Quintessential President George H.W. Bush

With the passing of the 41^st President of the United States, President George H.W. Bush, his death brings us closer to the loss of all the brave men and women who embodied The Great Generation. The life lessons, that so many of us have learned from our fathers and mothers, farther-in-law and mother-in-law, grandfathers and grandmothers, aunts and uncles, along with all the millions of others who were part of The Great Generation;  passed onto us are indeed countless.

The past few days I’ve heard and seen those who were close to our 41^st President share stories of his great strength and character. One of those was that of Samuel Palmisano, the former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of IBM, who is a close friend of the Bush Family. Mr. Palmisano shared the contents of a handwritten letter written in 2009 on the personal stationary of George Bush. The contents of the letter were read on television.

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George Bush

              I cannot single out the greatest challenge in my life. I have had a lot of challenges and my advice to young people might be as follows

1. Don’t get down when your life takes a bad turn. Out of adversity comes challenge and often success.
2. Don’t blame others for your setbacks.
3. When things go well, always give credit to others.
4. Don’t talk all the time – Listen to your friends and mentors and learn from them.
5. Don’t brag about yourself. Let others point out your virtues, your strong points.
6. Give someone else a hand. When a friend is hurting show that friend you care.
7. Nobody likes an overbearing big shot.
8. As you succeed be kind to people. Thank those who help you along the way.
9. Don’t be afraid to shed a tear when your heart is broken because a friend is hurting.
10. Say your prayers!!

George Bush

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Regardless of whether you’re young or old, in business, sports, politics, academia, these are amazing words recommending how to live one’s life.

RIP

Just sayin’.