#52 - When Tomorrow Isn't Guaranteed : The Conversation Before the Conversation

Tomorrow isn't guaranteed, and when you truly accept that, the way you live begins to change.

This special Prelude to Engaging Conversations offers a rare glimpse into the conversation before the conversation.

Before the microphones were switched on, George Parry and Leon Goltsman found themselves reflecting on life, purpose and legacy. What began as a casual discussion quickly became something much deeper, capturing the heart of what was about to unfold.

George's story cannot be reduced to business success or public milestones. It is a story of remarkable achievement, significant loss, addiction recovery, unwavering faith and the courage to face life's greatest challenges with honesty and grace. Together, Leon and George explore the idea that everything we think we "have" is only on loan, and that our truest legacy isn't measured by what we leave behind, but by the memories we leave in the minds and hearts of those we love.

If you've ever wondered what really matters or what you hope people will remember about you, this conversation will resonate deeply.

This isn't simply a preview of next week's episode. It's an invitation to pause, reflect and perhaps have the conversation you've been postponing with someone who matters to you.

Join us next week for the full Engaging Conversations episode with George Parry.

Transcript

Why This Conversation Matters

Leon Goltsman 0:00

Hello and welcome back to Engaging Conversations. I'm your host, Leon Goltsman, and today I wanted to share something a little different with you. Normally, before every episode, I like to spend a few minutes with my guests performing sound checks and talking about the very journey we're about to take together. It's a chance to get comfortable, share a few thoughts, and make sure that we're both on the same page before we press record. And this is one of those moments. However, after sitting down with George Parry, I knew that this conversation was going to be different. From the get-go, I wanted to share this with you because I think that understanding why we had this conversation is just as important as the conversation itself. George has lived an extraordinary life. He's experienced remarkable success, endured significant loss, overcame addiction, found strength through faith, and is now facing one of life's greatest challenges with honesty, dignity, and incredible courage. As we spoke, it became clear that these very few unscripted moments captured the very heart and essence of what this episode is really all about. It's not about business. It's not about success. It's not even about voluntary assisted dying. It's about living with intention, appreciating the people we love, understanding that tomorrow is never guaranteed, and recognizing that our greatest legacy isn't what we leave behind, but the difference we're able to make in the lives of others. The full episode will be released next week, and I can honestly say that it is one of the most meaningful conversations I've ever had. But more than anything, I hope that George's story encourages you to pause, reflect, and maybe even have a conversation you've been meaning to have with someone you care about. But until then, I'd like to invite you behind the scenes to the very conversation before the conversation. Here we go.

Living With Intent And Legacy

Leon Goltsman 2:00

Alright.

George Parry 2:01

Okay, so what I've done is when we've created it, you can see there's been quite a bit of work here. Yeah. And the idea is I wanted this to be living with intent. This isn't just a podcast about a journey. This is a about living. Right. Continuing to live. It's an S episode about success and loss. Yes. F recovery and faith. Yes. Vulnerability and courage. And what becomes visible when we stop assuming tomorrow is guaranteed. I thought that would be a really good angle. That's a good angle, yes. Tomorrow's not guaranteed. That's right. Yeah. Well, a and and you just never know. No. I've always said that everything we have, we think we have, it's only given to us online. On loan, yeah. Yeah. Well, that's right. And and uh you know, we'll we'll be gone and uh all that's left of us is uh the memories in the hearts of others. Absolutely. And and that's that's our legacy. You know, some of us will leave physical legacies, but uh most of us will just live leave memories in the minds and hearts of of others, of their family and friends and you know. And the love that's um that's there is is the most valuable commodity, really. It really is. You can you can live an entire life without love, I can tell you. I I've met people who who have no love in their lives and for whom everything is transactional. Yeah. Uh it's a it's a very sad way to live. Yeah, but do you think they're really happy when they live like that? Oh no, of course not, because they're comparing.

Shaping The Story For Listeners

George Parry 3:36

Well, George, I've come up with it's like a narrative to keep it going to tell that story. Yeah. And one of the things I try and do my best is we've only got 30 minutes of listening time. It doesn't matter how long it takes us to record. Yeah. But the final product. Yeah, you're gonna you've gotta pick the the the the eyes out of it. You've got to get the stuff. So I've created like a journey of our conversation, and I thought I'd run that past you. So it wouldn't be the life behind the resume where I'd be uh you know talking about the business, achievement, the wealth, the loss. So that gives you a chance to talk about your your um your life behind your resume, the battles others could not see. So we'll talk cover on some of the things more importantly about humility in favor of discipline of getting back up again. Yeah, yeah. I think that's really important. The philosophy of living, so that's everything we spoke about. I've written it down, I've created a nice journey. I want to make sure that people say this is the best podcast they've heard in a long time. Okay. So we want to touch on vulnerability with shapes perspective. Yes, finding orders in chaos, talk a bit about your book, yes, dignity at the end of life, so your personal position on on you know on that, and the message that remains, and we're gonna c finish off by talking about legacy, yes, forgiveness, relationships, and the final invitations to live intentionally. Okay. And I thought if we can cover those things, yeah, we'll have ourselves such a great podcast.

A Life Worth Celebrating Online

George Parry 5:05

Yeah. And I think it'll be the probably well, I'm always aiming to do better to I I I hope I I I don't let you down. I hope that I it will work really well for for uh uh engaging conversations and and um for me it's uh it's my legacy, it's my my um uh celebration of life online because I don't want to have an antiquated ritual of a funeral. I I I want people to be able to celebrate online and see my book, well read my book, but also listen to the podcast and Well George, I want to do this honor and justice to your story. Yeah, yeah. And I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart won this conversation together, we can create miracles. I think we already are. Yeah.

Leon Goltsman 5:54

Some conversations stay with you long after the microphones are switched off. This is one of them. Next week I'll share my full conversation with George Parry, but until then, let's take a moment to reflect on the people who matter most in your life because sometimes the conversations we put off become the ones we never get to have. Thanks for listening. I'm Leon Goltsman and I'll see you next week.