“On a long journey even a straw weighs heavy.”
-Spanish Proverb
Last month the German luxury car maker Audi AG introduced a new ultra light, high-end bicycle for $19,650. The limited edition Audi Sport Racing Bike uses a lightweight carbon fiber material for its frame and weighs 27.9 ounces – less than the weight of five iPhone 6 Plus smartphones. The material is called T1000 and is used in Audi’s racing cars. The total weight of the bike is 12.8 pounds, resulting in one of the lightest racing bikes ever.
The most important characteristics about a racing bicycle are its weight and stiffness. This determines the efficiency at which the power from a rider’s pedal strokes can be transferred to the drive-train and subsequently to its wheels. To this effect racing bicycles may sacrifice comfort for speed.
In his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” author Stephen Covey said the second habit is to “begin with the end in mind”. I was able to do this effortlessly about a year and a half ago when the tiny veins between the surface of my brain and skull tore apart, a condition known as a subdural hematoma.
With the sobering discussion of death and brain surgery taking place in the room between the neurosurgeon, my wife and myself, I had the unique and urgent opportunity to “begin with the end in mind.” And I did!
My “aha” moment reminded me of what a wise man from ancient Turkey once said to his young protege, “We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”
What will you leave behind as your legacy in your life? Notice that I didn’t say “your business life and personal life”. Unless you’re a professional actor, your personal and work life are integrated. Who you are and what you do for a living are the same. If you don’t believe me just watch the movie “The Bucket List”. One guy was ultra rich and the other wasn’t. Which one was which in the end?
If you want to finish strong you’ve got to travel light. That will mean different things to different people. But the only thing that matters is what it means to you? For those of us who don’t die prematurely (whatever that means), we will ultimately succumb to the number one cause of death – aging.
Traveling light won’t cost you $19,650 like the new Audi bike. But it will cost you something – some tradeoffs. Perhaps some comfort for some speed…some materialism for some joy and peace…some narcissism for some altruism…some wealth for some health.
It’s a race – hopefully a long one for you. We can take nothing out of this world, but we can sure leave a lot of great things behind. Start with the real end in mind, grab the lightest bike and start peddling! Go for #significance!
– Bill Edmonds
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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