"It was some night. I wish my mother could have been there".
People who read my blog often or follow my updates on Facebook know I am sold on Jack Welch and AG Lafley. They are in my estimation, two of the finest CEOs that have walked the surface of this earth.
I have recently completed my fourth reading of "Jack: Straight From The Gut", and this time – I have been struck by how much of an influence his mother was on his life. For the most part of the introduction, you are treated to stories of Grace Welch, her favorite sayings, and sadly – her battle with heart disease. In fact, Jack opens the book by describing her response to an act of frustration he committed in high school – and how in that instant she taught him the delicate balance between losing and winning.
He closes the book with the paragraph I opened this post with. "It was some night. I wish my mother could have been there". A book about how he became arguably the greatest CEO ever, and he opens – and closes – it by talking about his mother.
I got to thinking about the place of a mother in a man's life. And by extension, the place of his wife and daughter(s) too. I'm writing this one for mothers though; apologies – wives and daughters.
Mothers do such a fantastic job! They believe in their kids when all they have got is promise; when there's nothing to them other than dreams and aspirations. They sacrifice a lot (more than most fathers I have met) to make sure their kids have their most basic needs (and sometimes wants) met. Mine was forced to read my earliest (and most meaningless) stories, read Shakespeare with me every afternoon for nearly two years, and listen with feigned attention while I regaled her with tales of my exploits in school – most of them imagined.
Mothers are an awesome bunch!
If your mother is alive, drop her an SMS and tell her how much you love her. It's probably the least she deserves.
Goodnight.
Nice and so true.
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