On Memorial Day, Americans honor those individuals who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

According to the website Statista, approximately 1,310,000 Americans have died while fighting for our country.

This includes Private First Class Maurice Perkey, who was killed during the battle of Iwo Jima on February 25, 1945.

Maurice Perkey is my uncle.

He died fighting for my freedoms, and for your freedoms.

Good morning! I hope you are well.

Oops! I take back that last sentence. I am not hoping you are well. To be accurate, I am sitting at my desk, pondering what I am going to write about for this week’s addition of “Thoughts for the Week”!

I am writing this as a very proud father, coming off of the high of the pomp and pageantry of the 269th commencement ceremony of Columbia University, where my daughter, Mary Brooks, received her Master of Science in Social Work, with a concentration in Advanced Clinical Practice. I am so proud of her, and excited for the good she will do, the pain she will relieve, and the hope she will restore.

How I wish I had read Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, when I was in the third grade!

How much wiser would I be if I had lived by these wise words from Meditations 8.51?

“In your actions, don’t procrastinate. In your conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about business.”

Holy cow! I have violated each of Marcus’ rules over the course of my life!

• Violation # 1 - “In your actions, don’t procrastinate”: Geez, I am writing this piece with only minutes to spare before the deadline to get my Thoughts for the Week” to the talented Elizabeth Hawtin in Toronto so that my weekly nuggets of knowledge can make their way to your inbox!

I must admit, I am a little miffed as I write this.

I am seething.

I am mad, angry, apoplectic.

I am hurt.

Another year has gone by and yet again, I have not made a single “40 Under 40” list!

In years past, this slight did not bother me. I thought that “40 Under 40” meant that you had to be one of 40 people who weigh under 40 pounds to gain this recognition and make the list.

I interviewed a candidate recently who referenced an author who I liked quite a bit - Simon Sinek.

I have heard Simon Sinek on podcasts, and he is very dynamic. The centerpiece of his leadership philosophy is that one needs to “find their ‘why’”, i.e., understanding one’s sense of purpose as a way of finding that which you are passionate about.

I get it.

Working to understand my purpose, and having that purpose aligned with what I do for a living, has been a part of my thinking for the better part of my adult life.

Spring colors on the Davidson College campus are freshly dyed, vivid and vibrant as an easter egg basket. The leaves on the trees are emerald green, the sky the deepest azure, the tulips a trumpet of red. We need to give credit to the one who paints all these so brilliantly.

This will be short, as I am on the road, attending the Davidson College Board of Visitors meeting. The major responsibility of a member of the Board of Visitors is to be an ambassador for the college. It is easy for me to be an avid supporter of Davidson College, a place that changed the arc of my life and instilled a way of thinking about our responsibilities towards one another in a way that shaped my philosophies and my career.