Live! Learn! Love!

Life Goes On

Issue #76

What would you do with your life if you knew that you would live forever or at least as long as the universe exists? Would you still write? Or paint? Or sing? Start a new business? Would you obtain a hundred college degrees? Write a thousand novels? Paint a million paintings? What would you study? History? Science? Religion? Literature? Why would you study? For knowledge? For wisdom? Why would you create anything? You would outlive the shelf life of any novel you wrote or painting you painted.

Does the fact that we know we will die influence what we do in life? What would you do if you were told that you had only six months to live? Spend time with your loved ones? Withdrawal from those around you? Finish that great American novel you have worked on for thirty years? Travel the world and see all the places that you have wanted to visit?

There are only 24 hours in any given day. What did you do with the last 24 hours? What are you going to do with the next 24 hours? Are you focused on what is important to you? Or are you procrastinating? Do you believe that there will always be a tomorrow? If you don't have time today, maybe mañana? We choose how we spend every minute of the 1440 minutes we are given daily. What choices are you making? Are they the right choices?

In the fall of 1967, I was a freshman in college and felt the world was about to end. The Vietnam War raged on, and riots were occurring in the streets of big cities. The world was burning, and I was convinced that it would all be over in five years. But like Frost, I have learned that life does go on.

Some people today feel the world is about to end. We face economic upheaval and poverty, political corruption and stalemate, religious hatred, and global warming. Will the world still be here in five years? I have learned that life goes on. Or, in the words of another cliche, this too shall pass.

Don't despair because another publisher rejected your writing, an art gallery refused to carry your work, or the bank did not give you a loan to start a new business. Life goes on. This, too, shall pass.

When Robert Frost was 86, he was asked to read a poem at the 1961 inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. He was the first poet to read at a presidential inauguration. In January of 1963, he died from complications of prostate surgery. In November 1963, Kennedy was assassinated. Some thought it was the end of the world, but life goes on.

How do you define success? Many define success as wealth and fame, but these are illusory and short-lived. Just think of the stories you have read about rich people who are now homeless.

I think Maya Angelou is on the right track when she says that success is about liking and loving yourself and what you do. As creative leaders, we may never have fame or fortune, but if we like what we do, we are truly blessed. Do you love what you do? Do you enjoy creative work? Most creative leaders will answer that they do love what they do. The more difficult question is: Do you like yourself?

Happiness is accepting who you are, no matter what the warts, scars, and pimples. Some people live a lifetime and never learn to like themselves. We are all human, and we have all made mistakes. Maya Angelou describes many of the challenges and mistakes of her life in her six autobiographies, including her rape at age eight as well as working as a teenage prostitute.

In 2011, President Barack Obama presented Maya Angelou with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. At her death, Angelou was a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, actress, and filmmaker. Dr. Angelou has received over 30 honorary degrees.

Have you learned to like yourself? To accept who you are and from where you have come? True success is about loving oneself.

Plant seeds of hope in the hearts of others!

Thank you for reading. Have a fantastic week.