How We Approach Life Mirrors How We Approach Death

If it weren't for one woman in the Philippines, Altimetry likely wouldn't exist...

At least not in the way it does today.

You see, long before I started Altimetry, I would go to the Philippines to audit charities to which I had donated. And I soon discovered that the South Pacific country had a lot to offer to American businesses...

For one, the people speak phenomenal English. It's unlike any country other than the U.S. and England. All business contracts must be written in English to be legal in the Philippines.

Also, the exam for certified public accountants ("CPAs") in the Philippines was built with U.S. CPA rules in mind. That's a great benefit for a financial-research firm like ours.

Around 2008, one of my partners encouraged me to try out the country's talent pool. We hoped to see what would happen with a few trial hires.

We planned a trip to scout for new employees and posted some job ads. In the center of Manila, we found a spot at the hotel to interview 40 to 50 candidates across just a couple of days.

If we didn't find anyone who fit what we were looking for... we simply wouldn't hire anyone.

That's when I first met Timi...

Timi was exceptional in the interview. She had managerial experience. She demonstrated obvious business insights and maturity. And she was willing to try something new.

We hired Timi as our first manager in the Philippines for forensic analysis. We quickly built a small team around her. And before long, our operations in the Philippines were off and running...

Altimetry is based in the Northeast U.S. But as many longtime readers know, we also have a team in the Philippines (and a team in Eastern Europe as well). That allows us to provide 24/7 coverage across three continents for our clients worldwide.

But if Timi hadn't walked through that hotel door roughly 14 years ago, that might not have happened. We might've decided not to build our team of more than 100 folks in the Philippines.

Our successful growth is in part due to the charisma and good nature that Timi exuded from our first introduction.

So it's with great sadness that after 14 years of working together, Timi passed away a couple of weeks ago.

It's devastating to lose a team member and a friend, especially one who has been with us since the earliest days of our business. And all of us at Altimetry would like to extend our greatest sympathies and sincerest condolences to Timi's family, friends, and colleagues.

In tough times like these, it's natural to want to reflect on the time spent with that person. And as I thought about Timi's passing earlier this week, I realized that...

We grieve in ways that reflect our approach to life...

If we approach life with a lot of pride, we can go into severe denial when bad things happen.

We don't want to accept the humility involved with the realization that life is finite. We're prideful because of our insecurities. And we fear what we may not actually be.

Meanwhile, if we approach life with greed, we fear losing what we mistakenly think we "possess." By that, of course, I'm talking about material things like money, houses, and cars.

And if we approach life with fear, we spend far too much time thinking about the threat of the future instead of living in the present.

All our power is in what's happening right now. Neither the past nor the future is reality. We can't change what has happened in the past. And I've never seen the future. It only exists in my imagination.

Pride, fear, and greed in life make it difficult to deal with death.

However, if we live with humility, we naturally and more easily accept what we can't control. That includes the reality that life is finite.

And if we live lovingly in every moment we can, we get the most out of the time we have with our loved ones right now. We don't wait or save that joy for some future day that we may never see.

Those states of mind set the foundation for living peacefully. And that allows us to better accept when our loved ones inevitably rest in peace.

Here at Altimetry, Timi's passing tests how we approach life...

And I'm sure you've faced a similar test with someone in your own lives as well – probably more than once.

Over 14 years of Timi's service to our company, we had the great pleasure of benefiting from her wonderful approach to work. And now, with her passing, she reminds us to live every moment of every day right now with the same high levels of consciousness that we need to approach death.

You likely found Altimetry because of our coverage of the markets and the financial world. But as I hope you all know, life is about much more than making money.

As Timi's passing showed me once again, life is finite. And without her, our business likely wouldn't be what it is today.

So as I say at the end of almost all these daily essays... always remember to live with love, joy, and peace in whatever you're doing right now.

Warm regards,

Joel
August 12, 2022