded me of Brian Dyson’ speech :

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling
some five balls in the air.

You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit
- and you're keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball.
If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other
four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass.
If you drop one of these, they will be
irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even
shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that
and strive for balance in your life.

[Vishwa]

Kal Ho Na Ho. Very inspiring and relevant. Thanks

[Sandy]

What is the meaning of Kal Ho Na Ho?

[Jason]

Gandhi had a teaching that said something like this---One cannot fo well in one area of life when not doing well in other. life is one indivisible whole.

[Randy]

This article hits home. I have been contemplating retirement for seven years. Waiting for stocks to go up but that went other way while I lost oportunities to do thhings I had long planned. Thanks for taking your personal time in carving out these stories for our benefit. You are doing a great service through your passion to make a difference and you are

[FR team]

To Sandy;
The meaning of Kal Ho Na Ho: The time that is here may not be there tomorrow.

or Tomorrow may not come.