Hashir
You never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
One should always have their priorities straight. It’s easy to name what means the most to you, but not to cherish it while you still have it. We take what means the most to us for granted thinking that everything will always be the same. But, we often forget that our biggest mistake is that we think we have time.
We do so much for things that are uncertain in life, and so little for the only thing that’s inevitable—death. We live life thinking there’s always tomorrow. We sleep at night thinking we will wake up with the same people the next morning. In the flow of time, we easily forget how short life is.
It’s only when life finally shows us the harsh reality that we realise how ungrateful we’ve been. After a family tradegy, Entrepreneur, J.R. Stormen gave a warning to all the parents of the world in an emotional Linkedin post.
He titled it “It’s later than you think,” and specifically shared it on Linkedin so his message reaches all those people who give hours and hours to their business and none to their family.
This is what he had to say:
“Eight years ago, during the same month, I had twin boys and co-founded Cloudability. About three months ago Cloudability was acquired. About three weeks ago we lost one of our boys.
When I got the call I was sitting in a conference room with 12 people at our Portland office talking about PTO policies. Minutes earlier, I had admitted to the group that in the last 8 years I’d not taken more than a contiguous week off.”
“My wife and I have an agreement that when one of us calls, the other answers. So when the phone rang I stood up and walked to the conference room door immediately.
I was still walking through the door when I answered with “Hey, what’s up?”
Her reply was icy and immediate: “J.R., Wiley is dead.”
“What?” I responded incredulously.
“Wiley has died.” she reiterated.
“What?! No.” I yelled out, “No!”
“I’m so sorry, I have to call 911.”
J.R shared his personal story to remind people that anything is achievable in life, but family is something you don’t get twice.
“Hug your kids. Don’t work too late.
A lot of the things you are likely spending your time on you’ll regret once you no longer have the time. I’m guessing you have 1:1 meetings on the books with a lot of people you work with. Do you have them regularly scheduled with your kids?
If there’s any lesson to take away from this, it’s to remind others (and myself) not to miss out on the things that matter.”
Before Wiley’s death, J.R gave him and his brother $100 each and both the kids decided that they would go camping with that money. Sady, Wiley never got the chance. So, after his death the family decided to go camping in Wiley’s memory.
They bought camping gear and everything and headed out to Mt. St. Helens. Upon their arrival, they realised they forgot to bring money to pay for the camping fee. That’s when J.R’s wife remembered that Wiley had put his $100 in the backseat pocket of the car. So, they used it to pay for the camping fee. It was such a heart wrenching moment that one can not even describe.
“It was one of many bittersweet moments we will experience for the rest of our lives. Each happy time brings with it the sadness that he doesn’t get to experience it.”
While this unfortunate event brought J.R, his wife and his son close, he hopes that whoever reads his story learns from his mistakes and puts their family first.
via: GoodFreePhotos.com
It’s true what they say “money cannot buy you happiness.”
What do you think of his story? Let us know in the comments below.
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