Leaving A Legacy

About eighteen years ago I had the opportunity of meeting a heart surgeon who specialised in transplants. At one stage he was mentored by the late Dr. Victor Chang so it was a real privilege to meet him.

I find anything to do with medicine fascinating so to be fair, it wasn’t hard to get my attention. Anyway, after I peppered him with questions, I told him how much I admired his work and what a legacy he would leave.

Without blinking an eye he shot back and said, “You realise you can leave the same legacy too?”

After I reminded him I wasn’t a surgeon he then shared a story about one of the most inspiring things he had ever done.

The Invitation
About two years earlier he sent an invitation to all his patients who had been recipients of a heart donation. The offer was to join him for a lunch he was hosting in a park near the hospital he worked at. About twenty five recipients plus their families took took up his offer.

Once he knew which recipients were coming, he then invited the families of each donor.

In the weeks leading up to the lunch, both groups were sent name tags with a set of instructions. Specifically, they weren’t to put on the name tags until they were told by the doctor at the lunch. This was important because each name tag didn’t have their own name on it, instead it had the name of either their donor or recipient.

It was also important to be on time for the event because just like their life changing operations, timing was critical.

Both groups were as excited as they were nervous when they arrived. Even the doctor was nervous so he decided not to waste any time. Before the lunch even started, he doctor gave a short speech and then asked everyone to put their name tags on.

And with his instruction, he then asked everyone to slowly mingle and find their match.

He said standing back and watching everyone come together was one of the most inspiring things he’d ever seen. Not just because of what he had done, but because of what the donors had enabled, even though they weren’t present to witness the impact of their extraordinary generosity.

Many donor families spoke about how it helped bring closure on the loss of family members while giving life to another, while some recipients couldn’t believe it was possible to experience that much gratitude.

The Legacy
So what does this have to do with finance?

Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it.

But here’s one idea worth considering. Sometimes the most valuable gifts of all cost you nothing.

Have a great weekend!

Adam