The people you used to know

For more than two decades that passed, this widow and a widower faithfully attended their yearly class reunions without fail.

One night on their anniversary, the widow and the widower made a foursome with two other singles.

They had a wonderful evening. Their spirits high, and the widower throwing admiring glances across the table. The widow smiling coyly back at him.

Finally, he picked up the courage to ask her, “Will you marry me?” After about six seconds of careful consideration, she answered, “Yes, yes I will!”

The evening ended on a happy note for the widower. But the next morning he was troubled. Did she say “Yes” or did she say “No?” He couldn’t remember.

Try as he would, he just could not recall. He went over the conversation of the previous evening, but his mind was blank. He remembered asking the question, but for the life of him could not recall her response.

With fear and trepidation, he picked up the phone and called her.

First, he explained that he couldn’t remember as well as he used to. Then he reviewed the past evening.

As he gained a little more courage, he then inquired of her. “When I asked if you would marry me, did you say ‘Yes’ or did you say ‘No?’”

“Why you silly man, I said, ‘Yes. Yes I will.’ And I meant it with all my heart.”

The widower was delighted. He felt his heart skip a beat. Then she continued. “And I am so glad you called because I couldn’t remember who asked me!”

Today is a day we remember those who have gone ahead of us. Brings us a lot of memories. Other occasions do as well like homecomings and reunions.

Nostalgia is the key.

Perhaps you recognize The High Burner from your high school. He or she usually finish every year at the top of the class.

They get the medals and the honors and rarely see them at any social gatherings. They pour themselves into books and assignments. When they get to the Ivy League universities, they spend their entire college life studying.

Some of them though burn themselves out halfway through their course and disappear from the scene. Some of them drop out and end up in therapy back home.

And then there are The Gifted. They are blessed with natural talents. It’s always a breeze for them to get high grades even without working hard on acquiring them.

Many of these gifted people are easy-go-lucky, talk a lot, have no follow through, and also have the charm and charisma everyone is envious of.

While others have to labor their way in order to get passing grades, these Gifted ones would entice you to watch a movie the day before the exams, and still pass it with ease. They do not need a lot of hard work. They are not disciplined and get bored with tasks then move from one thing to another.

Truth is, we hated these people. They would walk in on the day of the exams forgetting all about it but still end up with very high grades.

Do you know that both The High Burner and The Gifted exist in the work place today? There are those who are so fixated on working themselves to death, burn out quick and find life meaningless.

And then there are those high potential people who would not want to develop their talents and make them into a skill. They lack the discipline and the determination to level up and bring themselves to a higher level of performance. Both are not good at all.

What you want to become is the Truly Productive Person.

You work your way towards developing yourself professionally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. You do what you do because you are clear about what you want out of life that makes you fulfilled.

You work on yourself harder than you do at your job, and as your skills, competence, character and attitude build, you find yourself getting better and better in what you do, ready to accept bigger responsibilities and tackle more difficult tasks.

You are disciplined and know that what makes life meaningful is to bless others with your time, talent and treasure. You constantly learn new things and are always thrilled to explore new stuff.

This is what you and I should aspire to be: a truly productive person excited with life and always willing to bless others.

You and I have only one crack at life and need to live it to the fullest.

Keep life simple.

Love God, love others and constantly develop the self not to just do better, but to be better and be a blessing to others. This is where meaning really comes.

(Connect with Francis Kong in www.facebook.com/franciskong2. or listen to “Business Matters” Monday to Friday 8:00a.m. And 6:30 p.m. over 98.7 dzFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch’, the classical music station.)