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Memento Mori – Making Every Day Count in Business and Life
12 Plays1 month ago
Welcome to The Profectory Podcast, where we explore the forces that shape success—both in business and within ourselves. I’m Manny Teran, and today, we’re diving into a concept that has the power to transform not just how we lead in business, but how we live our lives. Today’s topic is ‘Memento Mori,’ a Latin phrase that translates to ‘remember you must die.’ I know—it sounds intense, but trust me, it’s one of the most powerful ideas you can apply to your business, your relationships, and your legacy. This episode is about how embracing the finite nature of life can inspire you to lead with purpose, urgency, and compassion—so you can make an impact that lasts beyond your lifetime. Let’s get into it. 🕰️ Segment 1: What Is Memento Mori? 🔥 Segment 2: Why Memento Mori Matters in Business 🧠 Segment 3: How to Apply Memento Mori in Your Business ⚡ Segment 4: Real-World Examples of Memento Mori in Business 🧩 Segment 5: Your Call to Action – Live and Lead Like It Matters
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Transcript
Introduction to Profectory Podcast
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The Perfectory Podcast, Mastering the Mind and Market. Hosted by Manny Churan, we explore what it takes to succeed both in business and within yourself.
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From a strategy and business growth to mindset and resilience, we provide the tools to lead with clarity, confidence, and wisdom.
Stoic Teachings & Time Management
00:00:32
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Welcome to the Profectory Podcast, Mastering Mind and Market, where we explore the forces that shape success in both business and in life. I'm your host, Manny Turan, and on today's podcast, we will explore one of the cornerstones of Stoic teachings, the idea that we have a limited amount of time on this earth.
00:00:55
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Now, this is obviously a business podcast, so we're going to frame it on how to be more effective, more efficient in your business, and in the end, you'll get a lot of value.
00:01:06
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It might be intense, I might get emotional, but in the end, it's it's a great podcast.
Segments Overview: Memento Mori
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We're going to split this up into five segments, the first of which is sort of what is Memento Mori in general.
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Number two will be why Memento Mori matters in business. Number three will be ah segment on how to apply Memento Mori in your business. Four real world examples of Memento Mori in business.
00:01:34
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And number five is a call to action. So how to really apply the skills and the concepts in your life, in your business. The reason I wanted to do this podcast is ah couple reasons.
Reflections on Time: Centenarian Celebration
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I just returned from my hometown where I spent some time at two birthday parties. The first of which is my mother's best friend's mother.
00:01:58
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She turned 100 years old. We went to her birthday party. She was in great health. There's ah maybe 40, 50 people there. It was a great time, but it made me reflect and it made me think about what she's seen in her life since the, think 1925 until now.
00:02:19
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She's seen the the growth, the rise of electricity, of the radio, of the television, of the computer, of the internet, of the cell phone, and now of ai Now, that is a lot of technology technology advances over the past 100 years.
00:02:39
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But there's other things that she might have seen as well, as some personal explorations, how she might have grown as a person. She was a school teacher. And I can just imagine that a lot has changed in that domain as well.
00:02:53
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The other party we went to was for quinceanera.
Life's Uncertainty: Quinceañera vs. 100th Birthday
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If you're not familiar with the quinceanera, it's a celebration of 15 years old in the Mexican culture. And ah young ladies are sort of heralded into adulthood. It's sort of like a bat mitzvah, but for young girls.
00:03:10
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And in the end, that was a ah great event as well. This was maybe 250 people at this event. And it just showcased the sort of the two angles of life And even though one is one turned 100 and one turned 15, we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
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and And the other thing that brought this to life was the passing of three people that were close to me in business last year.
Stories of Loss & Urgency in Business
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The first one was Uday Dalvi.
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He ran an IT t company and he was a ah great guy, always smiling. i had seen him about three months before he passed and we joked around the the proverbial, hey, it'd be nice, we should get together, let's get together for coffee.
00:03:57
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And it never happened. The second of which was a friend of mine, Andy Tudhope, who I was very close with. We spent time together. We worked on projects together. He ran a couple of companies and just had a great vision.
