Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Death and Legacy: Untapped Power in Business
11 Plays19 days ago
Death isn’t just a shadow; it’s a sharpener. In this Voice of Growth monologue, Manny shares why keeping mortality in view creates urgency, clarity, and compassion. We talk about recent losses, the Stoic practice of memento mori, and the two levers it gives operators: brevity (decide and ship) and legacy (build to outlast you). We go practical—wills, trusts, life insurance—and we get human: ending “bad blood” while there’s still time, showing up for people who are grieving, and protecting your team by protecting your health. If you died tomorrow, what would still move? What would stall? Do one legacy move today.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Podcast and Themes
00:00:04
Speaker
The voice of growth, mastering the mind and market.
Death as a Business Tool
00:00:10
Speaker
You see, we have a very interesting relationship with death, an extremely powerful tool in business.
00:00:20
Speaker
We want what we created to live on.
00:00:25
Speaker
It would really suck if I died tomorrow. You have bad beef with somebody, then let it go. Remember that you will die and you have today in order to create that legacy in whatever form you can.
Host Introduction and Personal Reflections
00:00:47
Speaker
Welcome back to the Voice of Growth podcast, Mastering the Mind and Market. My name is Manny Turan and I'm your host. Death, that word.
00:00:59
Speaker
And what it means is central in how we live our lives, how we run our business, and so many aspects of this thing we call the reality.
00:01:12
Speaker
The crazy thing about death is that it both gives us a sense of doom, but could also give us a boost and some meaning, believe it or not.
00:01:26
Speaker
You see, we have a very interesting relationship with death as human beings. On one side, death is extremely removed and we almost disassociate with that.
00:01:39
Speaker
We don't want to think about it and we put our our minds most of the day. The other side, it is the most intimate relationship that we will have in that each of us will eventually succumb to death and we become one with death.
Mindset Shift After Friend's Passing
00:01:59
Speaker
This is crazy, of course, but it's the reality. This being a business podcast, we'll talk a lot about the business aspects, but because this is also about the mind and mindset, we're going to dive into that side as well.
00:02:15
Speaker
And the real reason for this conversation is couple things. The first of which is a former roommate or friend of my partner passed away suddenly over the weekend.
00:02:30
Speaker
As a matter of fact, we still don't know how she died. And this person, even though I didn't know him that well, I did see them, I met them, i associated with them and from time to time, different parties and whatnot.
00:02:43
Speaker
But the reason why it kind of hit close to me is watching the dynamic between my partner and the news of her roommate, former roommate's passing.
00:02:58
Speaker
And why this is so interestingly mysterious to me is that I'm seeing it play out in front of my face. My children have not lost anybody close to them, like one of their friends.
00:03:11
Speaker
um and my former wife and other partners have.
Memento Mori in Decision-Making
00:03:16
Speaker
um But because I'm seeing this play out in front of me, it just made me want to come and talk here and and kind of talk about my experiences, my perceptions, and also leverage some of what we've talked about in previous podcasts with the idea of Memento Mori.
00:03:36
Speaker
Memento mori, for those that don't know, is a Latin term that means remember you will die. Remembering that you will die is and can be an extremely powerful tool in business and in life.
00:03:54
Speaker
By knowing and remembering that you will die, it means that you make decisions that reflect on one side a certain level of Brevity, you want to make these things quickly because we have a limited amount of time on this earth.
00:04:12
Speaker
And on the other side, the concept of legacy.
Health Awareness and Mortality
00:04:17
Speaker
Because when you're gone, part of you as an entrepreneur, as business leaders, we want what we created to live on.
00:04:26
Speaker
And that concept in death tugs between those two sides. um Not only that, but I also did have a very distant friend from high school that I learned passed away as well through he had colon cancer.
00:04:44
Speaker
And, you know, there's a lot of things happening in the world right now. Matter of fact, one thing is a lot of younger people are getting colon cancer. They they think they know why. They think it has to do with a certain bacteria um that is linked to E. coli and other things, but they don't know definitively why.
00:05:01
Speaker
And so this this should be your reminder to go get your your ah colonoscopy, even though it's seemingly weird and it's kind of a weird concept, but it can figure out if you have cancer, they can deal with it. And those that catch it early can live a very long life.
00:05:18
Speaker
So this gentleman was my age. He was probably 50, 51. i saw him when I was getting my colonoscopy, my standard 50 year old thing. um And he was in the waiting room and I didn't recognize him. And he he asked me, hey, are you Manny Turan?
