BADDA BOOM! by Frances Kennedy franceskennedy782@gmail com
The pursuit of pursuing life purpose has been a consistent theme throughout my professional experience in coaching company founders through their exit strategy to their next big chapter. It remains
a principal element to living our best life no matter our age and stage. Further to that, is the value of connection to our family by chance, family by choice, and family by circumstance. A friend, Vivian Blumson, of Jones’N Jackets customizes jackets with sayings. She asked me for something I’d like to say. That’s easy: What Matters Now? A recent reunion with a man who was a family friend thirty years ago reminded me of some hilarious high school hijinks. He spoke of my maternal grandfather and my father as if they were his own, which was quite moving. I was reminded of my last conversation with my former mother-in-law weeks before her death at age 99. What was the most challenging thing about living to 99? Her response was instructive and illuminating: “You are the only person left, besides my children, who knew who I was 50 years ago and they know me differently.” Wowza! In contrast, a mentor, Chris Brogan, emailed a memo extolling the beauty of random connections: “From crazy industries, I have the most far-flung mix of people on this letter. And why? Because we’re here for one thing: to share ideas, to think about things in a different way, to see something in another light. I want to be RICH. Rich with connections. Rich with people who know me, who like to be around me, who want to share what I know, and who are willing to connect and share and be helpful to each other. It’s all I’ve ever chased since having a voice in this world.” What matters now? From two very disparate perspectives, it’s the value of deep connection. Shared history is irreplaceable but equally important is community with people with shared values and pursuits, and both are worthy of our pursuit of pursuing a rich life. What to do about all that? Get connected, and stay connected; it takes effort but it’s worth it. Each of us has a glory story and a story that can break our hearts. According to my social media feed, telling our story has become ‘a thing’, but we already know that. Imparting at least a part of what we’ve learned from our life experience has benefits for the teller and the listener. My experience in recording the stories of company founders has taught me that vulnerability is a must to make our experience valuable to others. Let’s make our lives RICH. The return is a deep connection, well worth the risk and the investment! As Albert Epstein once opined: “When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.” Badda Bing!
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Boomers and Beyond – Elgin • September 2024 Page 15
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