00:04:13
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And he passed unexpectedly. And then the third was possibly the closest and hurt the most because this gentleman was my age, actually about six months ago.
00:04:25
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I guess six months less than me. He ran a company. He was a founder of a company in town. His name was Matthew Ramsey. And Matt and I spent a lot of time at breakfast time. ah We'd meet every quarter and just kind of chat about business.
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And his passing was was very all of a sudden. And his funeral was, yeah I don't know how many people showed up, but it was just a tear-jerking sort of funeral. And it just reminded me that we are not guaranteed any tomorrow at all.
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The idea that each of these gentlemen had plans for their business. They all had things going on. They all expected to be at work the next day or next week and develop these projects they've been working on, ah talk with vendors and customers.
00:05:11
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And all these things were at play. And all of a sudden, they were taken out of the equation. Right? And so that's a very powerful message for us. And as I go through these different segments, I'm going to reference those examples because there's a lot of power in understanding the fact that we have a limited amount of time. So let me dive into this first thing.
Understanding 'Memento Mori'
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Segment one, what is memento mori? So at the core of it it, it's a Latin word that means remember your death. Remember you will die.
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And it's the concept, it sounds kind of not good, right? It sounds very intense, very morbid, but it what it really can do for you is it can give you a sense of gratitude that every morning we can wake up, every morning we can see the sun and have another shot at life.
00:06:02
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And it matters because we are living in a world that's bombarded with distractions. Everywhere you look, These little little bundles of joy, my cell phone here, are bundles of distractions.
00:06:17
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Television, the news, there are places that go there's ah there's always events happening. There's so many distractions, so many things are are by vying for your attention that we oftentimes walk away from or don't give attention to what really matters most really in life.
00:06:37
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And it really presents a challenge that, you know, obviously business and life are intertwined. We obviously, know we don't leave life to go do our business. It's all a part of the mix.
00:06:48
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It's all harmonized together. and And on a future podcast, I will talk about the difference between harmony and balance. Very, very key distinction. But in the end, it matters because it gives us a framework.
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And actually just slide into segment two while we're here.
Overcoming Procrastination in Business
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The idea that each of these three gentlemen had plans for the next week, the next month, the next six months, the next five years, the next 10 years.
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Matt and I used to talk about his exit, how he wanted to sell his company and and do other things. And these were all ideas that were already in place, but there was some action, but obviously not complete action.
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And the idea is that we tend to give attention to things that are burning the brightest. The idea that you know In business, we use the the term firefighting. You go in and you're dealing with, you're fighting fires.
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And we sometimes, we most times give attention to those burning fires. We work in the business rather than work on the business.
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That's a very, very and important distinction that as business leaders, business owners, we have a tendency to not give attention to. And the idea that we procrastinate, at the end of the day, that's what it is.
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it's ah It's a very intense form of procrastination. And in the end, we should be focusing in on what matters most. What are the distractions that are that are pulling us away from our work?
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What is the impact not only to our so our personal self, our family, our community, our employees, our vendors, our customers. All these things depend on you as a business leader giving attention to what matters the most.
00:08:32
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And the idea is when we do that and we are able to serve with with integrity and purpose, then we are moving our vision down the court.
00:08:45
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The idea that we have a limited amount of time should remind us that we need to be on point, focused, and create impact, bring our team together, make sure that they know your vision, and in the end, execute.
Legacy, Priorities, & Empathy in Leadership
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Segment three, how to apply memento mori in your business. Now, this one is ah little bit more, I guess, tactical. Ask yourself, if today was my last day of life, of work, would I be satisfied? Would it matter?
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would i have Would my vision be in motion? And that idea is something that we don't really think about as business leaders. Our mortality is not typically a commonplace mentality.
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And when I talk about Memento Mori with friends and associates of mine, I need to spend some time to really have them understand that it is a it is really a beautiful thing.
00:09:48
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Memento Mori, the fact that we will die, should be reflected and and celebrated as a good thing. Sounds crazy, but it is.
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And here's what I mean by that. Waking up in the morning, giving gratitude for another day of life, and and being able to move your body, being able to go out there and communicate with your team, and take these projects to the next level, communicate your vision, execute on that vision, these are all beautiful things.
