What Might Tomorrow Bring? (I wasn't expecting this.)

Note: I originally published this two years ago today. So many people told me that it had a huge impact on them so I'm sharing it again. May it impact you today.

The little red circle indicated that an email was waiting for me in my inbox.

So, I opened it.

Suddenly, I was sitting at my desk crying. Now, just so you know, that’s not an everyday kind of thing for me. In fact, I don’t recall ever sitting at my desk crying. But after I read that email, my tears overflowed.

It was from the son of one of my former clients and said: “Dad passed away suddenly yesterday. You are on his 'short list' of those who must be told. And I regrettably am the one who must tell you.”

I first worked with Richard over 17 years ago. He was an executive with a construction company and together we led a team to create and launch a corporate university. He was smart, kind, generous and one of the most entertaining storytellers I’ve ever known.

Our team worked hard, under tight deadlines and often in stressful situations. Yet Richard, with his wisdom from years of working with people (he had seen it all and heard it all), along with his keen wit, kept it all in perspective and also kept us laughing with the stories he told. And he told a lot of stories!

A few years later, he moved to another construction company and retained me and my team, again, to help him create and launch a corporate university for that company. The company he had moved to was in Florida and I was living in Texas at the time. I flew in one day, and because of flight delays, I arrived just one minute before I was to lead a meeting for Richard and his team. I quickly grabbed my briefcase from the backseat of my rental car and raced to the conference room. I opened the door. The conference room was packed.

Everyone was there ready to go. As I stepped into the room, Richard and everyone else naturally turned toward the door to see who was coming in. All eyes were on me. No big deal. That is until Richard exclaimed in his booming voice, “Sally, what in the world happened to your hair!?!?!?”

The day before my stylist had gotten a bit too carried away and my already short hairstyle became an ultra short hairstyle. I replied, “Richard, I got a haircut yesterday.” And he went on to say, “Well, it’s awful. You need to find a new person to cut your hair!” You never had to wonder what was on Richard’s mind. He was the kind of friend who would speak truth that others wouldn’t speak, and it was just one of the ways people knew he truly cared. And people loved him for it.

Needless to say the room erupted in laughter and I turned every possible shade of red. He was right, it was awful and I did need to find a new stylist. There was no paper bag to put over my head at that moment, so I simply took my place at the conference room table and started the meeting.

The news about Richard’s sudden passing hit me hard that morning. He was a terrific client and a dear friend. But here’s the thing. He retired about ten years prior to his passing. And during those ten years we had only been in touch a handful of times. You know how that happens. We’re all “busy.”  We intend to stay in touch with people. We think about calling someone but then before we know it, weeks, months and even years have gone by without talking to someone we care about.

I would love the opportunity to talk to Richard, to tell him one more time what a delight it was working with him and that I considered him a dear friend. In his son’s email to me, he said “You are a very important person in my father's life and he just wants to say thanks and wishes the best for you and your family.”

I would love to tell Richard that he was a very important person in my life too and to let him know one more time how much I appreciated his unique approach to working with people. I would tell him that I learned so much from him. But that is no longer possible and it’s something I greatly regret.

Today I want to encourage you to reach out to the people you appreciate. Recognize the people who have made a difference in your life, or who are currently pouring into your life. Let the people you care about know that they matter to you.

Don’t put it off, for we do not know what tomorrow may bring.