What Really Matters

“My friends thought that I was kind.” I love that I’ve made people laugh, but the important thing, ultimately, is a small number of close relationships.  – John Cleese

That is how the great British comedian John Cleese responded in a recent Harvard Business Review interview when asked, “How would you like your epitaph to read?”

Cleese (in the chef’s hat above) became a comedy icon in the 1970s for his work on Monty Python’s Flying Circus.  He has had a long and successful career that has ranged from acting and writing to creating business training films.

Cleese is now in his 70’s and has had an amazingly full life. He’s also had a lot of ups and downs. I love learning from people of his age. They have lived so much, made so many mistakes and have fantastic perspectives on life. I really hope that by learning from people with his amount of life experience that I can look back on my own life when I reach that age and have as few regrets as possible.

After reading his interview with HBR, I learned three important things about what really matters in life:

  1. In the end, we’ll only have a few close relationships that are really deep enough to matter. Just like his quote says. Quit trying to be best friends with everyone and being worried about offending people. Love those closest to you, your spouse and your children first. Know who you are and what you stand for. Those few other close relationships will respect what you stand for and probably share many of your values.

    2.  

  2. Don’t let perfectionism stop you from trying. “There are no mistakes in the creative process” says Cleese. But don’t be afraid to pursue perfection. Do a few things and work towards perfection in those areas. My areas are loving God, loving my wife, being a great dad and helping leaders build great organizations. What are yours? Be careful not to pick too many. Distraction comes in many forms. “Picasso was not stopping at 3 in the afternoon to play tennis” says Cleese.

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  3. Great leaders are the ones whose goal is to make themselves dispensable. They help the people around them acquire the skills and experiences they need to outperform their leader. The greatest leaders are really great supporters.
 
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Photo courtesy of http://www.lemouv.fr/diffusion-monty-python-le-retour

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