Be Like Melvin

This continues to be a season of loss. Last week it was Michael K. Williams. On Tuesday night it was another great man, Melvin Van Peebles. While we’re all saddened by his passing, it’s more important to remember the incredible life he lived and the creative impact he had.   Called “the godfather of Black cinema,” Melvin was a filmmaker, an actor, a novelist, a playwright, a musician, even an options trader on the American Stock Exchange. Basically, he was a renaissance man.

The fact is, our lives are finite. So all we can do is try to live them to the fullest. The question, though, is how do we define and live full lives? Part of it means deeply exploring the things that interest us creatively and intellectually. 

I also believe living fully includes developing and deepening relationships with other people. Are you contributing what’s best in you to the communities you’re part of? I keep going back to Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery and Mark Thompson’s book Success Built To Last, where they write: “Builders are people whose beginnings may be inauspicious but who eventually become defined by their creativity. At some point in their lives, Builders feel compelled to create something new or better that will endure throughout their lifetime and flourish well beyond.” They go on to say, “For Builders, the real definition of success is a life and work that brings personal fulfillment and lasting relationships and makes a difference in the world in which they live. The question is why the rest of us tolerate any other definition.” (emphasis mine)

Melvin was a builder, and so are many of you who read this newsletter. The knowledge that our days are limited shouldn’t make us sad about our inevitable end. Rather, we should take the example high achievers like Melvin set and ask ourselves this: What we can do to build richer, more lasting relationships with those around us? How do we make a difference in the world in the ways only each of us can, and in whatever time we have left?

That’s the work.  It’s always been the work. Let’s get to it.