Feed from this site
Finding Significance With A New Web Site
by Chris Kaufman
Many people measure their accomplishments in life by the amount money in their wallets.
Bob Lee, however, believes the measure of his life will be how his grandchildren will remember him someday. Bob doesn’t want them to remember him as a successful business man, rather he prefers they remember the 6,500 mile Ride for Three Reasons he will complete at age 65.
Though I had been talking to Bob over the phone almost daily for months, when I first met him in person last month he said something that really stuck with me. He said, “It’s more important to find significance in your life, rather than what most people consider ‘success’ in their careers”.
Bob realizes something we could all learn from: The most important things in life are not the dollars you have in your bank account; rather it’s the people you touch as you complete your lifelong journey. I feel fortunate to work for Quicken Loans, a company that shares Bob’s values, and the company that gave me the opportunity to work on this new 3reasons.org Web site. Here, we believe if you do the right things, and dedicate yourself to making a difference in the lives of your clients and teammates, good things will come to you.
We even had the opportunity to play Santa Claus to Bob and purchase lots of new equipment for The Ride, courtesty of Quicken Loans. It was an amazing experience to watch Bob’s face light up as we presented him with a brand-new Apple iBook, digital camera, video camera, extra batteries, storage media, and shiny new business cards.
It’s been four-months since we’ve began our own little journey of designing and building this Web site and Web log. I know those of us who have had the opportunity to work on this project feel we’ve made a difference for Bob, found great significance in out lives, and in turn, have made a difference for cancer, ALS and hospice care.
There are countless people to thank for making The Ride possible, but I’ll reserve that opportunity for Bob, and just thank the people who helped make this new Web site possible: David Katzman, Matt Cardwell, Brian Doelle, and Clayton Closson. I’d also like to thank Mike Dunklee of the Quicken Loans PR team for his contributions, and Jim Langdon, creator of Bob’s original site, for his continued support and assistance with the new 3reasons.org.
We’ll be updating 3reasons.org each day, so please check back often to see Bob’s progress as he completes this journey. Read more about Bob’s journey on What’s the Diff, Quicken Loans Blog by clicking here.
I wanted to thank Bob for a couple of things. First, thank you Bob for keeping an open mind about this whole "blog idea" that we pitched to you last fall. We all felt very strongly that your ride and the people you will meet along the way were an ideal fit for this type of format.
Second, thanks for giving the Quicken Loans team the opportunity to help you out with this project. Chris, Clayton and Mike did all of the day-to-day heavy lifting, but I can tell you that personally seeing this project come together was thrilling for me. The day that we were able to surprise you with the equipement was probably one of the proudest days of my career. I really mean that.
Best of luck with the ride, and remember to post often. We can't wait to hear about your adventures on the road.
Posted by: Matt Cardwell | Mar 28, 2007 12:49:45 PM