Company Blog

Did you leave a mark?

by Adam Zack — October 14, 2020

Don’t take the easy way, take the impactful way.

“You live as long as the last person that remembers you.”

-Lakota Indian saying

As I’ve traveled along the journey with my best friend of 52 years who has had to navigate liver failure and the extreme toll it’s taken on his body, it has reminded me that we all have an expiration date and will one day be looking down the barrel of our own mortality. It always seems like it’s so far away. It seems like it only happens to other people. I feel mentally like I did at 25. So Scott’s journey has in a way been an education and reminder for me to make choices and act in ways that result in me leaving a mark that will be remembered once I’m gone. There are plenty of people who die every day that will be forgotten tomorrow because they didn’t leave a lasting impression on anyone. Whether it’s the narcissist, the loner or just one of the A-holes in the world, once they are gone, well, they are gone. My friend Scott is one of the guys who has left a mark. In fact, lots of marks. And I’m not just talking skidmarks in his shorts that happened so many times when we were kids. He’s loved and admired and is part of so many people’s memories and funny stories that it will probably take a couple generations before he’s forgotten. It has reminded me to make a difference in people’s lives every chance I get. Don’t take the easy way, take the impactful way. I want people to remember me for making a difference in their lives and to smile and laugh and think that they miss that big dork maybe a little bit, but damn, he made my life a little bit richer.

Update:

Scott was flown from a hospital in Reno to Stanford University this week and placed high on the liver transplant list by one of the best doctors in the country, so we are very hopeful that his mark will go on for many years to come. Through it all he has remained humble, kind and caring, further extending his mark.