What Are Your Priorities?

As my time comes to a close as the 2017 President of the Society of Exchange Counselors, I wanted to share a few thoughts with you regarding priorities. Every time I attend an S.E.C. meeting, I feel like I have just inhaled three days of pure, fresh, unaltered oxygen! As I think about it, the main reason I believe I feel this way is because of a couple of our guiding beacons in the S.E.C. that make us who we are: integrity and the sense of family. It is so easy, as we return home to our normal business atmospheres, to fall into the trap of go-go-go and letting the confusion and chaos overtake us, but I encourage each of you to take a deep breath of the pure, fresh, unaltered oxygen  that the group offers and stay focused on the true priorities in life.

In an attempt to help you with this, I want to share with you a poem that I have framed in my office, one that I have given in a frame to each of my employees for their offices as a daily reminder of the true priorities in life. Hope you enjoy it!

PRIORITIES

When I reach the  end  of my  days,
a moment or two from now,
I  must  look  back  on  something more meaningful than the pursuit of houses
and land and machines and stocks and bonds.
Nor is fame of any lasting benefit.

 

I will consider my earthly existence
to have been wasted, unless I can recall…..
….a loving family
….a consistent investment in the lives of people
….and an earnest attempt to serve the God who made me.

 

And, there’s no better time than now to
assess the values which are worthy
of my time and efforts.

 

Enjoy the holidays, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you this year as President of the

4 Comments »

  1. Great post! Thanks for your service and example.

  2. Nick,

    Enjoyed the poem.

    I recently heard Warren Buffet (arguably the richest man in the world) say that he measures wealth by the number of people you love and the number you care about that love you.

    Something to remember.

    PS:Thanks for your service to the Society and for your friendship and support!

  3. Nick,

    Thanks, I share those thoughts with people in our organization and will keep this as a reminder.

    Best,

    Rich Schindler

  4. As someone evaluating the advantages of being involved with this group I cannot imagine a better indicator and Holiday reminder of what matters. Thanks Burke Race