Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.
— Bertolt Brecht
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
— William James
I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.
— Abraham Lincoln
You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand.
— Woodrow Wilson
What is our ultimate goal in life beyond the pursuit of economic success, family well-being, recognitions and personal happiness but to leave a good legacy? We don’t have to be tycoons who donate money to schools or civic causes, but let us never self-destruct or ruin our reputation with unethical or unfair behavior whether in business or in our professions.
In our own business, vocation, organization, family circle or local community, we can leave a good legacy by touching the lives of others or by leading a good example with integrity, excellence or selflessness.
WALT DISNEY, SAMSUNG FOUNDER, TAN KAH KEE, FORD, ALFRED NOBEL
Walt Disney was the genius founder of an entertainment empire that continues to delight countless kids, South Korea’s Lee Byung Chull founded Samsung, which is now a world leader in consumer electronics, Singapore/Malaysia “Rubber King” Tan Kah Kee was a patron of Chinese schools in Southeast Asia and founder of China’s Xiamen University, Henry Ford made cars affordable to the public by pioneering the assembly-line technique of mass production.
Leland Stanford was one of America’s richest railroad barons but people only remember him not for his wealth or power but due to his establishing Stanford University in memory of his deceased only son. There are many more other icons of free enterprise, innovation or philanthropy that advances progress.
One of the most respected capitalists in history is the Swedish inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel. He immortalized his name with the prestigious Nobel Prizes, which annually recognize and richly reward achievements in diverse fields from literature to medicine, chemistry, economics and physics. How did he come up with the idea for the Nobel Prizes?
In 1888, Alfred’s brother Ludvig died while on a visit to Cannes and a French newspaper incorrectly published Alfred’s obituary. The news article criticized Nobel for inventing dynamite, reporting: “Le marchand de la mort est mort (The merchant of death is dead).” The obituary added: “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”
That erroneous obituary shocked and awakened Alfred Nobel about how history would remember him. On Nov. 27, 1895 at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament stipulating that the bulk of his fortune be used to establish the Nobel Prizes to be awarded annually.
A year later, Nobel died of a stroke at Sanremo, Italy. Alfred Nobel had donated 31,225,000 Swedish kronor (estimated to be equivalent to 1.8 billion kronor or US$250 million in 2008) to finance the Nobel Prizes, which have since inspired so many worldwide.
18-YEAR-OLD ACTOR WHO DREAMT OF BEING A BUSINESSMAN
I had an unforgettable experience last Holy Week. Less than two hours before the tragic death of 18-year-old actor AJ Perez in a vehicular accident along Tarlac Highway at 12:20 a.m. last April 17, I was a guest on DZMM’s Ambet Nabus with co-host Kathy Solis. It was then that I last heard AJ talk to us by phone on the show. He was a wholesome and talented young star.
In the middle of the radio interview and discussions, the hosts got a call from ABS-CBN staff in Dagupan City’s Bangus Festival. Several young stars then talked via phone patch about their experiences. One of the most upbeat yet humble stars was AJ Perez. He even plugged his Maala-ala Mo Kaya drama episode for April 30. His parents later tell me at his wake that their son, former Christ the King Parish Greenmeadows altar boy AJ, wanted to be an entrepreneur, that he was excited to start his business administration college course at De La Salle University this coming school year.
When I got texts past midnight about the shocking news of AJ’s death, I was then a guest of the late Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez’s granddaughter Atty. Caroline Pelaez Cruz Sabio in the posh three-story Seventh High Club of The Fort for the celebration of her eldest son Atty. Jose Conrado Joco Sabio’s passing of the bar exams. A lot of the new lawyer’s Ateneo classmates were there. I noticed they were of the same generation as AJ — mostly young, talented, upbeat, happy, excited with limitless possibilities.
That whole night on the way home, I kept thinking about how our life here on earth is indeed so short, so fragile, that it is only borrowed time from God. I couldn’t sleep that night, thinking that we really need to often reassess our priorities in this short life — beyond just the pursuit of such mundane concerns like money, glory, power or even mere creature comforts. Those are not negative goals and we must excel, but there are other truly important things in life.
That night, I remembered the words of Adam Marshall (or was it Mae West?) and tweeted it to my Twitter account as a reminder to myself (and hoping it would also help others): “You only live once; but if you live it right, once is enough.”
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