Last week a Q2 client tragically passed away. It was an unexpected medical event. A client in his fifties, with dependent children and a business to run.
It was a shock for everyone.
And it triggers careful consideration about what is important – what is success and a life well lived?
Business takes a large chunk of our time and energy. We sometimes measure success by the dollars in the bank or the number of employees on the payroll. But as the saying goes – “no one on their death bed ever wishes they spent more time in the office”.
With the Covid-19 pandemic threatening the financial livelihoods of many it is easy to lose touch with the most important things… energy, fun, friendship, kindness, love, joy, and indeed life itself.
The loss of a business or a livelihood is very difficult. But the loss of life is final.
Your legacy is so much more than the financial wealth you leave behind.
No matter where you and your business are sitting on the spectrum of success or failure, if you have breath in your body then you are a success.
If you have staff, clients, family or friends who love you and would mourn your passing, then you are a success.
If you leave the world a slightly better place than when you entered it then you are a success.
It is the small things that make a life well lived. The memories created. Laughter and love shared. Passion and failure(s). The striving and the mundane. Taking time to smell the flowers, watch the sun rise, or share a hug.
If you live on in the hearts and minds of others then you are a success.
I suspect many of us under-estimate our power to touch the lives of others – it’s our real legacy to humanity.