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On
June 25, 2009, I held my mom close as she breathed her last. Eleanor
Barnes Curry was 86 and was calmly joining my father, who passed away
in 2007. The next day my calendar reminded me to write this article.
The timing was perfect.
I have written many articles and one book about leadership. I
have delivered so many speeches on the subject that people stop me in airports to ask about one thing or another.
No
one ever asks about my mother, and well beyond the obvious reality of
birth, it turns out that her moral influence is the origin of all I
have thought, been, or done on the subject. I am a child of World War
II and remember seeing my dad only rarely, as he served our country.
I
saw my 21-year-old mother virtually every waking minute. First memories
are of her flashing feet, beautiful smile, and many hugs as we ran
through fields, me clinging to the hem of her dress. No one has ever
had to explain love to me. Her every word and deed was intended to
convey one thought: “You can accomplish anything.”
As I grew up and tended to believe her message a bit too
literally, another equally compelling truth was wrapped in hugs.
“You
must learn that the world does not revolve around Bill Curry,” she
insisted. I couldn’t imagine why it didn’t, but I trusted her.
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