They’ll Miss You When You’re Gone

“I have had it with the deathbed. We burn a lot of fuel thinking about the deathbed. How long do you plan to spend on your deathbed? A day, a week? Maybe a couple months, at most. You got a whole lifetime before you get to the deathbed. Maybe live your life the way you want and just accept that, whether alone or otherwise, the deathbed is not going to be the high point. You’re all alone on your deathbed? Cheer up, you’re about to die.” -from the play Linda Vista by Tracy Letts

You certainly can’t control being missed, but it’s a worthwhile thing to strive for. Because it means that you contributed something to a group of people. You did something meaningful for others.

So, how might you be missed someday? Here’s a little primer…

Demand excellence of yourself.

Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. Risk!

Don’t need to be thanked or praised.

Be generous to a fault.

Be exacting with your why.

Get super specific. Who’s it for? What’s it for? Find your smallest viable audience and radically delight them.

Be consistent. Show up. Show up. Show up.

Finally, don’t really care about being missed. Care about giving everything you have to the change you’re trying to make and the people you’re trying to serve.

And maybe, just maybe, they’ll miss you when you’re gone. More importantly, you’ll miss them!