Creating a Lasting Message

I had another post prepared, but this is a story that I want to share today.

This month marks an important anniversary in my family, 46 years ago my maternal Grandpa got sober (by order of a judge) after an… eventful December (and a DUI).  Keep in mind, it was 1966 and in our small town the solution to drunk driving was 60 mandated days in Alcoholics Anonymous as part of treatment.

The Anonymous part of the organization is well known and it’s not my intent to out anyone. In fact, my Grandpa spent most of his free time from 1966 until 1989 working within the organization, talking about sobriety and helping other men through the program. He did P&I, traveling to prisons and institutions to bring people in. He took guys fishing so they wouldn’t be tempted to carry along beer when he was there. He helped guys with their “beer cans” which was the term used for a hobby which replaced drinking like working on an old car.

If you’re an entrepreneur then you’re familiar with the challenge to create a message that lasts and, hopefully, outlasts you. My Grandpa has done that through AA and it didn’t matter to him if he was credited for the message, as long as it sunk in.

Don’t drink.  One day at a time.  Keep comin’ back because it works if you work it.

These were his messages, the ones that he told hundreds of times to thousands of people. It’s simple. Effective.

And my Grandpa stopped sharing this message in 1989. That was the year he had a massive stroke that weakened his body and took his voice, leaving him with few words to communicate. But he didn’t really stop sharing the message of sobriety because for the next 15 years he still went to meetings, drove friends to group and was there, a physical presence and reminder of sobriety.  It wasn’t until Grandpa stopped driving shortly after I moved to town to help out that he stopped attending every week. But his messages, his presence remained.

While Grandpa’s profession was long haul trucking and then delivering cement loads, his real purpose over the past 46 years has been staying sober and bringing other alcoholics to sobriety.  An amazing way to spend a life, right?

In recent years and even in the last month, Grandpa’s health has declined and he is most comfortable using a walker or wheelchair for balance.  That didn’t stop him.

Despite the fact Grandpa can’t give speeches, can’t share his story, go fishing or take the guys out for coffee he is still here and still inspiring his tribe. These are the people he has dedicated his life to outside of our nuclear family.

Every January I begin getting the calls from several guys, all of whom tell me “I wouldn’t be alive if your Grandpa hadn’t found me, brought me to a meeting, forced me into an intervention.” I hear “I wouldn’t have this beautiful child or have lived to see my grandkids grow up” and “there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.”

Yes, I’m incredibly proud of the way my Grandpa has lived in the past 46 years, giving his time and life to helping others and it also inspires me.

Think of this: for 23 years my Grandpa has not spoken his message. He doesn’t blog, tweet or write. But his message survives.  It’s carried through the lives of the people he has helped and they keep comin’ back and loving him for it.

Tonight a man who told me he would do anything for my grandpa will be there handing him a coin and offering a hug. Another man will be helping us transport him across town in a wheelchair lift van for the evening. And countless men and women in AA meetings all over the state will be quoting Grandpa, be sharing his messages and the message of AA.

He is such an inspiration to me and to many of the people we will celebrate with tonight.

Can I ask? How are you creating a message that survives you, inspires thousands and brings change to the world?