[Vision2020] What Matters

[Tom Hansen]

Greetings Visionaires -

As I have mentioned several times before, I subscribe to the "Joke of the
Day" email.  Every once in a while "Joke of the Day" provides comments of
insight.  One such comment was received today.

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What Matters

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more
sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether
treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else. 

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will
not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments,
frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes,
ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire. 

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't
matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the
end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your
gender and skin color will be irrelevant. 

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured? 

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got
but what you gave. What will matter is not your success but your
significance. What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught. 

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or
sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your
example. What will matter is not your competence but your character. 

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a
lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories but the
memories that live in those who loved you. What will matter is how long you
will be remembered, by whom and for what. 

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of
circumstance but of choice.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom "Choosing Substantiality Over Superficiality" Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails." 
- Unknown