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If we're not on this earth, we don't have the ability to do that. We don't have the ability to to create impact. And a in doing so, by having that reflection of our limited time on this earth,
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we can really begin to, number one, prioritize meaningful work. What is the biggest thing that I can do today to create the biggest impact tomorrow and in the future?
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Number two, lead with empathy and compassion. That means that when you are interacting with your team, with your community, i use community sometimes to you to mean your team, your vendors, your ah customers, and the community and that you live in. All that is, Mike, when I reference community.
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So your business community is is seeing you lead with compassion and with empathy, and that leaves a mark. Just like those three gentlemen that passed left a mark on me.
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I remember Andy Tudhope's laugh, and he had kind of a silly way of ah of talking about certain things. I remember that. Or Matt's dry humor.
00:11:29
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He had this amazing dry humor. And I knew that his team really loved him so much. And and he was a great leader. So these are things that that left a mark in me. And sometimes I think when I'm leading my business, I think about those gentlemen and the impact it had ah on their team.
00:11:45
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And it makes me stand up a little straighter. It makes me um give more of a compassionate and emotional message to my team to bring them in. um Number three. Take calculated risks.
00:11:58
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So the idea that we sometimes don't move because we're afraid of some issue that might arise. You've heard this term, paralysis analysis or analysis paralysis.
00:12:12
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It's the idea that we overanalyze things and we don't move. If you create the right team and you understand the implications, the data around it and know that there's going to be risks, but realize, memento mori, that I will die.
00:12:29
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So you know what? I'm going to lean in on that risk. I'm going to see what happens because in the end, most things aren't life or death. In business, most things aren't life or death, unless you are ah medical advice company or you you're doing something in a place where it does matter. But 99.9%, it doesn't matter. If you ah try something, it doesn't work.
00:12:49
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The implications are, yeah, you might tarnish your reputation. You might lose a little bit of money. But in the end, you can recoup your reputation. You can you know gain more money. You can get things moving again. And that's things that, in my mind, I frame with memento mori.
00:13:06
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number five Number four, build a legacy beyond yourself. This is goes back to those gentlemen that passed. And they left a mark on my mind, on my heart, and on the heart of thousands of people collectively.
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And um not only did they leave their mark personally by me having known them, but also... in the the customers that they touched, the tools that they created for their customers.
00:13:38
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Those things live on. And you may not always know who the founder is or who is in charge of certain things, but nonetheless, they created something beautiful in life that continues to serve people.
00:13:50
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There's a lot of power in that, for at least for myself. you know There's a person, a former mentor more of mine you know said, the purpose of life is to live a life with purpose. I'm sure that's ascribed to some other person, but nonetheless, I remember that.
00:14:04
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I remember that because we tend to give a lot of of ah pomp and circumstance to the idea of what's my purpose? So I've got to be this amazing Mother Teresa-like person that is um that is giving to charity or whatever. Well, it does it matters to you what that means. And in the end, we might have different things. My purpose is different from my neighbor's purpose.
00:14:25
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and And so for me, if I can execute my purpose on a daily basis, I'm living a great life. And i don't live a life with a lot of regrets.
00:14:37
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I live a life that is primarily focused on the future, but I am human and they do come in like a wind from time to time. But many of my regrets aren't from the fact that I might have done something.
00:14:50
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They are the from the fact that I did not do something, that I did not take a risk, that I did not move in a new direction or a different direction.
Leadership Examples: Jobs, Buffett, Patagonia
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Number four are some real world examples of momentum-oriented business.
00:15:05
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Now, these three are are great examples. I found that they showcase in a very direct manner these high achievers, high-level leaders that embody the spirit and the core tenets of stoicism.
00:15:21
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The first of which is Steve Jobs. Urgency as a motivator. So the idea that, this is actually a ah quote from him, remembering that I'll be dead soon inspires me, right? It inspired him to take these bold action and it inspired him to create massive change and massive disruptions.
00:15:45
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And he was very he was relentless in his focus on innovation and creating this amazing new market. I mean, whether or not you're a an Apple fan, you'll recognize that he had an indelible mark that created ah massive shift in the way that people do business.
