No, I do not believe I am dying soon. However, I am approaching the point in my life and career where I am considering how I want to be remembered, what I have accomplished, and what type a person I am.
Having interviewed numerous people in my life, I constantly seek to learn what makes them tick, what is their story. Typically, I go through a series of questions asking the interviewees what three adjectives certain people in their lives would use to describe them. I ask about their family, friends, boss, and even what a colleague that did not see eye to eye with them would say. I then ask what three adjectives they would want on their tombstone. I do this to get an idea of who they are and how they want to be remembered. I also ask them what their personal mission statement is. Many do not like this line of questioning during an interview, but it always leads to very interesting conversations about their goals and how they approach their work.
Even though I have done this hundreds of times with people and have written my own professional and personal mission statement, I have not put it all together from a retrospective lens. As I contemplate this and put my thoughts to paper, I am finding that it is becoming a blueprint for how I desire to live the rest of my life, what I hope to accomplish at work, and how I wish to be in relationship with others.
For those of us focused on change, transformation, and innovation, I believe this personal roadmap can keep us on track. Sure detours will occur, however, are they really detours? Undoubtedly, there will be failures, yet are they truly failures? What awaits me around the next corner is truly unknown, but is that really bad? As long as I have my compass defined and pointed in the direction that I seek, all will fall into place. Having such a sense of purpose, I must trust my ever evolving journey, my faith, and my relationship with others.
So yes, I want to write my eulogy, not to be read to others, but to be read to me.