What Day of the Lifeless Can Train Entrepreneurs About Residing With out Remorse
Your biggest regret shouldn’t be working too little.
EXPERT OPINION BY ENTREPRENEURS’ ORGANIZATION @ENTREPRENEURORG
This article is an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member and chapter president in Singapore. She is managing director ofThe Life Celebrant, which offers boutique funeral services and celebrations to honor every unique life. Mei shared why entrepreneurs often have end-of-life regrets, and how they might avoid them
As you observe Day of the Dead, I hope that all of your loved ones left this world with no regrets. However, as someone who has worked in the funeral sector for years, I suspect that was not the case.
Entrepreneurs are trained to look ahead — to the next milestone, opportunity, or problem to solve. Your days are shaped by plans, targets, and decisions about the future. Rarely are you invited to look back at your life from its imagined end.
What might you see differently if you did
What might you see differently if you did? The Stoics called this practice “memento mori:” Remember that you must die. It’s not about dwelling on death or darkness, but instead, allowing the reality of a finite life to return you to clarity.
Refreshed leadership advice from CEO Stephanie Mehta
I host a Memento Mori Workshop where participants explore mortality through letter-writing, a period of repose, and the option to lie in a casket. These experiences evoke a powerful question: If your life ended sooner than expected, what would remain unfinished, unlived, or unsaid?
Former palliative caregiver Bronnie Ware documented five common regrets of the dying, which offer important lessons for entrepreneurs who want to build successful businesses without losing sight of a meaningful life:
1. Define success for yourself.
One of the deepest regrets is not living a life that feels genuinely your own. Entrepreneurs trapped by other people’s definitions of success may build businesses for recognition, comparison, or approval rather than pursuing what truly matters to you.
Source: www.inc.com