00:16:04
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is If you didn't notice, I've got my iPhone, I've got my iPad, I've got my my iMac, I've got another iMac or PowerBook. So I embody his his legacy.
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It's because of this one man bringing together the people, bringing and together the market and executing that created all these things, all these tools that I use on a daily basis.
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And i am one of of millions and hundreds of millions of people that actually use these tools. It's crazy. That piece, the fact that it came from one man's drive and desire is something that I sit on and reflect on quite a bit.
00:16:46
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Elon Musk, love him or hate him. um You can talk about Edison, love him or hate him. Jack Welsh. There are so many amazing entrepreneurs and business leaders out there that have created massive amounts of change, massive amounts of growth and disruption that the world is a different and, in my opinion, a better place for them having been in that position.
00:17:08
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And that is a reflection of Memento Mori in my in my ah thinking. Number two, Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, is you know talking about ninety s He's getting very close to 100 years old himself.
00:17:22
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The idea that he has very long-term thinking. And what does that really mean that in the sense of memento mori? Isn't it kind of ah an opposite thing, right? Live for the day?
00:17:33
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No, it isn't really live for day. It isn't carpe diem, per se. This is a little different ah shift. This is memento mori. Remember, you will die. So leave a legacy.
00:17:44
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of integrity and growth. That's what that means. It means I'm going to build this cathedral of business and I'm going to build it brick by brick by brick. I'm going to set the foundation with integrity, with ethics, with doing the right thing, and I'm going to build it higher and higher so that when I'm i'm gone, that legacy will continue to live on.
Warren Buffett's Legacy Strategy
00:18:09
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And that's the legacy that Warren Buffett has really put into action with Berkshire Hathaway and the way he does business. He looks things, ah he'll be you long gone before many of these things are actually executed. And that is a great way to think about Memento Mori, is he's building up this cathiral cathedral of business so that when he's gone, it could be celebrated. And in his case, he wants to give a lot of his money away, most of it.
00:18:34
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So that is his cause. That's one of his purposes. And number three is a actually it's a company. It is a Patagonia. The idea that the founder of Patagonia and the company itself is living this ah purpose driven leadership framework where they had ah created on sustainability. They create this mindset of shared um responsibility and action in how they run the business.
00:19:01
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And they really at the end of the day, the impact is that they are working for a company that stands for more than just providing fleeces and two and other things for camping, right? This is the idea that we're working at this company that has a social environmental impact.
00:19:19
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And i'm not saying you've got to have that. I've got, you know, businesses come in different sizes, different forms. If that's that important to you, then then figure out what is important to you in your business.
Living with Urgency & Embracing Uncertainty
00:19:30
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And the last segment is is your call to action. So what I used to frame this is live and lead like it matters. Live and lead like it's your last day alive.
00:19:45
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And again, goes back to the idea of this intense notion that we will die one day. It can happen instantly. It can happen tomorrow for me. I may not be here for my next podcast. This may be my last one.
00:19:59
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And as crazy and scary and weird as it seems, that possibility is equal for all of us. Yeah, sure, there's some might that might be in and bad health. So we think that our that that person has a higher chance to die that day.
00:20:16
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And in some ways, clinically, yes. But equally, we could i could go drive right now to my office, my other office, and I can get hit by a bus and I'm dead. And this is what it is. I'm living my life right now.
00:20:28
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I'm loving doing this podcast. I'm loving running the other business, IR Labs, that I run. I am loving relationships with business leaders, with friends, with acquaintances.
00:20:40
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And i just spent some time at this event called 10 West. And I saw lots of people that I hadn't seen in years. And living that life, that if I was to die tomorrow, I feel good about having lived my life. And that comes down to that memento mori.
00:20:55
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the this is already kind of talked about the ah um the idea that we have a limited amount of time.
Foundations of a Meaningful Life
00:21:03
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It's not about fearing death. It's about living boldly.
00:21:06
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And some things and from the call to action component here, I'm going to list four things that I believe are central to living a life of integrity and and essentially living the stoic landscape, living the stoic life in the business sense.
