12/24/2023 0 Comments A tale of a wasted life![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() There’s a range that goes from completely ignoring the gravity of the situation (i.e. As bad as things are as of April 1st, we are still in a moment in which we find people at very different places of understanding the situation. Fast forward to 2020 and we are in the middle of a global pandemic. I found it very valuable at the time, yet I was (and still am) far from fully comprehending the depths of the lessons there. A teacher at the time recommended that I read Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning”. When I was 17 years old I was going through a rough patch of my life. For some this might mean it’s only theoretical (and thus with little to no value in real life), but in reality it’s the cornerstone, or least a foundational piece, to equip ourselves to respond to this crisis. I would like to share something that is more philosophical in nature. I hope that this article can spark actionable ideas of how to get something of value in the midst of the inevitable. The answers to such a question are wide ranging – from a macro level of learning how to better prepare for this type of events in the future, all the way down to a very intimate level, like how do we cope in these critical times. Hence I have been pondering, how do we prevent this crisis from going to waste? In other words, what can we do to at least get some form of benefit to go with the hardships that are here, and that will inevitably come in the upcoming weeks and months. There is now no scenario in which what is happening is not a crisis. The rest of us have been impacted in more than one way. The crisis is here, government officials, scientists, healthcare workers and many others are actively working to slow it down. That phrase stuck with me and during the last week I’ve been thinking about the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus crisis. During that meeting, a defense contractor executive shared an anecdote of a big crisis they had faced, and he said “ Never let a good crisis go to waste”. I told you, I worked for Sonny and he gave me tips.A couple of years ago, I joined a team facilitating an executive development session at a US company. I told ya you weren’t gonna get upset, dad. What crap games? What crap games? What tips? WHAT CRAP GAMES?! I worked the crap games and the guys gave me tips. Things? Whaddya mean things? What things? Tell your father where you got the money. Six hundred dollars you’ve been saving? What? Did you become a brain surgeon overnight, son?! Where did you get this?! Your mother found this behind your drawer. This time they walked into the wrong bar. They had reputation for breaking up bars, but they knew that instant, they'd made a fatal mistake. All their courage and strength was drained right from their bodies. I will never forget the look on their faces. I'll tell you when the f*** we leave alright. In the name of the father, the son and the holy ghost! Two over here, huh? One more here, one more. I don't care who you are! You stay away from my son! Get outta here before I give you a f***ing slap! I know who you are, Sonny, I know what you're capable of, and I would never step out of line, you can ask anyone in the neighborhood who knows me. Hey! Don't you see how I treat that kid? I treat him like he's my son. I offered you a job, you said "No" to me. Not when your kid has a bigger bank account than you. He said that to you? I don't believe this kid. He tried to throw away his baseball cards because he said Mickey Mantle will never pay the rent. You don't understand: it's not what you say, it's what he sees, the clothes, the cars, the money, it's everything. I tell your kid to go to school, to go to college. First of all, I respect you, Lorenzo, you're a stand-up guy and we're from the same neighborhood, but don't ever talk to me like that again. ![]()
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