07.17.06
Meaning of life
My father-in-law passed away about 2 weeks ago due to a sudden heart attack. Even though my wife and I managed to rush back to China within 24 hours, we still could not make it back in time to see him for the last time. It is truly a sad moment for the family, given that he is only 66 years old. What triggers more feeling for me is that he does not seem to have enjoyed a day of peacefulness. To him, life is about his career and continue and never ending quest to build a bigger company. In the end, he left the world without being able to enjoy his accomplishments nor his family because he is either running to build something new or spending energy to defend what he has built… Is this “success”?
My father-in-law lost his parents when he was young and started to work when he was 12 years old. From penny-less childhood and no education (I don’t think he can even read well), he managed to build a 500+ person manufacturing company with sales over 10s of millions in US dollars. That is quite an accomplishment in China given the complexity of communist business environment. Not only he has to work hard to build a business, he has to work even harder to manage local government and business community. With his never ending ambition, he works like a dog and sleeps in the company many times. My wife seldom saw him when she was young. Even though he was a loving father, his passion was clearly his company and career. He wanted to build something in his lifetime and more importantly, be somebody in the end. He never enjoyed vacation, food or cloth, or anything that is not related to work. But I don’t think he is really happy in the end. Even though I did not spend a lot of time with him, I can feel his tiredness and emptiness after one accomplishment to another. In the end, he passed away without even able to say “I love you” to any of his children, nor a chance to enjoy his hard labor and accomplishment. What is “success”? His funnel has over 10,000+ attendance. He is successful by any earthly measure, but was he happy? Does he have any regret not spending more time enjoying life vs building a life? I wonder and regret not able to chat with him more on the meaning of life when he was around…