Before its too late

Sam (not real name) was a friendly old man. He was probably in his sixties and always had so many stories of back in the day. Sam always stopped by my office to pick up our waste bin  and we usually had a 10 - 15 minute chat each time. A times I felt the pressure of work but I always reminded  myself that life is all about making a difference. If listening to Sam's repeated stories brought a smile to his face, I was not going to miss that opportunity. Recently, Sam told me he was retiring and he wanted to start a new life. Its been 2 weeks since I have seen Sam and its more obvious because our trash keeps piling and no one has come to get them.  We spoke to facilities about our predicament and we were told our bin should have been picked up once a week but Sam did it everyday because he had a friend in there. I was shocked. I didn't realize that Sam was doing more than what was expected of him. I started feeling guilty, I wished I had appreciated him more. Sam is gone and now I am discovering the vacuum he has left behind. I was swiftly comforted by the great conversations we had and life's counsel that Sam always gave me. I had appreciated Sam by listening to him and that had brought him back to our office without me even knowing  it made a difference to him. It dawned on me that this situation occurs in our professional and personal lives as well. Many times we are too busy meeting deadlines or networking that we forget to celebrate and appreciate our co-workers and loved ones. For some, the wake up call occurs when the individual says they are leaving. This prompts us telling them how wonderful they had been and how we valued their work. This is a good example of putting the cart before the horse. It's probable that they may have stayed, if we had valued them right from the beginning. Brains are like hearts they go where they are valued. People will never forget how you made them feel.  The world says you dont value something until you have lost it. I say, if you dont value something, you would loose it. Many people often walk away from a manager rather the company itself.  So, let the people in your sphere of influence know how much you value them before its too late.

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I'll be happy to hear your stories or experiences.