I Would Like to be Remembered….4 May 2016

I Would Like To Be Remembered….

1. As a Nice Guy who was also Savvy.
2. As a person who also tried to look at things from the other person’s point of view.
3. As a pragmatic realist interested in solving problems more so than in being right.
4. For living each day as if it were close to being his last and for putting his family first.
5. For being curious and interested in things from a global and comparative perspective.
6. For not owing anyone money and for paying his bills quickly and with a smile.
7. For being honest and always letting other people know where they stood with him.
8. For caring about and doing nice things for people and for putting out 100% when doing it, and for being a really good giver of presents.
9. For adhering to the highest standard of excellence and reliability when doing things.
10. For being considered a top-notch friend, mentor, husband, parent and business partner.
11. As a person who never passed the buck and who took ownership of problems.
12. As a person who quickly got to the heart of the matter in analyzing issues and problems, took decisive action and got results.
13. As a person who felt that he had more than he needed, and wanted to enjoy life.
14. As a person who got great pleasure from his wife, children and friends.
15. For being prescient on global issues and successfully strategic in business.
16. As a person who did not take too many things too seriously and found that satisfying.
17. As a good sport who would “play ball.”
18. As a well-read, heeled and traveled person who liked seeing the better side of things.
19. As a successful son to parents and as a brother that made his family feel pride without envy.
20. As a caring father who always had time and love for his children and who doted about the little things that they did and who always thought to provide for them in all manners large and small.
21. As a loving husband who always thought his wife was cute, cuddly and never boring, and who believed that his wife loved him more than anything else in the world and who thanked God every day that she married him.
22. As a person who died without regrets.
23. As a person who lived a balanced life and who could be happiest while eating a good dessert or having lunch with a good friend.
24. As a person who didn’t put a premium on pursuing power or trying to leave a legacy in the world but rather put his efforts toward enjoying his life and raising his family.
25. For making sure that he left things better than when he found them.
26. For knowing that he had it good, thanking God for his privilege, and for meaning to do his best to make the most of it and not take that good fortune for granted, for honoring the obligations that came with that privilege, and for being kind to those around him regardless of their stature.
27. For valuing loyalty and keeping one’s word.
28. For making sure employees and creditors got paid before he did, even if he had to take money out of his pocket alone to do it.
29. For being quietly strong under pressure and able to defend his vital interests in a rational and decent manner.
30. For always looking to see what he could learn each and every day to make himself better and loving the experience of doing it.
31. As a guy who had a super cool side and who did some amazing things at home and abroad that few people ever knew while he was alive doing them.
32. As a person who felt it was best to be quietly proud of what he did or could do but not talk about it.
33. As a person who hoped God was really there caring about what people did, because otherwise lots of people weren’t having nearly as much fun as they ought to be having.
34. As a person who was patient and planned for the long term, and who knew how to plot a course from here to there and stay on track.
35. As a person who believed that if you are going to start something, you better be prepared to finish it.
36. As a visionary who learned his lessons from the past and who could use that experience to peer into the future.
37. As a person who threw really good dinner parties, planned great vacations, took people out for good meals and was the guy you wanted to order desserts and treats.
38. For publishing globalthoughts.com as a source of trusted insight and anticipated worthwhile reading and as an archive of indispensable information.
39. As a person who really did care about other people and for whom out of sight did not mean out of mind.
40. As a person who also prayed for the welfare of the People of the World and saw himself as a Citizen of the World.

Ivan Ciment

August 10, 2012

Revised May 4, 2016