00:21:23
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Number one, daily reminders to pursue meaningful work. Whatever your work might be, you got to ascribe meaning to it. Meaning for you, but meaning for others around you in that community I mentioned earlier.
00:21:37
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Your impact, how does it actually help the world? How does your impact help your neighbor, your your family? you know You working those late hours, you creating that great software tool, you giving that amazing speech at your marketing summit.
00:21:52
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All these things create... ah wealth and abundance for your families, your kids can go to college, but also for the customers and the vendors and the whole community will benefit from that.
00:22:04
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Number two, lead with purpose and integrity. This is a piece that isn't often talked about in the business world of the importance of integrity. It should be fundamental, but it is something that I believe needs to be openly discussed.
00:22:20
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And when you put it down on that piece of paper of leading my how am I leading my life with purpose and integrity today, it shifts your focus. You know, there's all this talk of things like ah manifestation, right? I'm gonna manifest these things.
00:22:35
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I'm gonna do a vision board. I'm gonna manifest these things. I believe in that, but in a different way. i'm not I don't believe that it's necessarily some like cosmic woo-woo thing. I believe that what it does is it affects our our neurological ah framework so that we're looking for opportunities, that we're leaning in sometimes when we would maybe not normally lean in.
00:22:56
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And those things, by having them top of mind, by looking at that vision board, by manifesting these things on a daily basis, you're going out to the world and your your brain, your subconscious is operating at the highest level.
00:23:11
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And you might say, okay, well, I see you know this opportunity that down the road may lead to one of my things on my vision board. So that's important. Number three, serve those around you with compassion and empathy.
00:23:26
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that is should be central to the way you live your life. If it's not, then you might you I invite you to sort of add some empathy and compassion to your life. If you have people that work for you and there's something that comes up and you feel weird about saying, you know sorry, to this person is sick or whatever, you might wanna lean in a little bit. You might wanna say, you know what, I i i know that you're your mother is sick And I'm going to give you a half a day off. i'm gonna give you a day off. I'm going to take ah whatever time you need to deal with these things.
00:23:58
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That compassion, we're human beings on this earth. And nobody's going to take anything to the next world, right? You're not going to take your riches with you. Again, the idea of memento mori is that embody these things today, create that impact, lead with compassion.
00:24:13
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And number four, take bold risks. The idea of taking risks as an entrepreneur and business leader, we're accustomed to that. And each of us has a different threshold for risk.
00:24:25
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My threshold is much higher than maybe my neighbor's
Breaking Comfort Zones for Growth
00:24:29
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threshold. And then my other neighbor's threshold is likely most more higher than mine. And so it's really matters what matters to you.
00:24:36
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But what I try to do is I try to reach my level of comfort and then reach beyond that. Comfort is a dream killer.
00:24:49
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I'll say that again. Comfort is a dream killer. It is something that I've come to terms with, that each of you will have to come to terms with. If you have a cushy job and you're and you're just punching a clock and you're making tons of money, your your desire for bigger and better things may be squelched.
00:25:09
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It may be diminished. Okay. And for me, i I need to remind myself when I am comfortable, what can I do to get out of my comfort zone, to become uncomfortable?
00:25:20
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And certainly doing things that are new, you're going to feel uncomfortable for a while after that. When I first started these podcasts three, four years ago, my previous podcast, I was always nervous. And now I'm not because I've been able to give attention to it.
00:25:36
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And I understand that The content, it doesn't have to be perfect, but what I'm trying to do here with the podcast in particular is inspire you to take action, to at least in this for today's podcast, to embody the idea of Memento Mori and to create some some energy behind that so that you can live a better life, so that you can lead with more vigor, more compassion, more purpose.
00:26:02
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And... Really, just I'll end this podcast with this question and really challenge you to reflect on how Memento Mori can reshape your world, can redefine how you do business.
00:26:18
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And you know success is not about mastering just the market. it's mastering It's about mastering your mind as well. This is the premise for this podcast. But the last question, which I actually asked earlier on, but I want to re-say it right now as a the parting comment, is if today was your last day as a leader, would you be proud what you've done?