Love, Loss and Leadership

Tuesday April 2, 2013 comments

“The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.”

                                                            G. K. Chesterton

Often referred to as the “prince of paradox,” Chesterton wrote and lived from a deeply spiritually informed and humanistic stance.  My sense is that given who he was, he meant this quote to be positive and not that we should operate our lives fearing failure and loss.

Andy Grove, the long-serving CEO of Intel, talked about leading with a “healthy paranoia.”  Valuing what we have – our businesses, our relationships, our health, our knowledge – is enhanced by the realization that they could, in fact, be lost.

The great teachers throughout time have counseled us to stay in the present and be grateful for what we have.  I agree.  As always, I appreciate your comments!

P. S.  I wrote a chapter for the book “Ordinary Men, Extraordinary Lives: Defining Moments” and recommend it to men and women who wish to better understand men.  From the back cover:  “Men are not commonly known for self-disclosure, especially about personal struggles, deep concerns and vulnerabilities. Male public-disclosure is even more rare. This men's anthology offers a broad spectrum of men's authentic accounts of facing and ultimately surmounting major life challenges, adversities, and even intense pain.”  Available at www.ExtraordinaryPeople.com