Beginning with the End in mind — Part 1

As I imagine myself lying down on the death bed, I try to visualize what it would be like. Who will be the people surrounding me? Who will be the people weeping or feeling sorrow looking at me? What will be their last words for me? What will be in their minds? Obviously, I would want to imagine the best possibilities, the happiest moments in my life and may be some recognition for everything that I have done in my life. Although, many people may not find it comfortable to imagine their own funeral, their own death bed situation — that too at such a young age. They would argue that why would anyone even think about something like that. No one wants to imagine the moments of griefs in their future. But its important. When I imagine my own funeral, I see my wife, my children, my friends, people from my organization, my relatives, my neighbours — I see everyone. When I imagine about what would I want them to think or say, how would I want them to feel about me, I realize that I would like my wife to feel the void that will be created after I am gone but still be strong enough to support herself. I would want her to remember all the wonderful moments that we spent together. I would want my children to be proud of their father, reminiscing about how they grew up having fun and learning so much from me. I would want my friends and people from my organisation to remember about my helping and supportive nature. I would want everyone else to be inspired by my personality and character. I would want them to remember what I have accomplished and what I have done for the society. But why am I imagining such scenarios? Am I just wasting my time unnecessarily thinking about the future? How will this impact my thought process and perspective towards life? Actually, this will create a paradigm shift. When I finally realize what I want from my future, I can utilize that to transform my present. This is known as ‘Beginning with the End in Mind’. When I know how I want my life to end, I will get a clearer picture of the person I want to become. I will get a clearer picture of the principles that I will follow and the values that I will adopt in my life.

The process of keeping the end in my mind also includes a person’s farsightedness — a very crucial ingredient in the making of a successful leader. People at key leadership positions often confuse their role with management and supervising the day to day tasks of the company. Leadership is different than management. While management is bottom-line focus that focuses on accomplishing a task in the most efficacious manner possible, leadership is the top-line focus that focuses on the tasks that are required to be accomplished. While management has its concerns about climbing the ladder efficiently, on the other hand, leadership has its concerns about ensuring that the ladder is leaning against the right wall, and that we are moving in the right direction.