Live Forever

I think I might be worrying too much. Actually, to be more accurate, I think I might be worrying too much about myself and not enough about others. Human beings are naturally self-centered anyway, but the good news is that I recognize it and want to change it by trying to pay more attention to the people around me. It isn’t easy, but it is important because you never know what positive impact you might have on a person and/or what impact they might have on you. Here is an example.

Part of my job as a business owner has always been sales. Every week I would go on the road to visit existing customers and meet new customers. I have always enjoyed that part of the job, but it can be very challenging at times. A few years ago I found out that a large apartment community in the Irvine Spectrum area hired a new Service Manager named David. I started calling on David right away, but he was always too busy in his new position to see me. One month went by, two months, three months turned into four, and over all that time I only got to speak to him once. Even worse, that site had stopped placing orders with us. I felt frustrated but I was determined to keep trying.

So, I came up with an idea to sponsor a lunch meeting with all of the Service Managers in the Irvine Spectrum area. It turned out to be a good idea because all of them showed up including David. I finally got some serious one on one time with him and it turned out that we had a lot in common. His Dad was in the Marine Corps and so was mine and we both traveled a lot as kids. We talked for a long time that day and I left with a really good feeling about David. It wasn’t so much the opportunity to do business as it was a feeling that I had made a new friend. And David was such a really nice, likeable guy that I knew this would become a long-term friendship.

The very next week I went back to that apartment complex and stopped in to see David. I was shocked when I heard there had been a tragic accident at the site and David had drowned! He was only 34 years old, leaving behind a wife and very young son. I was absolutely stunned by the news and unable to focus on work for the rest of that week.

And that got me thinking… Sometimes people come into our lives for just one brief moment. Maybe we take the time to get to know them, maybe we don’t. But everyone we meet is definitely part of God’s plan for our lives. Whether we recognize it or not, it is up to us to make the most of our time with them. What did David mean to my life? Despite only knowing him for a brief moment in time, he reminded me that persistence and patience can pay off, and even more important… he reminded me that life is a gift to be cherished as are most of the people we meet in our lives!

 To live in the hearts of those we leave behind, is to truly live forever.

~ Thomas Campbell