Lessons Forged Through the Flames (Part 2)

Written By: Brad Pedersen

Have you taken inventory on your life to evaluate what you believe is truly valuable? Between what you have, what you do and who you are in a relationship with, what do you believe is truly important?

Last week I shared the story from last summer’s massive forest fires that raged through the mountains surrounding our community. If you want to get caught up on the story, you can read more HERE.

Initially the inferno was a mesmerizing spectacle on the opposite shore of the lake. That quickly changed when the winds shifted, sweeping the embers across and sparking up near our backyard. Soon the blaze engulfed the forests surrounding the region where we live and we were forced to leave.

We had just moved from Toronto, 4 years prior and had settled into our new home in the Okanagan. In the process we had "purged" our belongings and only traveled with what we thought was truly valuable. We were now forced to make an even more selective choice.

In my book Start Up Santa I wrote a chapter on Monopoly that unpacks some of the not so obvious lessons that can be learned from the board game. One of those idea's is the myth that you can achieve happiness through capitalism that is motivated by greed. If pursued, this philosophy will have you chasing materialistic and superficial goals, known as the "Four Ps" - Possessions, Prestige, Power, and Pleasure. Ironically, these pursuits only lead to fleeting and temporary satisfaction that leave you longing for more. In contrast a true "free enterpriser" understands that the secret to a ‘joyfully’ can only come from pursuing the "Four Cs" - Challenges, Connections, Creativity & Charity. 

The foundation of living a fulfilling and enriched life comes from when we are both growing and giving. To reveal this truth to you, I would ask you to pause and make a list of what you believe are your top 5 favorite memories.

I can predict that these top 5 moments fit into one of four themes: a list of meaningful moments with people in your life (Connections), a time when you accomplished a difficult feat (Challenges), when you used your agency to build something of value (Creativity), or when you gave back in a meaningful way in the service of others (Charity).

Isn't it surprising that the things you thought would make the list such as a new car, a certain number in a bank account, a title at work or a membership to an exclusive club do not make this list? Instead it is memories of a wedding day, the birth of a child, completing a challenging race, writing a new song, or helping a family in need that are foundational to your sense of fulfillment.

As it turns out, the most important things in life are not things. What we truly value and what we will recall in our final moments in this life, are the magical and meaningful memories with people that matter (what I call M3). 

However the noise and messaging in the market remind us that we are not enough and that in order to feel happy and content we must chase the 4 P's. The truth is that our most important (M3) moment’s can only be created when we are pursuing the 4 C's and in the process creating cherished memories.

In the face of imminent danger, it was a sobering test of what we should bring. In reflection I can now see that the 4 C's helped guide our decision making. Outside of the basic provisions of food, personal care and clothing, we grabbed pictures, family photo albums, hand written notes and journals, our deceased dog's collar and paw prints and a few meaningful keepsakes from people close to us. Other than that we were prepared to let the rest go, knowing there was a real chance it would be lost to the flames.

In his book Essentialism, Greg McKeown writes about the importance of separating the vital few vs the trivial many in every area of life. McKeown states: 

"Essentialism is not about cutting out things you like, but cutting out things you don’t like or things that don’t matter." 

I believe his words are both instructional and a reminder. The reminder is that we need to take inventory of our lives and ensure there is alignment with our professed values, ensuring that we separate what is truly valuable from that which is trivial. Also it is a commission for us to think about where we are currently applying our most valuable resource (our time) and ensure it is connected to our future self, building value into what makes up the 4 C's knowing that it is truly enduring.

I am grateful for our forest fire evacuation experience as it was a forcing function of getting clear on what I really value. My encouragement to you is to run your very own sudden evacuation test and ask the following questions:

If you had to pick up and leave immediately, what would you take with you?

How does that list resonate with what you claim are your values? 

What does this list inform you about where you are currently investing your time?