Powerful Lessons From A Brutally Murdered Friend.

My friend Chris got murdered.?

Chris was standing on his driveway when a neighbor came over to turn up the heat on an argument. In a flashpoint of emotion, the neighbor threw a punch. Down went Chris, striking his head on the pavement. One punch, one fall, one life abruptly extinguished.?

The ripple effect is devastating. One of those never failing to brighten a room or a day, his light is gone. His style added a dash making any business meeting better. If Chris was scheduled for a Zoom call, I prioritized signing on early to connect with him. His advice was uniquely spot-on, the richness of his experiences revealed welcome wisdom. For those who knew and liked him, there’s an open gap in their lives.

Are you living your best life??

How are you measuring your success? Is it external like material things or internal like joy? I don’t need to be the guidance source telling you that chasing happiness through material means is an empty pursuit. You should already know that. Are experiences, inspirational work, and people like Chris on your alter, or are aspirations of having more stuff?

I recently read a story of someone jumping ship on a “successful” career. A raging fire fueling a search for purpose offset an uncertain future and unknown income source. They now claim to be climbing to new heights of happiness.?

Bill Belichek is the most-winning NFL coach in history. His record of 6 Super Bowl wins and 72% game wins over the past 22 years with the Patriots is a testament to his coaching style. I love the inner workings of a football game. You have the top of the talent pool being paid extraordinary figures, yet there are countless individual failures in a game that’s only 60 minutes long. And at the end of that 60 minutes an entire team will have failed. Yet, despite individual screw-ups and game losses, they get up and continue to play again as professionals do.

Belechik's message to players, when they stumble, is, “Do your job”. Funny how that simple motivation line is lost on so many.

Imagine an NFL coach telling a lineman, “Hey, you suck at being a quarterback. Let’s work on your foot skills, game vision, and anticipation of defensive actions.” Contrast that with, “You wide receivers need to work less on being fast and more on improving blocking talents.” Ridiculous, right? A smart coach recognizes talents, seeking to find great players with strengths that match their position. The best coaches carefully script their teams so that the best players are in the right roles and all he has to do is tease out an expected result.?

You can’t win a Super Bowl lamenting players' shortcomings, you’ve got to give them wings to fly. Why is that so hard in today’s work world?

Satisfaction may be defined as achieving expectations. Adjusting satisfactions or expectations is crucial for personal happiness as well as in business. Living our best life means examining satisfaction on a consistent basis, and fearlessly making modifications. If you’re a business leader that means working tenaciously toward empowering teams to give their finest effort.

I once worked in an organization that believed that reaching corporate objectives was the only metric that mattered. You got hired for?what?you are, fired for?who?you are. Clipped wings littered the place, its revolving door of talent never stops turning.?

You might be satisfied with your ability to pay bills. That’s not the same as happiness. In my mind, confirming a bank balance is no match for the joy of flying down a mountain ski run, ripping it on the water in the slalom course, or hanging with people like Chris.?

You will be gone before you know it. Sorry, I know that hurts. In the pursuit of your best life, here are some questions for you:

• What are you chasing??
• What’s on your altar of worship?
• Do you recognize the difference between what satisfies you and what makes you happy?

If you employ people are you giving them wings or putting rocks in their backpacks?