100 Business Days Out: Day 49 - Tim Russert

Say it ain't so. The news of Tim Russert's passing sent shock wave through the country and through me. As I listened to the reports and saw the TV coverage (and the outpouring of others), I was struck by the once again lesson that we all need to remember, but so often forget until someone like Tim Russert is taken from life early and unexpectedly. That lesson is that life is fragile. I mean really fragile. Here today, gone tomorrow. Unless we don't know something, Tim didn't get up that morning and have a notion that today was the last day he would walk the earth. I suspect just the opposite. He got up, worked out in the morning, went to the office and looked at his day and jumped in like every other day full of life, vigor and excitement. And, then in a moment, with a collapse, he was gone. There was no chance for goodbyes, hugs, kisses, handing down of special memories or artifacts of his life. In sports we finish ties with a sudden death round or period. We should live every day as if we are in the sudden death round. That means different things for different people but if internalized we can live today differently and include that hug and kiss that could be the last. In my working career I never experienced someone dying of natural causes at the office while I was there although it had certainly happened many times within some of the companies I worked for. I can only imagine what the experience and long-lasting impact would be like to watch a colleague die at the office. If that wouldn't make you rethink life and your priorities, nothing would. That should be the nudge that the death of Tim Russert reminds us of. Life is short, our work is important but not the most important thing in life, and that each day is a fragile piece of crystal that we balance on our heads as we make our way through the day. We will miss you Tim, but thanks for the lessons that you taught us in your life and in your unexpected and way to0 premature departure from life.