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July    31st

YOUR    CAREER  IS  NOT A   LIFE    SENTENCE

“How    disgraceful is  the lawyer  whose   dying   breath  passes  while   at  court,  at  an  advanced    age,

pleading    for unknown litigants   and still   seeking the approval    of  ignorant    spectators.”

—SENECA,    ON  THE BREVITY OF  LIFE,   20.2

very few years, a sad spectacle is played out in the news. An old millionaire, still lord of his
business empire, is taken to court. Shareholders and family members go to court to argue that he is no
longer mentally competent to make decisions—that the patriarch is not fit to run his own company and
legal affairs. Because this powerful person refused to ever relinquish control or develop a succession
plan, he is subjected to one of life’s worst humiliations: the public exposure of his most private
vulnerabilities.
We must not get so wrapped up in our work that we think we’re immune from the reality of aging and
life. Who wants to be the person who can never let go? Is there so little meaning in your life that your only
pursuit is work until you’re eventually carted off in a coffin?
Take pride in your work. But it is not all.