PART ll
Relationships with family and friends.
There is nothing more important in a life than family and friends. Sometimes people have a tendency to take them for granted. Barbara Bush said in a commencement address that when your last deal is done it is your family that will still there beside you.
Lee Corso, the former football coach at Indiana University and now a TV analyst, once related the story of his firing from Indiana. He was out of town on a speaking engagement when his wife called him and told him that she had heard on the radio that he had been fired. He said that even though the firing of coaches is a routine matter today, it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. Don't ever underestimate the human animals ability to hurt. He said that when you are in that position, you quickly understand that the only people that really care, live at your house.
The same is true for friends. When you have a friend that you have had for life, you may have a tendency to take the friendship for granted. You have invested five or ten years in a relationship, through all of its ups and downs. All of a sudden you wake up and find you have known the person for twenty-five or more years. You have shared many of life's experiences together. A friend takes on new importance. The primary difference between family and friends is that you can choose your friends, but not your relatives.
People often wonder what a person that knows they are going to be in a plane crash thinks before the crash. The thought often reported was " How are my relationships?" They are not thinking about the appointment or business deal they are going to miss. Always try to keep your relationships in order as best as you can every day. Any day may be your last day.
Disappointments and set backs are part of life.
Every life and career has disappointments and set backs. It is part of every life. It is not the falling down, it is in the getting up and pushing ahead. There is only one failure in life and that is suicide. Suicide means you have given up completely. When you are in difficult times, work to continue to move forward. Keep in mind that this too will pass --- and it will.
When you are disappointed or experience a personal or career set back, it is not easy. You feel anger and disappointment. This is the normal human reaction. All loss must be mourned. Go ahead and feel anger for a while, and then get on with your life. The only thing hate and anger does is hurt you, not the person at which it is directed. You have value as an individual. Your life and your success can only be defined by you and only you.
Make a difference in whatever you do.
This applies to your business as well as your personal life. You can always tell the people who have made a difference because they are always remembered fondly in the telling and retelling of stories about them.
At a NACUFS meeting (National Association of College and University Foodservice) I attended, a group of foodservice directors from the South were sharing lunch and stories. They had worked together at one time. The subject turned to southern cooking. After the obligatory discussion of the merits of grits to the diet, talk turned to Fred. One director said, " You remember old Fred don't you? That Fred, now that man could cook some southern fried chicken. You know Fred died last year. Yep, had a stroke and died. I gave a eulogy at his funeral. Yep, that Fred he could cook some chicken."
Isn't that a wonderful tribute to this simple college cook who loved and had pride in what he was doing. There could be no better tribute to the man in his death than to be remembered for doing his life's work well. Did anyone ever tell him what a great job he was doing when he was alive? Fred made a difference in people's life because he cooked great chicken and was remembered fondly at a national meeting of the professional foodservice managers in Cincinnati, Ohio, long after his passing.
There may be one more factor in a living a meaningful life, and that is belief that there is a greater being and things happen for a reason.
To quote Rabbi Kushner, "When you have learned how to live, life itself is the reward."
Have a nice day!
Sam
There is nothing more important in a life than family and friends. Sometimes people have a tendency to take them for granted. Barbara Bush said in a commencement address that when your last deal is done it is your family that will still there beside you.
Lee Corso, the former football coach at Indiana University and now a TV analyst, once related the story of his firing from Indiana. He was out of town on a speaking engagement when his wife called him and told him that she had heard on the radio that he had been fired. He said that even though the firing of coaches is a routine matter today, it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. Don't ever underestimate the human animals ability to hurt. He said that when you are in that position, you quickly understand that the only people that really care, live at your house.
The same is true for friends. When you have a friend that you have had for life, you may have a tendency to take the friendship for granted. You have invested five or ten years in a relationship, through all of its ups and downs. All of a sudden you wake up and find you have known the person for twenty-five or more years. You have shared many of life's experiences together. A friend takes on new importance. The primary difference between family and friends is that you can choose your friends, but not your relatives.
People often wonder what a person that knows they are going to be in a plane crash thinks before the crash. The thought often reported was " How are my relationships?" They are not thinking about the appointment or business deal they are going to miss. Always try to keep your relationships in order as best as you can every day. Any day may be your last day.
Disappointments and set backs are part of life.
Every life and career has disappointments and set backs. It is part of every life. It is not the falling down, it is in the getting up and pushing ahead. There is only one failure in life and that is suicide. Suicide means you have given up completely. When you are in difficult times, work to continue to move forward. Keep in mind that this too will pass --- and it will.
When you are disappointed or experience a personal or career set back, it is not easy. You feel anger and disappointment. This is the normal human reaction. All loss must be mourned. Go ahead and feel anger for a while, and then get on with your life. The only thing hate and anger does is hurt you, not the person at which it is directed. You have value as an individual. Your life and your success can only be defined by you and only you.
Make a difference in whatever you do.
This applies to your business as well as your personal life. You can always tell the people who have made a difference because they are always remembered fondly in the telling and retelling of stories about them.
At a NACUFS meeting (National Association of College and University Foodservice) I attended, a group of foodservice directors from the South were sharing lunch and stories. They had worked together at one time. The subject turned to southern cooking. After the obligatory discussion of the merits of grits to the diet, talk turned to Fred. One director said, " You remember old Fred don't you? That Fred, now that man could cook some southern fried chicken. You know Fred died last year. Yep, had a stroke and died. I gave a eulogy at his funeral. Yep, that Fred he could cook some chicken."
Isn't that a wonderful tribute to this simple college cook who loved and had pride in what he was doing. There could be no better tribute to the man in his death than to be remembered for doing his life's work well. Did anyone ever tell him what a great job he was doing when he was alive? Fred made a difference in people's life because he cooked great chicken and was remembered fondly at a national meeting of the professional foodservice managers in Cincinnati, Ohio, long after his passing.
There may be one more factor in a living a meaningful life, and that is belief that there is a greater being and things happen for a reason.
To quote Rabbi Kushner, "When you have learned how to live, life itself is the reward."
Have a nice day!
Sam
1 comment:
Having recently gone through a change in careers I more fully appreciate this entry. You couldn't be more right when talking about disappointment. Best to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going. Your words rang very true for me!
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