Reposted from Tim Richardson
Last week, I lost a good friend. One who loved me unconditionally, even though I didn’t want her for the longest time.
My life was too busy. There was too much responsibility involved. Our kids were getting older and no longer required as much care.
She would tie us down, and I didn’t need one more thing to take my time and energy away.
As it turned out, we became great friends and walking buddies.
Early last year, I decided to get intentional about memorizing segments of my keynote speech. I needed someone to just let me talk and say the same things again and again.
She was an easy first choice.
I would wake up early – often before sunrise. We would walk in all kinds of weather without a complaint of any kind from her.
As we walked, she listened to me practice. She heard me work on memorizing new statistics to support my key points. She heard me repeat my presentation and waited patiently when I stopped walking periodically to review index cards with the content I was trying to memorize.
She never complained. She never got tired of hearing me, and she never gave me unsolicited feedback – she just listened without judgment as I talked while we walked.
We walked miles and miles together early in the morning, and she always welcomed me when I came in late at night from a business trip when no one else waited up.
She was always happy to see me, despite the fact that I sometimes got angry with her for barking at everyone who came to our door. She never held a grudge when I would pull her back to me, sometimes too forcefully, when she wanted to chase a rabbit or squirrel.
She would chase balls and frisbees that I threw over and over again. My arm tired out before she did.
Her needs were simple: food, walks, and an occasional tummy rub.
Eight years wasn’t enough with her, even though while she was alive I thought about how free it would be when she was gone. She hung on long enough for us to return from vacation. Last week, she let us know that she was ready right before I left for my annual National Speakers Association conference. Fittingly, it was a dreary, rainy morning when the vet came over to help with her transition.
I learned a lot from her about valuing practice and repetition, forcing myself to do hard things that I didn’t like doing, having simple needs, listening fully, and loving people unconditionally.
All great life lessons at any age.
The lessons she left behind are ones every business professional can use: practice what matters until it becomes natural, stay committed to the hard work of improvement, keep your priorities simple, and listen with full attention before you respond.
In a world full of noise, those habits can strengthen leadership, deepen trust, and improve the way we serve others.
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