I lost a friend today.  I haven’t seen Laurie in a few years actually except for a brief coffee shop encounter a few months ago. And this morning I heard that she had passed away after a courageous fight against cancer. What a tremendous loss. Now you may never have heard the name Laurie Tranter. She never made headlines, she never invented anything, she never saved anyone from a burning building, she never made a billion dollars, never donated millions, never performed some superhuman athletic feat. It appears by all accounts that she lived a life unpunctuated by remarkable acheivements. And yet I am so saddened.  You see, it occurs to me that Laurie led a remarkable ordinary life. Everytime you encountered Laurie you walked away having had a laugh, feeling a little more energetic a little more joyful. Which was odd in a way, because at some of those meetings – Laurie was bringing you bad news, increasing prices, taking things out of your contract…and yet you always knew you were getting the straight goods from her. Laurie didn’t strive to accomplish remarkable things – she did ordinary things remarkably!  So everyday, Laurie was making a difference.  Now that is what I call a legacy – honesty, integrity, joyfulness, simple authenticity, excellence.

So today I ask myself – when people leave my presence – are they better for it? In the many things I need to get accomplished today, am I giving my best? Even if the task seems mundane? Or somehow – ordinary? Because you just never know when you are making a difference…

Thank you for one last lesson Laurie…