Today I asked myself which way I want to be remembered when I'm gone: by a million people for one thing or by one person for a million things. You know? Like Jonas Salk, known for curing polio by almost the entire world. Or the idea of a father, being remembered by his son, in a million different memories from throughout his life.
After thinking about it for a while I decided there isn't much of a difference. It's sort of a personal preference and I can't say which is better.
I want to be a husband, a father, and someday a grandfather. I want to leave my family with a million things to remember me by. At the same time I wouldn't mind writing a New York Times Best Seller and having a million people remember me as the author of it.
They are two totally different things and I would love to do both.
From different perspectives one might not seem to be as important as the other, but I assure you they are. For example, to the public me coaching my son's little league team doesn't mean much if I'm not writing a book. But to my son and wife, coaching that little league team will produce a thousand memories to store away. On the flip side you show my son my best selling novel, imagine how interested he would be. A 12 year old kid doesn't want to see how his dad is making money, he wants his dad to catch baseball with him.
Importance is in the eye of the beholder (like beauty, I guess).
What it comes down to is I want to be remembered. Be it for one thing by a million, or for a million things by one.
I want to be successful and I want to be excellent. Some people think there is a difference between the two of those, but that is a totally different debate.
NP: Landslide- Fleetwood Mac
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