by Bill Edmonds
“You may delay, but time will not.”
-Ben Franklin
If you live in America and own a car, you know the two side mirrors on your automobile are not created equal. The one on the driver’s side reflects things as they are, while the one located on the passenger side distorts reality. This wider field of view mirror on the passenger’s side allows the driver to see more of what is beside he or she, but comes with a warning label mandated by Section 571.111 of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and stamped at the bottom of the glass: “OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.”
Perhaps it would be good to have a similar warning posted on our bathroom mirrors that we could read each day as we prepare for another ride down life’s highway. How about one that addresses objects as they are, not as they appear? Perhaps this one… “LIFE EVENTS YOU THINK ARE FAR OFF ARE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.”
Time flies. As a fifty-five year old American male my life expectancy is 22.4 more years. That’s shorter than the time I’ve spent with my current employer, and just about the same age as my oldest child. Seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. Consider this – If you’re about my age and you want to see some of the legendary rock stars of your teenage years, you better do it quickly; Bruce Springsteen is 65, Steve Miller is 71, Stephen Stills is 70, Bob Dylan is 73, Greg Allman and Don Henley are both 67.
I almost died fourteen months ago. I had a subdural hematoma, a condition that if not detected by my doctor as quickly as he did would have shut down my central nervous system, leaving a widow and two children. When you’re lying on your back in a hospital room discussing possible brain surgery with a neurosurgeon you’re not thinking about what you have to get done at work the next day or whether or not you need to work a few more years to have the retirement nest egg you desire. You’re looking at the driver side mirror – the one that reflects reality, not the one that presents a distorted view of it.
I don’t have a guarantee of twenty-two more years on this planet any more than I have the guarantee of tomorrow. Neither do you. What you and I do have is today. What will we do with it? Will we spend the majority of our time gazing into a mirror that reflects objects that appear further away than they actually are? Do the most important things with today with the time you have left – look at the driver’s side mirror first!
Bill Edmonds is an Executive Coach and Consultant who works with leaders to help them reach their full potential by specializing in areas of organizational and personal development. He spent 24 years in leadership with Merrill Lynch until his retirement in 2014, where he lead a $100+ million per year revenue business unit as a Director with the firm.
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