At the time of writing this post, I’m out of town for work.
For those that are subscribed to the blog, you probably know I’m from South Texas. As I write this post, I’m about 12 hours away from home.
Being away from my family and friends during this time has given me a unique opportunity to think about various things.
Join me today as I share a remarkable lesson I learned from two older gentlemen at McDonald’s.
The Story
One morning during my out of town trip I stopped at a local McDonald’s to pick up some breakfast. As I walk in the door I am followed inside by a older gentleman. For the sake of this story we’ll refer to him as Dale.
Dale was dressed in khaki pants, a tucked in button down shirt, a lightweight coat, and comfortable shoes. He was in what could be described as casual clothes.
As he walked in the McDonald’s behind me he quickly recognized one of his friends sitting at a table.
For the sake of the story, we’ll refer to the second gentleman as Tim.
Tim was dressed in what could be described as “work clothes”. It wasn’t a company uniform with a logo, but it was rustic jeans, boots, a somewhat faded shirt, and a jacket.
Tim was finishing his breakfast as Dale greeted him. Their conversation was as follows:
Dale: Hey Tim! How are ya?
Tim: Dale! Good to see you sir. I’m doing well how about yourself ?
Dale: I’m doing well, just picking up some breakfast for my wife and I. Are you working today?
Tim: Yeah I am.
*As Tim said these last 3 words he stopped looking at Dale, lowered his head, and returned his gaze to the now empty plate before him. The was a heaviness in the air during this moment.
One thing you should know about both of these gentlemen is that they both looked to be about 70 years old.
The fact that one of them was still actively working at that age shocked me.
I think it stood out all the more because in contrast, his friend was just enjoying that morning with his wife.
The Lesson
I can’t speak too much as to the specifics of each man’s situation. I don’t know their :
- Past
- Health Conditions
- Family Life
- Finances
- Etc.
All of the above can play a factor as to why one man was still working, while the other was just enjoying life at this age.
Nevertheless I want to share with you a remarkable lesson I learned from this experience.
So the lesson I have to share today is this:
Your life isn’t magically going to change. You must actively work to improve it.
One of these men made choices early in life that allowed him to reach a point where he could stop working and start spending more time with his wife.
The other man just worked, worked, and worked. Apparently there was a lack of planning, preparation, and money management on his part. Nevertheless that was his choice.
An unfortunate truth for many people in the world today is that they will work until their health can no longer sustain it. Why? Because they can’t afford not to.
Then, they’ll likely be confined to a bed, hospital, or special care facility until their final days.
It saddens me to think that many people will never find the time to enjoy precious moments with the very ones they wanted to provide for.
To reiterate,the thing you must understand about this story is that nothing magical ever happened to radically change these men’s lives.
Ultimately they faced the sum total of their life’s decisions. For better or for worse.
Conclusion
My goal in today’s post was to get you to do some critical thinking. Think about where you are today, and where you want to be in the future.
Once you have that goal in mind, do everything necessary to find out what it takes to reach it. Lastly, you must act upon that information.
Remember, you get one life to live. Be sure to make it count.
Until next time, y’all have a good one.
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