Recently I had an opportunity at a real estate conference I was attending to hear from Pastor Amos Disasadiscuss the 7 things he hears the most as he comforts people at the end of their life. These really hit home with me because unfortunately two mentors of mine, Dave Jenks and David Garrett passed these last 30 days and I’ve been thinking a lot about the legacy they left. I thought I’d share these lessons, along with the raw notes to myself.
Choosing to be agreeable.
Notes: Going with the flow, letting other people’s agenda be yours, might make fewer waves but leaves a lot of regret along the way. Where am I being agreeable only to avoid something that needs to be addressed/said?
Confusing vision with an idea.
Notes: Ideas are born of boredom, a vision out of necessity. A vision empowers others to join the cause, an idea makes you look smart. How do I do a better job of discerning this? I have a tendency to flood others with ideas and I know that can cause overwhelm. I intend to do more sorting on my end.
Believing you got this all by yourself.
Notes: Pride weighs heavy and often comes with a steep price. Leaving my superman cape in the closet. Needs work.
Forgetting where you came from.
Notes: Our story does not define our future, but it informs our perspective, allows others to connect with us along the way, and keeps us grounded in humility. I’m confident in this one and yet could be more expressive about it.
Delaying inner peace to chase prosperity.
Notes: I now see how prosperity and inner peace are connected, namely finding harmony within one’s self must happen first before prosperity can be experienced. I’m more peaceful now than ever but I wonder, have I just organized external conditions into a place of ease making peacefulness easier right now? Or have I truly found inner peace regardless of external circumstances? That’s the goal.
Confusing pain with suffering.
Notes: I need to ponder this one for a while. Have I experienced real suffering in my life? Pain, for sure, but suffering? And can suffering actually be avoided by mastering inner peace? Should it be?
Assuming you’ll live to see all the results.
Notes: This hits me like a ton of bricks. I never thought about it that way, but yes, our good work today has a ripple effect, potentially for years to come. I think about my ancestors who immigrated from Europe, many generations ago, could they imagine my life now? I’m both comforted by this notion and troubled by it and getting more present to my desire to “see” my good work come to fruition.
