I had the honor of both attending and speaking at the annual Wisdom 2.0 conference in San Francisco recently. The event was great, and one of the highlights for me was listening to an inspiring talk given by Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post. In her talk she asked us a powerful question, “Are you living your resume or your eulogy?”
Her question gave me pause and I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit ever since. In this week’s vlog, I talk about why it can be challenging for us to focus on what truly matters and why we’re often caught up in our desire to “get ahead” (aka focus on our resume.) I also offer some suggestions about how we can keep things in perspective, focus on what’s most important to us and stay connected to the kind of impact we want to have in the world (aka our eulogy.)
judy kimmel says
Wonderful comments and insights Mike. Great to celebrate your birthday with you! Hugs, Judy
Nancy Bijok says
What an excellent video blog. I will be teaching a class at our company that is all about intentional redesign of our work. I found this particularly helpful in that ANY intentional perspective we bring to our lives can yield both an enormous sense of satisfaction and adjust our perspective (reframe) how we think out our life and our work.
Thank you, Mike. As always. You are a breath of fresh air.
Clea says
Food for thought…Enjoyed your point of view, and mine is different. Most people work very diligently during their 40s, 50s. 60s, and older and by the time they retire they can ponder these things, eulogy or resume. I decided to put myself in a very intense spiritual life in my 50s, 60s and even up to early 70s. I am now 84 and am living the resume style because I want to work, payback some of the wisdom I received and earn a living as well.I am glad I learned my values when I was younger and have lived in them and even though I work, My work has another meaning.
Arun says
Mike,
Your talk really resonated with me. Thank you!
You made a number of great points in the talk. It got me to thinking that it would be very helpful if towards the end of each talk you could summarize the thoughtful suggestions you make. It would help reinforce these messages in our minds.
If the talk was in “text” form, I could just go back and re-read the notes. Sure, I could go back in the video but it is not as convenient. A capsule summary at the end really helps.
Hope this helps,
arun
Ric says
Very insightful and profound message Mike. It made me realize that we all have an opportunity to make a significant impact in people’s lives. That’s what really matters.
Doe says
Thanks for reminding me that it is important to make the dash count 196x- ????. I have often pondered this? What legacy am I leaving behind? What would I want my eulogy to say.? Am I living that life? It is so important to recognize that everyday we are impacting people lives; whether positively or not. Its up to us to strive towards our eulogy; it makes life worth living.