"The World is a great liar" - Peggy Noolan

Am presently reading management guru Tom Peter's book "The Little Big Things - 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence". For a management book, it's incredibly filled with biblical principles! Since turning 35 this week, I've been thinking a lot about legacy. Perhaps it's triggered by the notion that if God lets me live to 70, I'm half-way there. Time to think about legacy!

Here's a quote by Peggy Noolan in the book that made me think this morning. It says "The world is a great liar". How true. In the financial world I'm in, success is measured by mind-boggling pay checks and bonuses Wall Street used to pay. These days it's more moderate. Two years back, I sat in the memorial service after our CEO passed on from leukemia. I knew him briefly and he was a good man. What struck me was that although he was at the pinnacle of his career; had reached the height of his profession; was the leader of many thousands; during the eulogies, no one mentioned how brilliant, or bright he was. Everyone remembered him for the good man he was.

This week, Credit Suisse's former Chairman of investment banking Paul Callelo passed on. He was 49. The newspapers eulogised him, for being a rare-breed banker; one who was ethical, and who loved people. Even in an industry that seems to worship money, when all is said and done, it honours the men and women who exemplify goodness and kindness.

Here is what Peggy Noolan says:

"In a way, the world is a great liar. It shows you it worships and admires money, but at the end of the day it doesn't. It says it adores fame and celebrity, but it doesn't, not really. The world admires, and wants to hold onto, and not lose, goodness. It admires virtue. At the end it gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy, talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it better. THat's what it really admires. That's what we talk about in eulogies, because that's what's important. We don't say, "The thing about Joe was he was rich." We say, if we can, "The thing about Joe was he took care of people."