{"id":5922,"date":"2013-05-25T11:54:08","date_gmt":"2013-05-25T11:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/?p=5922"},"modified":"2021-01-15T23:04:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T23:04:21","slug":"fear-of-loss-in-organisations-zach-sobiech-soul-pancakes-my-last-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/fear-of-loss-in-organisations-zach-sobiech-soul-pancakes-my-last-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear of loss in organisations: A humble lesson from Zach Sobiech in Soul Pancake\u2019s My Last Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"zach<\/p>\n

To what extent does fear determine your emotional response? I ask this as I reflect on an impacting story about Zach Sobiech and my own recollection of printer woes.<\/span><\/p>\n

A printer lesson on perspective<\/h2>\n

\"Not<\/p>\n

Printers are the bane of a digital company, especially for a young, unorganised business development manager. Sending a proposal to the duplex colour printer five minutes before you are scheduled to head out the door will nearly always end in tears.<\/p>\n

It was 2002, and I was a self-assured BDM for a Melbourne-based digital studio.\u00a0 The printer and I did not get along at the best of times, but this day was particularly bad. Lights were flashing, toner was leaking, paper was jamming, and my temper was soaring. I open and close every conceivable orifice on the machine with increased force to beat the beast into submission.<\/p>\n

I run out the door after ten minutes of behaviour I am not proud of but have since reconciled, phoning the client with apologies for \u201ctechnical difficulties\u201d (sales-translation = poor time management). I impatiently jump on the next tram and attempt to compose myself. I straighten my suit jacket and breathe deeply.<\/p>\n

I hear someone say \u201cHey man\u201d. I turn around and see one of the studio designers. I have a lot respect for the guy, as he always seems to be laid back and self-assured.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey\u201d, I say back, wondering how he got from the studio to the tram so quickly without me seeing him.<\/p>\n

He then said in his typical relaxed manner, \u201cI know someone who\u2019s got a niece who has cancer. She\u2019s twelve. Going through chemo. They\u2019re hopeful, but it is not looking good. Kind of puts things in perspective, hey?\u201d He gives me a look that says more with compassion than any judgement could and hops off at the next stop.<\/p>\n

It is interesting what stays in our memory through decades and careers. I was reminded of the designer\u2019s comments when I recently discovered Zach Sobiech\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

Zach Sobiech\u2019s reminder<\/h2>\n

Zach Sobiech was featured on Soul Pancake\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0documentary series My Last Days<\/a>.\u00a0 Soul Pancake is a creative agency that aims to \u201chelp us figure out what it means to be human and feel damn good doing it\u201d. They hit their target well, as seen in their Kid President video<\/a>\u00a0which is currently at 22.5 million views on YouTube. Their recent series<\/a> My Last Days aims to \u201ctackle the issue of death head on by interviewing people of all ages who have been informed that they are living their last days\u201d.<\/p>\n

Zach\u2019s story as part of the series has been propelled by his song Clouds, embedded below, which has been viewed by over 5.6 million people in the three weeks since it was posted. You can see the full 22-minute documentary here<\/a>, which has had over 7.2 million views as this writing.<\/p>\n