00:05:31
Speaker
And I said, yeah, and he told me who he was and it and it kind of blew me away because I didn't recognize him. He had become so skinny. He was fighting ah stage four colorectal cancer and he had lost a leg, he had an infection. And so i was sort of hopeful that he would pull through and and then I got news on Facebook recently that he did not.
00:05:50
Speaker
And you know these things are reminders. And I have another friend that was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that was seemingly kind of far along. And so these are all the situations we're living day in, day out.
00:06:03
Speaker
And you think that we would go mad as a society thinking about our death could be around the next corner. Or I'm going to go to the doctor, I've got this weird pain, oh my God, is it cancer?
Physical Health and Business Performance
00:06:15
Speaker
But fortunately, we we developed a certain level of callous to the idea, and at least for most, maybe not everybody, I can speak for myself, that I tend to be extremely...
00:06:30
Speaker
bullish when it comes to certain things. I don't get um sick very often and I try to eat well. I'm not perfect, but I do my best. um And all these things are an effort to maintain a higher level of physical acumen so that my business acumen is not in any way, shape, or form tainted or slowed down.
00:06:55
Speaker
And it might sound weird. Matter of fact, the podcast we did with Dr. Bernal kind of laid it all out in that you need to be an optimal physical function if you want to operate an optimal mental function and be able to execute on a business.
00:07:12
Speaker
That's the sort of the internal side. There's an external side as well.
00:07:17
Speaker
For better for worse, I've been parties to an investment consortium I was part of at one time when we were watching a relatively young entrepreneur present.
00:07:30
Speaker
This person was not very healthy. They were severely overweight. They were a smoker. they You could just tell they weren't doing as much as they could do for their health.
00:07:42
Speaker
And one of the people on the panel that I was on behind closed doors said the following, and at the moment I was like kind of shocked, but I was intrigued because like, why would you say that?
00:07:55
Speaker
He basically said, hey, if we give this guy the $10,000 prize, prize What's to say he's not going to kick the bucket before he he's um able to execute on his business? And that was kind of like, whoa, that really threw me for a loop.
00:08:09
Speaker
But i I just, I saw the guy and I mean, I'm not going to say I agreed with him, but I was very concerned about that.
00:08:18
Speaker
Bring this back to the stoicism, memento mori.
Legacy Planning and Security
00:08:23
Speaker
So what does it mean that we're going to die one day? means that we need to make sure that we handle our affairs for our family.
00:08:34
Speaker
Will, trust, whatever framework you want to put in place, you need to put something in place. The worst thing you want is during a time of need, if you pass away, your family's having to deal with lawyers and probate and the government and all that.
00:08:49
Speaker
Having a will, having a trust in place, even if you don't necessarily have a lot at the moment, If you are amassing and getting some momentum, you want to have something in place in case something happens.
00:09:02
Speaker
um I have a few friends that i'm I've mentioned in the past that did pass away unexpectedly and them having a ah trust in place, life insurance, they're able to provide for their family when they're not around.
00:09:15
Speaker
As much as we don't want to think about it, it has to be thought about. ive I have ah my own life insurance policy and I've got a whole directorate as well so that if I am incapacitated or is a moment where I'm not fully there, that these things will carry out in my stead and provide for my family, provide for ah the charities and the legacy that I want to live.
00:09:39
Speaker
It would really suck if I died tomorrow. It would. Not only for my family, but because I'm building momentum because I love doing what I do right now. And i' I'm sure you feel the same way.
00:09:51
Speaker
I'm sure if you're executing a business and you're working on something that you feel like, damn, if I were to die tomorrow, it'd suck because you didn't see whatever you're creating take flight. That's the crazy thing.
00:10:03
Speaker
We don't know what we have and we could die tomorrow and we would lose it all, at least the momentum. But if you have a directorate, if you have a sizable trust, then guess what?
00:10:16
Speaker
You can direct whoever down the road to execute on what you're working on. If you have a $5 million dollars life ins insurance policy and you kick the bucket, your family can take four of those million and live off of it.
00:10:30
Speaker
And the other million can be used to ah hire somebody to to run whatever you're doing. I'm just giving you you example. So there's things like that we can do about continuing on the legacy that we wanted to create for the world.
