At 53, Eugene O'Kelly was in the full swing of life. Chairman and CEO of KPMG, one of the largest US accounting firms, he enjoyed a successful career and drew happiness from his wife, children, family, and close friends. He was thinking ahead: the next business trip, the firm's continued success, weekend plans with his wife, his daughter's first day of eighth grade.
Then in May 2005, Gene was diagnosed
with late-stage brain cancer and given three to six months to live.
O’Kelly resigned from KPMG and began planning his death as rigorously as
he planned his life, managing the logistics of settling his estate and the
spiritual work of coming to terms with his “transition,” as he called it. He
ultimately chronicled that final leg of his journey in a bestselling
book, Chasing Daylight
O’Kelly put great care into
creating “perfect moments” with the people he valued most. He made each of
these moments personal and memorable, with the understanding it would be the
last time he would see that person.
- Everything changes in an instant.
Don’t wait for the “right moment”.
- Remove negative energy from your
life. Resolve to be happy, not “right”.
- Recognize what is most important.
Eugene died on September 10, 2005 of terminal brain cancer.
At least
Kelly did know when he would die! But many of us don’t have that luxury.
Therefore, it is more important that we live each moment in our life
meaningfully.
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