My cousin Louise is 100 years old. Her birthday was last Sunday.

When her daughter asked her how much activity she wanted on the big day, Louise responded, “Bring it on.” So in the morning, Louise went to church. After lunch, she attended her party, holding court and talking for hours with the many family and friends who had traveled from near and far to celebrate with her. After the party, she headed out to dinner to continue the festivities with a dozen or so guests. I have always known Louise to have remarkable energy, but at her age such a full day gave me pause and caused me to reflect on life. Although some of what made this day possible is undoubtedly genetic good fortune, I think it also comes from Louise’s radiant, positive spirit, and her many close relationships.

So much of our society’s work culture seems to be about using ourselves up to achieve some goal, to sacrifice health today in order to get “there”, wherever that might be. When I think of Louise and of her continuing vitality at 100, it seems she demonstrates that life’s true value comes from our relationships, not from all of the goals that we set or achieve.

I think our work should reinforce this. I want Ipswitch to be a place where we work hard to accomplish ambitious goals, but not at the expense of that which makes us feel alive and fulfilled.  I want our success to come substantially from the relationships we build with each other, from the teamwork that I think provides the most enduring satisfaction we derive from our work. At the same time, I want our success to be enhanced by, and not at the expense of our relationships with friends and family. If we can make this happen – and that is no easy challenge in the always-connected world we increasingly live in – I believe it will lead to greater success.

Thank you Louise, for your example, for your spirit, for your inspiration.