"get your business done!"

 

Get your business done!

What do I mean by that?

I mean that Life is short....what have you been putting off, thinking that tomorrow is another day...except that it is now tomorrow and so, you put it off again. I am not referring to painting the living room, though if it makes the wife happy, then by all means, go for it! I am referring to those other people whom you have set on the back burner. Maybe it is a cousin you have been wanting to see, a friend you have wanted to forgive, an adult child who needs to reconcile with her father....THAT is the business I am talking about! Doing good for someone else just because you know that it is the right thing to do!

Carter Chambers: What are you so afraid of?
Edward Cole: Just because I told you my story, does not invite you to be a part of it!
Carter Chambers: Oh, like the lady in the bar?
Edward Cole: That's different.
Carter Chambers: Tell me how it's different.
Edward Cole: I build a billion dollar business up from NOTHING! Presidents have asked my advice, I have dined with royalty, and I'm supposed to make out like what? This trip was supposed to MEAN something to me? Like it was gonna change ME? How did you see it playing out Carter, I knock on the door, she answers, she's surprised and angry, but I tell her how much I love her and miss her, and OH, by the way, I'm gonna be dead soon so I'm reaching out to you because I don't wanna die alone?
Carter Chambers: Everyone's afraid to die alone.
Edward Cole: I'm not everyone! This was supposed to be fun. That's all it ever was.


I watched the movie, "The Bucket List," recently. Actually, I have seen it several times. There is a line in the movie in which Morgan Freeman, playing a character who knows he is dying of cancer, asks Jack Nicholson, a bitter man who also is staring death in the face, "of the two questions asked of the dead by the gods at the entrance to heaven: Have you found joy in your life? Has your life brought joy to others?"
This is powerful stuff, as Jack's character has been estranged from his own daughter for too long, time is running out and now, there is also a granddaughter in the mix whom Jack has not even seen yet.

 "The simplest thing is... I loved him. And I miss him. Carter and I saw the world together. Which is amazing... When you think that only three months ago, we were complete strangers! I hope that it doesn't sound selfish of me but... the last months of his life were the best months of mine. He saved my life... And he knew it before I did."~ Edward Cole eulogizing his friend, Carter

Have YOU made a difference in the life of another? Well...get your business done!

  "Good afternoon. My name is Edward Cole. I don't know what most people say at these occasions because in all honesty, I've tried to avoid them. The simplest thing is I loved him and I miss him. Carter and I saw the world together, which is amazing when you think that only three months ago we were complete strangers. I hope that it doesn't sound selfish of me, but the last months of his life were the best months of mine. He saved my life, and he knew it before I did. I'm deeply proud that this man found it worth his while to know me. In the end, I think it's safe to say that we brought some joy to one another's lives, so one day, when I go to some final resting place, if I happen to wake up next to a certain wall with a gate, I hope that Carter's there to vouch for me and show me the ropes on the other side."

 Why are you waiting? Are you thinking that "if he really wanted to contact me, he would have by now?" Well, maybe you have moved. Maybe your situation has changed and he doesn't know how to reach you. Or maybe one should just put pride aside and make the first move. You don't have forever...you don't even have tomorrow. oh, for heavens' sake....just seek forgiveness! Whatever it is, be the one who can say, "I'm sorry!" or "how can I help?" or even, "I love you!"

 You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you.

We all know of someone who needs our affirmations. Be it the crazy aunt who lives alone, to that neighbor up the street that everyone gossips about but does nothing for...or maybe it's just the spouse you're married to, the one who gives you reason to be so petty....make today the day that you get your business done!

"Edward Perryman Cole died in May. It was a Sunday in the afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. He was 81 years old. Even now, I can't claim to understand the measure of a life, but I can tell you this: I know that when he died, his eyes were closed and his heart was open, and I'm pretty sure he was happy with his final resting place because he was buried on the mountain, and that was against the law."