ConnectingDirectors.com - Funeral Industry Articles By: Randy McCormick

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I sat at my computer last week attempting to assemble a blog-thought with the theme ? ?Don?t Take it Personally? ? when, only 200 words into my writing, an award-winning actor best-friend with his own star on the walk emailed me. He is struggling with the debilitating effects of throat cancer treatments and his voice ? that once was his bread and butter is now reduced to a ?gangster growl?. In his wisdom he directed me to a reading that was helping him in his recuperation and I immediately deleted my own rambling thoughts ... deciding to share the words of wisdom with you. Please read it all the way through and discover for yourself the reasons I feel it is such a powerful narrative. Even if you don?t agree ? the thought is well presented.

These are words written by Don Miguel Ruiz.

Let?s use the power of our imagination to create a dream together, knowing that it?s a dream.

Imagine that you are in a gigantic mall where there are hundreds of movie theatres. You look around to see what?s playing, and you notice a movie that has your name. Amazing! You go inside the theatre, and it?s empty except for one person. Very quietly, trying not to interrupt, you sit behind that person, who doesn?t even notice you; that person?s attention is on the movie.

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I have always been in awe of the entrepreneur who rushes into new territory and comes out smelling like a rose. I can?t speak of the number of times that I have said ?If only I had risked a little more and taken the leap? ... but before I was a funeral professional I articled in a traditional Chartered Accountants office (not unlike Ebeneezer Scrooge?s Bob Cratchit) and our mantra was always ?Call me back when you can quote me some solid profit numbers?. We always lived by the rule that the early bird gets the worm ... but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

Good risk taking happens when you hear of a deal and jump in after doing good research with the knowledge that a real commitment to hard work has to be involved and that persistence will pay off in the end. Bad risk taking happens when you hear about a chance to get in on the ?ground floor? of a deal that sounds ?too good to be true? and you jump before doing good homework. There's nothing good about failing or watching other people fail. It's a rare TV night without a tale of someone attempting to live the dream and going to hell-in-a-hand-basket in the process.

Read more: In Just Two Days, Tomorrow Will be Yesterday

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How many times have you heard this mantra repeated ... ?Begin every arrangement with ?Tell me about your father/sister/mother?, then lay down your pencil. After the sharing, ask ... ?How do see your next few days unfolding and how can I help with that vision.??. We all have our own versions of the above, but it is an undisputed fact that we all trust someone who listens more than someone who just comes at us with armloads of information.

In days past the opposite was true. In 1950?s and early 60?s, the person sitting across from you expected the funeral director to do all the talking and any intrusion into their privacy was an invasion. Back then children were brought up with the oft repeated parental words ?Don?t speak unless spoken to? and, as adults arranging for a deceased parent, that was a safe option. That generation were called ?Traditionalists?. Things are different today.

Read more: You Aren't Learning Much When Your Lips Are Moving

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As the sun poked its nose over the horizon, the dawn had already broken into a sweat. Yes, the day promised to be a scorcher. While looking over my schedule as I drank my morning coffee I could see that the day also promised to be grueling. As I pulled into traffic I did a mental rehearsal of things I had to do ... things that I could not put off.

8:30 - Staff meeting to organize the day.

9:30 ? A meeting with the company banker and accountant ... accounts receivable were way up the past few months and cash flow needed to be addressed in a realistic manner.

11:00 - I needed to deal with a problem seemingly fabricated by the surly new control freak (my staff?s assessment) who had just become the incumbent at a local parish where we had enjoyed ... and hoped to continue ... .a great relationship.

2:00 pm ? A funeral for the toddler son of a lawyer and his doctor wife ... the caterers, rental people with the tent and extra chairs were already on their way according to the answering service. To top it all off ? my wife?s parents were arriving on a late afternoon flight and needed to be picked up. My wife had gushed to her mother last night about our anniversary celebration plans including a romantic overnighter at a hotel getaway ... and they just decided to fly in and check into an adjoining room ... to help us celebrate .... Oh joy!

Read more: Pressure ? It Turns Rough Stones Into Diamonds