What will be said at your funeral?

Ever wonder what will be said at your funeral? It's not a topic that I think of often, but it's on my mind today. A friend and close neighbor, Mike DeLeo, died last week from a 7 month battle against stomach cancer. He was only 46 years old, leaving a wife and three kids (junior in high school, 8th grade, and 1st grade). Clearly this was a life taken too early.

I was asked by the family to deliver the eulogy for Mike. I was up until 2:00am this morning trying to distill 46 years of life down to 10 minutes or less. I delivered it earlier today to a couple hundred family members and friends gathered to honor him.

Why do I tell you all this? This blog is about leadership in the real world, and in the real world we have no guarantees to see tomorrow morning. A key leadership competency is decision-making, and the decisions we make today have ramifications down the road.

Most likely someone some day will be trying to boil down your life into 10 minutes or less. What will they say?

My kids and I have been enjoying the Back to the Future trilogy recently. Each movie clearly shows that present decisions influence future reality. Unlike the movie, there are no do-overs for us. Let me use this tragic loss of my friend Mike as a wake up call for you to make decisions today that lead you to the difference you want to make tomorrow.

FYI: Here's what I said about Mike

posted by Andy at 9:30 PM