I had the privilege of hearing David Brooks speak recently, and his message inspired this post.
We spend our lives focused on what we do, our title, our productivity, how busy we are, using all the fancy words, and trying to sound refined and sophisticated and successful….and successful…and successful….
And then people gather to remember us.
No one says the word productivity.
No one says our job title.
No one mentions how successful we were at improving employee engagement in Q3 of 2014.
Instead, if we had put any time into it…
they remember our volunteerism.
they remember our kindness.
they remember how we routinely reached out to take care of others before we took care of ourselves.
they remember our impact in our respective houses of worship.
they remember how we were there for our friends.
and they remember our character.
It’s puzzling to me that the most important things in life…only seem to matter in death.
How do you feel about resume virtues and eulogy virtues?
Thanks for being here.
Jay
Pic: Randy Hain