I'm reminded of my mortality today. I guess you could say I had a near death experience, although I have lived the death was not mine.
No, I was never in danger, nor was ever threatened my life. In fact, I was sitting in air conditioned comfort of my home office sipping a cup of coffee and watch the dogs run around the yard when the time came.
The sun shone. The birds sang. Life was going just fine.
Death was the farthest thing from my mind.
Then came the news that Corey Rudl was killed in an accident at high speed in a circuit in California. At the time of his death at the young age of 34, Corey was a passenger in a Porsche that hit a retaining wall at over 100 mph, killing him instantly and the driver soon after. The track had been rented by a local car club so that Corey and his friends could take their expensive, powerful cars on the track to see how fast it could go.
Corey died doing what he loved. Those closest to him say that would not have had otherwise.
Corey Rudl was not a professional race car driver. He was a farmer and one of the best of its breed.
Most of you reading this column probably have no idea who Corey Rudl was or what he accomplished during his short life, and that's OK. You have an idea of the impression made on me and millions of others who make our lives (at least in part) as online marketing. Again, okay. For all his success, those who knew him well said that Corey was more concerned to build its business in addition to being a public figure. In these accounts, Corey never really care to be the center of public attention, although it was probably the most visible and successful entrepreneur in his field.
Maybe that's why Corey Rudl was so successful. He knew what was really important when it came to building a business. The flap came easy to him, but his focus has always seemed to be stronger to make its business, serving its customers better. He also knew that there was life beyond business, and that life has pursued with passion and energy that most of us can only imagine.
Corey Rudl story is the classic entrepreneur's story. He started his business from his kitchen table a few years ago, selling a homemade book he'd written about getting the best deal for a new car. From that modest beginning Corey built an internet marketing empire that generated $ 40 million dollars in turnover in the next few years.
Corey was the final guru of internet marketing. He was young, energetic and very passionate about his business and its industry. He has written and spoken often on issues of internet marketing and commercial success and that's where he and I briefly crossed paths. We were both experienced journalists for Entrepreneur.com and exchanged several emails polite, nothing really personal, mind you, especially the exchange of compliments each others' work.
Much of the time Corey in recent years was spent teaching others how to do what he had done: build a successful online business from scratch. For a man of age 34, was packed in decades of experience and knowledge and shared with everyone listening, including yours truly.
Personally I never spoke or shook hands with Corey Rudl, but I was his client, his student, and ultimately an admirer. I can attribute much of the success of my own online business to the teachings of Corey and principles. Was one of those rare birds who has not had to meet to hear how you have been on a first-name basis with him. Everyone in my small circle of friends to internet marketing just called to him as "Corey" and talked to him warmly as a friend and mentor. It set the bar for us all. We wanted to reach his level of success. We wanted to hit his pitches. We wanted to be the entrepreneur he was.
Corey had just married the girl of his dreams. He was a millionaire many times. He had a big house and fancy car and a future so bright he had to wear shades. His business was flourishing. Life was perfect. Corey Rudl truly had the world by the tail and there was no chance he'd ever let go. I guess he kept in close to the end.
The lessons we learn from the death of Corey Rudl are the same lessons we ever learn when someone so young and vibrant is suddenly taken from us. As entrepreneurs we should take these lessons and apply them not only our lives but for our businesses, as well.
Lesson One: live everyday as if it were the last, because it might just be. As entrepreneurs often think that our business must come first in our priority list. Not until a tragedy reminds us that life is too short a time we think we do things in life that are really important. Get out from behind the desk. Go 'to play with your children. Hug your wife. Call your mother.
Lesson Two: be passionate about business, but never allowed to eclipse your passion for life. Corey was a true entrepreneur whose passion for the business was unprecedented, but by all accounts he also knew that a life devoted strictly to business was a life lived to its fullest. Corey died doing what he loved. Some will argue that his passion and killed him in a way that is true, but I believe that before he knew he was in danger Corey had a smile on his face a mile wide. Would not have lived his life in another way.
As I finish this column, my oldest daughter came to ask if I would like the honor of taking her out for a Sunday brunch. She's seventeen now. He has a job, a car, and a life that is very lonely. Opportunity to be graced with his presence grow rarer every week that passes. Yet, every other day I could weigh his call against the eight million business related things that need my attention.
Today, however, the decision is easy.
I usually end my column with the words: "Here is your success."
Let me conclude with this week: "Here is your life."
Tim Knox
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