Took awhile to nail the title on this one.  It’s not what you think, either.

I’ve been suffering from some Deep Thinking lately, and I’ve been trying to put a few thoughts into words without my dark sense of humor running away with it.  Failing to contain myself on that one, I decided on a pre-blog that handles certain topics with respect and dignity. So when I post the next one, that’s completely insensitive, you’ll forgive me. 

Stephen R. Covey once wrote, “Begin with the end in mind.”  Specifically, think of the end of your life.  What would you like to have accomplished?  Where are you?  Who is with you?  Approach your everyday decisions, and your priorities, with the end in mind.

Thank you, Mr. Covey, for driving me straight to the brink with that one.  When I dodge my boss’s emails and phone calls, I can’t tell him, “Sorry dude, I can’t picture you standing at my deathbed. You’re not my greatest priority.”  

With all due to respect to highly effective people, I’d like to kick Mr. Covey square in the rear.  Not all of us have the luxury of beginning with the end in mind.  For that matter, most of us are trying not to think about the end.

But he’s got a point.  A couple years ago, I put in a heavy schedule that included seven-day work weeks and twelve hour days as the norm.  I carried the world on my shoulders and stopped to pose for photos while I was at it.  I was a Type-A personality that never came up for air. 

Then, one night as I lay awake in bed, unable to sleep because I was thinking about work, I heard a voice that was not my own. (Yep, voices in my head. Good sign.)  Clear as day, I heard this phrase:  “Your customers won’t come to your funeral.”

My eyes flew open and I shot bolt upright in bed.  And the words of rebuttal I gave to the darkness were,  “Damn you, Stephen Covey!” 

To this day, I’m haunted by his advice that I can’t figure out how to take.  Every time I try to work with the end in mind, I start thinking about bowling or anything else I could be doing with these precious breaths I’m sucking in, each counting down to my eventual last…..

AAAAAAHHHHH!! Oh wait, I said I was going to handle certain topics with respect and dignity.  I’m trying.  In fact, I was rather proud of “Afterglow” as a title, because it sounded like a classy way to talk about the legacies and light we leave behind when our mortal days reach a close.  

Thus far, my legacy is a ‘67 Impala that won’t start, and this damn blog.  Mr. Covey, I’m ending this with the beginning in mind.  THHBPTH!!

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