Daddy loved living in the middle of the forest . . . even though he had to work 3 jobs just to take care of us. After Daddy retired my parents decided to move back to Texas . . . it was less expensive to live. With what they were able to make off of the sale of their home, they were able to begin to build their first new home and even buy brand new cars.
I went back to visit just as the house was being framed. You should have seen how proud my father was, walking me through each room explaining what they would be . . . especially the 3-car garage. He was making one of the stalls into a workshop. He loved to work with wood and had even hauled his beat up old workbench all the way from California. I’m sure it’s one of those things that only a man would understand.
About a week after they were able to move into their new home, I got that dreaded phone call at 11 at night. My brother quietly announced, “Daddy had a massive heart attack and didn’t make it.”
It took about 6 months, but I used the emotions as a catalyst to begin speaking to recently downsized executives. My message is loud and clear: live every day on purpose!
I’ve worked with more than 2500 people since my father passed and nearly every one of them had been waiting for some event to take place so they could begin to live their dream.