What is one's legacy...

TUE=Busy Day

This is a weird week near the end the end of month eleven in the "no dumb job journey."  Tuesday I have several commitments; 1) visit my doctor who makes me feel good about irreversible aging and provides encouragement and hope for everything else 2) my third haircut in eleven months with the best barber I've ever had (and that's another story) 3) lunch with my boss of 25 of the 27-year gig 4) meeting my son at the airport for an hour or so before he leaves for Denmark via Washington D.C. and Iceland.  It's possible that there will be a "5," a rooftop beverage at Crave with former co-workers.

Such a schedule.  The downside and the good side is that it keeps me away from the small business which has been growing each week.

THU=Legacy Day

I'm attending a seminar given by my LHH outplacement consultant who is in the process of writing a book, which any of us would like to do.  We just can't seem to get it done and neither can he.  Recently I found a five-day session at the Madeline Island Artist School taught by a woman who has published 13 books.  She has a formula.  I've missed the last session of this year but will attend next summer whether I am working or not.  The other person teaching the seminar focuses on what one wishes to leave as a legacy.  In some ways this sounds like "ok, you are done working, you'll probably run out of money, so what do you want people to remember about you?"  I guess that would be other than your family.  Our family has shrunk to a handful.  I have seven cousins left who I talk to at funerals.  The aunts,  uncles and parents are all gone.  Our two children certainly will miss us but I think they'll be too busy dealing with our life debris to be concerned about what others consider a noteworthy legacy.  On the positive side there is at least another 18-20 years to be productive, perhaps a few more.  There is time.  It's not my goal to be remembered by the 27-year gig but by the creative work that began last Oct 1.

I've learned a lot from books and seminars but I have read a few too many and attended a few (or more) too many in search of key information, looking for that person or approach that will answer all the questions, dot all the "i's" etc.  It's not there.

Squirrels & Mission Statements

A red squirrel chewed up the wiring in all three cars which has cost about $2500 to diagnose and repair.  My friendly, never-helpful insurance company says I have a $1000 deductible per vehicle.  I argued that it was one squirrel and they've insured all my property and cars for more than twenty years.  They suck.

Over the years I've spent countless hours in meetings arguing about content and phrasing and interpretations

of mission statements.  There were many discussions, too, of vision statements versus mission statements and just to make sure we have this in the legacy knowledge base the vision statement is about where you want to be and the mission statement describes how you will get there.  As well as I understand all that stuff and as much as I've participated and facilitated there are times I don't care.  Friday I picked up one of the squirrel-damaged cars, paid the $1300 bill and drove about half a mile before the "engine" light came on and it noticeably started running on four of it's six cylinders.   I don't think any mission statement or vision statement that I've been involved in or read has resulted in me feeling better or getting better service or giving better service.