How do you want to be remembered?
How do you want to be remembered?
This is what a friend mentioned on a Facebook post when I talked about what type of business they thought I would be good at. It was a question that Chris Guillebeau recommends to ask when you want to find out how people perceive your strengths and what they think you would be great at when trying to start a side hustle.
My friend’s response has stuck with me. More today than ever after I watched Matthew McConaughey’s speak at the White House.
He spoke with such grace and respect about the family and the victims. Unless you’re tinman, I’m not sure how you could watch that and not have some sort of emotional reaction. As he grew up Uvalde, it’s not surprising that he has strong invested interest in supporting those families who have went through hell in the past few weeks.
What resonated with me was that he wanted to share the victims hopes and dreams for the families and ensure that their wishes lived on and would be remembered. In the face of such tragedy and devastation, the families simply want to ensure that we all know that they wanted to be when they grew up, how they wanted to spend time with family, and take care of their home so they could live there for many years.
I’m not stranger to death. Losing my father at a young age and my best friend months later taught me that we aren’t always gifted the time we need. That our plans may change for us and not by us. That the world around us can be unfair, difficult and rough. It’s all relative I realize that, but all I can speak is about my own experience.
We’re often told that life is a series of ups and downs. Highs and lows. This is to be expected and if we want to have any lasting memory, I wish for us to all make the tough decisions that lean us towards the type of memory we want to leave with people. Sharing laughter, adventures, stories, a beautiful glass of wine and so much more.
In these 44 years on earth, and 26 years without my father and my best friend, I've leaned that the only choice you have is to live the most authentic life possible. To make the best decisions you possibly can that align with your values and ethics. To be bold enough to walk away when you need to and to take chance on yourself, as we know the only person that’s really going to bet on you, is you.
One thing that stood out today in the White House conference was a quote from Matthew’s speech. I’m going to be thinking about this one for a while, and maybe it will offer you some insight too.
‘Trying to turn this moment into a reality’ – Matthew McConaughey