Resolving Conflicts and Seeking Closure
00:10:45
Speaker
Another thing about Memento Mori is with your people you work with, people around you, making sure that you address whatever elephant might be in the room.
00:11:00
Speaker
I had a really close friend that did pass away many years ago, and I saw her Before she went on her trip, we went and had wings and beers at a local place and we had a good time and she was going to Croatia for a few months.
00:11:17
Speaker
And I just remember the the playbook playful conversation we had and it was like everything was sort of was fine.
00:11:29
Speaker
She was going to go visit her boyfriend out there. And then during the middle ah of her trip, we communicated briefly and she said it wasn't going too well with her boyfriend. And i didn't really think much of it.
00:11:42
Speaker
And a few weeks later, she came back. I texted her on on her flight back. She responded with something sort of minimal. And this was like a Tuesday.
00:11:52
Speaker
And then I heard that Saturday that she had committed suicide. So somewhere a day or so after she come got back, she decided that she didn't want to live here in this world anymore.
00:12:06
Speaker
And the reason I mentioned this story in particular is because of this idea of this unresolved sense. I'm glad that we had a conversation before she left. I'm glad that we didn't have any weirdness or ill feelings towards another or whatever. There was no malarkey there.
00:12:26
Speaker
So when she left, she Even though she told me it wasn't going well, I still supported her remotely and I was still there for her as much as I could be. She had some medical issues that were troubling her and probably can were one of the contributing factors of her not wanting to live anymore because the prognosis for what she had was pretty devastating.
00:12:47
Speaker
Her father as also passed away from the same situation. And so ah sense of peace came over me, even though it was heartbreaking for me and many friends and family, of course.
00:13:01
Speaker
But it gave me a certain peace that I had made peace with her. 100% selfish, of course, but still we all get to manage how we deal with this person to person to person.
00:13:14
Speaker
What I'm saying here is that if you have an issue with somebody, if you have beef with somebody, Figure it out. Put your big boy pants on, get out there, make make the call, put an olive branch across the path, whatever it might be.
00:13:31
Speaker
And it's primarily, it's sort of a weird dual-sided um level of selfishness. In one way, you are selfish because you want to make peace with that person in case they die.
00:13:45
Speaker
And then the other side, selfless, I meant to say selfish and selfless. The other side, the selfless side, that in case you die, you want them to also have that peace that you would want from from them, for you for you if you were if they were to die.
00:14:03
Speaker
I have a few friends in my life that I would say we were very close, extremely close. I've had romantic partners in the past that meant so much to me that i i don't feel like i've got a really open relationship with anymore i feel that there's quote unquote bad blood and i don't like it at all um i had a bad blood ex um girlfriend that we finally buried the hatchet enough time went by and we we had that conversation and
00:14:42
Speaker
It's such a luxury to have that because we don't always get that. And the true stoic manner, and you can look at all the other philosophies and practices as well.
00:14:55
Speaker
The idea of wanting closure and getting it is not only rare, but oftentimes unfounded. If you are a true Stoic, if you are a true Buddhist, if you practice a very deep level of of mindfulness, it doesn't matter.
00:15:19
Speaker
And obviously doesn't matter. In the Stoic philosophy, if you look at some of what Seneca said, Epictetus, about looking at the the world in a manner in which is,
00:15:36
Speaker
focused on your virtues, you look at those things and you know that it's it's of no consequence. If somebody, if you have bad beef with somebody, then let it go.
00:15:48
Speaker
Yeah, that's what we strive for. The reality is, however, that we're human beings. We struggle with that daily. We have bad blood with somebody. We don't bury the hatchet.
00:16:00
Speaker
We carry that around. They lose their life or you lose your life. And there's that that stunted, muted component. In the end, it doesn't matter because they're gonna die and eventually we're all gonna die. No one's gonna remember anything.
00:16:14
Speaker
But in being able to share this time on this earth with other human beings and be able to have a calm sense of self, those things have so much value.
Faith, Experiences, and Beliefs
00:16:29
Speaker
I mentioned at the start of this that I wouldn't really dive too deeply into spirituality or religion, but I will say this. I will say that at least in my case, even being an engineer, even having ah scientific mind, even following the virtues and trying to be the best stoic I can, even in those situations, having been raised Catholic, having been estranged from the Catholic Church for actually I was I pulled away.
00:17:02
Speaker
And I kind of went into a ah very, not a hardcore fundamentalist, but it was a kind of a Bible based only church. And looking back on my experiences in life, I do believe that we are part of a bigger landscape.
