Brain Dead

Heard a story about a Polish guy who left this country many years ago and is now about to die.

I am not sure why I wish to blog this story except that I cannot stop thinking about it.

This guy moved to London as a young man in his twenties and proceeded to live his dream. He became a top executive with an advertising agency and eventually relocated to New York City. There, he continued to succeed in business. He met his wife and had a daughter.

At some point, his drinking became out of control and so did his life. He eventually left his wife and kid. To make matters worse, he even changed his name to have complete anonymity in this world. The man was in a very bad place.

Through his drinking, he lost his job and home and had to live in a homeless shelter.

Not too long ago, he had an accident that caused him brain damage and the doctors declared him brain dead.

As he lies in a hospital in the US, there is no way of tracking him since he changed his name and there seems to be no record of his original Polish surname. They cannot contact a next of kin and the doctors cannot "unplug" him without the permission of the next of kin.

I guess this story hit me hard because this guy is completely alone in the world. Now he is just waiting to die and medically, he is already dead.

The lesson for me is to love life as it is right now. That insane drive to be the best and achieve "goals" mean nothing in the long run. Everyday I work with people who are driven to succeed in business. They have an insatiable desire to achieve great wealth and power. I saw it in the US and that same thinking and action I am seeing here. I see it in myself, but slowly, it is changing. This man had it all it seems ... and still it was removed from him in the end.