I'm stepping away from the sales, communications, and leadership messages this week and next week, too. If this isn't for you, I'll understand if you leave, but I hope you'll stay and participate.

I want to talk about living and dying.

In a novel I was reading, there was a scene in which folks were gathered around the bed of a dying man who was in a coma. People were in his room speaking freely about him, assuming he was brain-dead. But we readers knew he could hear their every word.

My message this week is to imagine you're that man. Imagine that you're in a coma with people visiting and speaking freely among themselves about you.

What are they saying?

What would you like them to say?

What you do today will influence that dialog tomorrow.

Ultimately, how we interact with people is how we will be remembered. Living in a way that acknowledges this to be true takes forethought and vigilance. It's a practice; that is, it's the actual application or use of this idea daily.

If you're able to immerse yourself in the absurd coma scenario and wish to change the dialog or to ensure it happens the way you imagine it, that practice takes place minute by minute. It's seeing the store clerk rather than seeing through them. It's being present with everyone you encounter. It's asking questions after the perfunctory "How are you?" and being present enough to care about the responses.

It's much more than this, too, but this is a good start.

Please comment on the blog or email me with your thoughts. I’d like to hear from you.