Over the past several days, Dave has been teaching about the benefits of failure. This is an important topic because it is so counter-intuitive to how we naturally think. I hope you had the opportunity to read and digest this important information.
Dave’s last point in Friday’s article struck a chord with me due to some personal events in my life over the weekend. My family and I attended the memorial service of a dear friend, Roger Shaeffer. Roger passed way at the age of 88, after a short bout with cancer.
What struck me about Roger’s life was not his failures, rather his successes. He was one of the most successful people I’ve ever known—not in the terms that we normally ascribe to success, such as personal finances, assets, etc. (although he was successful in these areas as well), but in terms of the positive impact he had on other people.
There is no way I could possibly capture the significance of Roger’s life in a short article – one of his sons wrote a letter that took 15 minutes to read during the memorial service, and he admittedly just scratched the service! But, I can share a few things that I learned about success from Roger.
1. Success means making those around you better individuals. During a time of sharing memories, about 25 people recalled a happy memory of Roger. Most of these people started the story with, “Roger made me a better person by….”
2. Success means encouraging those around you. Roger loved to sing. I knew this from being around him, but I was surprised how many others also had this memory of Roger. He would burst into song on almost any occasion. How can you not be happy when someone around you is singing? What I learned last night was that he did that more for the benefit of those around him, than for himself.
3. Success means being generous and thankful. I don’t believe there was a person at the memorial service (and there were hundreds there) who had not received something from Roger. For my two-year-old daughter, it was a pinch on the cheek and a bright smile. For my sons, it was the Seattle Mariners tickets every year. For me, it was the World War II combat stories and the encouragement to be a faithful Dad. Everyone else had their memories as well, but the common thread was that he always gave with a belief that he had been blessed with so much.
The lesson here is that we’re all going to face failures and setbacks—especially when it comes to careers, jobs, finances, personal goals, and maybe even relationships….it’s part of life. However, Roger has reminded me (and I’m reminding you) to take the time to invest in the people/relationships that ultimately result in a truly successful life—even when you are going through difficult times. This type of investment doesn’t take a lot of money–it’s more about having a warm heart and a willing spirit.
