ENDURE: July 12, 2013

Begin with the end in mind - legacy thinking.....  

  

   

What might you do differently if you knew that you only had a short time left?  What would you think about if you only had a few months or a year to live?  What would you be remembered for?  What will be the mark you leave? These are really tough questions, ones that most people don't want to think about (me included most of the time).....they are questions of "legacy".  Steven Covey, who authored the very famous "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and who coined the phrase "begin with the end in mind" (Habit #2) was fond of saying that some of the most basic human needs were to Live, Love, Laugh and Leave a Legacy......and that by beginning any action with the "end" in mind (answering what are we trying to accomplish and why) people are far more likely to get to their desired "end".

This week I had three very different conversations, all of which made me think about this.  The first was with my six year old, who by himself, on the way back from one of the activities he's involved with asked me "why are there people in the world who don't have any food?".  "Oh this should be easy" I thought...... And although my mind couldn't have been further from tackling world-hunger in six year old terms, I gave it a shot.  After covering a lot of ground (from agriculture and resources to poverty).....he simply replied "well if they don't have any food and can't afford it.....we should probably just give them some".  And although about all I could do was tell him that he was right before we pulled into the driveway, I've been thinking about that conversation for two days wondering how I can make it as simple and clear for myself as it was for Andrew: "when it's needed, we should just give more"

Yesterday, as I stood on the side of the road discussing some prevention tactics with a group I had visited, one face that I didn't recognize began to tell me a story of a nearly 1 year journey he'd been on because of a medical situation he had encountered.  It was a serious situation that had major impacts on his family and livelihood. He had been hospitalized for weeks and still wasn't 100%.......And although no one wants to go through such an ordeal, it was his positive outlook that struck me.  He wasn't locked into thinking about all of the negative that comes from a situation like this.....rather, he was explaining how different his perspective was now......how he was forced to realize what's really important in his life......and he was appreciative that the hard work of his care providers had given him the chance to see life differently.  I've heard so many stories like this one, when a circumstance in life causes a person to refocus and put the "end in mind".....and they bounce back with a new perspective and energy to live a full life.....and I always walk away thinking it would be great if that kind of perspective (without the trials perhaps) were more common.

Last, I was standing in BaseCamp31 (our facility) last night attending "Open Mic Night", which we host for the local community listening to a really fun high school rock band.  Sure it was a bit louder and more intense than the folksy acoustic groups we normally get, but they were putting their heart into it and the energy was contagious. I was standing in the back, straining to hear to one of the members of the Prevention Team who was also there (rock bands are loud).  She was telling me a story about a local family she knows and how the father was struggling with a terminal illness but that she was so impressed by them because they were fighting however they could.  Some members of the family were running marathons to raise funds for research, others were getting involved in advocacy efforts......they weren't taking it "all in stride", but rather, they were fighting back......they sounded like great people and I hope to meet them.......but the quote that stuck with her, and definitely with me was "our efforts might not be able to save this life (the father), but maybe we can help stop the disease and save others' lives".  Talk about a legacy.

We're almost 1/2 way through July......past the midway point of another challenging year; and there are most certainly more challenges still ahead (there always are right?)......but maybe Dr. Covey had it right.  Maybe if we start each day with a few seconds of thinking about what we're REALLY doing......what we're REALLY after, we realize that some of the challenges we face today are really just well-disguised opportunities.....chapters in our own story that are just waiting to be written......may we all have the clarity and will to write a great story.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.