00:17:18
Speaker
Whether or not it is written in the Bible or the Torah or whatever, that's that's just different. I just had too many experiences in my life that coincidences couldn't explain.
00:17:31
Speaker
I've had feelings, I've had moments, I've had, you wanna call it prayers answered, all these things as a testament for my life. And just like many other business leaders, you know I don't like to talk much about it because it's, especially if you're leading a public company or one that has a central voice, you wanna keep that sort of at bay.
00:17:53
Speaker
But I thought at least for this podcast, I'd share a little bit of my my sense of what I see. Couple more things I'll say before I end for today regarding death is that we talked about legacy.
00:18:08
Speaker
We talked about dealing with relationships that may be sour or whatever. We talked about brevity and acting quickly so you can get things out the door.
00:18:20
Speaker
There's another couple of aspects that are more tactical as it pertains to people around you. so and them losing somebody this whole podcast was kicked off because my partner's ex-roommate passed away of course we still don't know how or what the details are watching it through her eyes leaning into some level of compassion and confusion because we don't we still don't know what's happening As a Stoic, as a as a man, as a human being, as somebody who who really honors and lives up to, at least tries to to the courage, wisdom, ah tolerance, and justice, the four virtues, I just struggled and I want to be there for her.
00:19:09
Speaker
Today was ah was kind of a down day for me. I'm usually operating at a very high level. Went to the office and i I did a lot of meetings and I did my usual things, but there was this like low key, low grade sadness that I had.
00:19:24
Speaker
And it wasn't i wasn't sad that this person died per se, because I didn't know him that well. I do it didn't miss them in the sense that others would, but I felt for my partner. I felt for my girlfriend.
00:19:37
Speaker
and Not really knowing how to console her, not knowing, I mean, of course we just, we kind of muddle through that and we say, I feel it for you, or we say things like she's in a better place or whatever it might be.
00:19:49
Speaker
It doesn't take the sting away. So this is just a call for action that if somebody in your family, your company, your circle loses a loved one,
00:20:04
Speaker
the whole point that I'm saying here is do something. Even if you don't say the right thing seemingly, show some gesture. um If we look at justice as one of the virtues of stoicism, um and so justice has the the opposite side, right?
Living Virtuously and Legacy Building
00:20:20
Speaker
And so if you're on the the wrong side of justice,
00:20:23
Speaker
you can they You can think of their their feelings, their pain on the wrong side of of justice, that they they are being tormented by this. You can offer up the Stoic principles, and it could offer some solace if they are...
00:20:39
Speaker
um very mentally acute to that, but more likely than not, they just need a human being to hold, to hug, to hold them. um They need a a warm, casual dinner.
00:20:51
Speaker
They need just a, hey, thinking about you, hope your help that you have a great day text message. Whatever. So that's the that's the third thing is just lean in or fourth thing. Lean in there and share with your loved ones the fact that you feel for them.
00:21:08
Speaker
And um I'm fortunate to have my grandmother, my mother. I've got a wonderful family. And i wouldn't say that I dread losing them.
00:21:22
Speaker
I know it will happen. And the most I can do right now is live my virtuous life, do as much as I can, provide for my family, create a legacy, create this podcast, create things in my company that I run because we don't know what tomorrow brings.
00:21:45
Speaker
And that whole core tenet of Memento Mori is nowhere stronger and more visible when somebody around you dies.
00:21:57
Speaker
You can hang your head low, you can cry, that's part of being human, and there's nothing wrong with that. You can be distraught, you can scream, you can be angry, all these things, that's 100% founded because we're human beings and we struggle.
00:22:14
Speaker
But eventually, you've gotta pick yourself up, you've gotta walk taller, walk straighter, get your stuff done, create that legacy, whether it's in honor of them or in general, remember that you will die.
00:22:32
Speaker
And you have today in order to create that legacy in whatever form you can, even if it might be stunted if you die tomorrow or if I die tomorrow. You still have that ability.
00:22:44
Speaker
You still have breath in your lungs.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:22:46
Speaker
You have the ability to execute and create things. And with that, we'll sign off for today in memory of those loved ones, those people around us that might've passed, that we miss, that still enter our thoughts and our minds.
00:23:05
Speaker
Do it for them you need to. Do it for yourself to create the legacy. thanks for watching cheers