Live In The Moment. Don’t Look Back.
It’s around 8 o’clock on a December Saturday night.
On a sleepy, slow-moving train heading west out of Ottawa.
Cell phone rings. A familiar voice re-surfaces from 20+ years ago.
Dave is reaching out after he and his son-in-law just watched an Eddie Van Halen tribute video on YouTube. From his Halifax man cave, Dave is telling Andrew, “I know the guy doing this video. I’ll get him on the line right now”.
Old fires of friendship are immediately rekindled.
Dave always adds a little gasoline to any conversation and this one is no different. Faster than you cruise through a McDonald’s drive-thru, he shares an idea to do something special on ZOOM for the upcoming Super Bowl LV contest between Kansas City and Tampa Bay. On the spot, we cook up a plan to do a pre-game event around the virtual campfire for over 50 of his managers and team leaders.
My friend Dave has always been that kind of guy.
Not even a global pandemic is going to prevent this former competitive basketball player and kayaker from Canada’s Ocean Playground from creating spontaneous delight for the people he works with. Whether it’s rallying his community behind kids’ sports, the arts, or other worthy community causes, Dave has a special kind of superpower. Vividly igniting imagination and bringing good folks together for the common good.
Things we do for ourselves are gone when we’re gone. Things we do for others become our legacy.
When he is not busy looking after his many business interests or hanging out with his grandkids, Dave has always got three or four passion projects on the go at any one time. On a deeply personal level, I witnessed that magic firsthand in 2021 and 2022 when this Nova Scotian-born man of impeccable Scottish lineage pulled out all the stops to create an unforgettable family moment.
It was Dave’s idea to get the colourful tartan outfits. He also arranged to have souvenir programs along with a piper on the 18th Fairway. And to top it all off, he brought in a Celtic rock band from Cape Breton to surprise the man we were there to honor with an original folk song. He was truly deserving of the Moosehead StoryTeller Award presented by the CEO himself, Andrew Oland.
Dave Murray is a husband and best friend to Cheryl. A loving father, grandfather, and businessman but in my books, he is forever a cherished friend who orchestrated an enchanted moment seen only once in any family’s lifetime. No one who was there will ever forget seeing the tears of joy streaming down Dad’s face when he heard the song for the first time as an appreciative audience of 50 friends and family members people clapped, stomped, and sang along.
A descendant of General George Murray from the Battle of Culloden, Dave exemplifies what it means to fully live in the moment and squeeze the juice out of every day. It’s a way of seeing the world that has become immortalized in song with the worldwide release of the music video entitled, “Living In The Moment”. Written by Steven MacDougall and performed by HAULER, the song tells the story of Jim Maxwell, the only former golf professional in the history of the sport to have played in a 4-Generational Foursome - four years in a row. A native of St. Andrews, Scotland, Dad completed this exceedingly rare statistical achievement last July in St. Andrews, New Brunswick on a day coinciding with the 150th Open at the Old Course.
Expertly produced and edited by Josh Parlee and his moon shot-making team at Defiant Astronaut Media, this video brings one man’s legacy to life and captures a cherished family memory that will live on for many generations to come. It also reflects the vision, generosity, and genuine friendship of a friend from long ago who reached out with a phone call before jumping in and making a difference.
For that and many other reasons, I am proud to call Dave Murray my friend.
I hope he always knows how many hearts he has touched.
p.s… Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people. Planting seeds in a garden to grow flowers you will never see. We had an opportunity to experience that last week with the incredible visit from a Taiwan-based CEO group known as WAVE. We were honored to have Margaret Huang and 26 other business leaders join us in Calgary and Edmonton for an immersive, 3-day BIG LITTLE LEGENDS Masterclass
This photo that followed the Alberta Teddy Bear Toss only tells part of the story. First, Dana Zilic moved heaven and earth to make the magic happen behind the scenes. Without Dana, there is no way this project would have been successful as it was as she took charge of details and logistics that attendees never see. Charlesglen Toyota was a perfect venue to kick things off as Tim Beach, Ashley
Katherine, and "Canada's Huggable Car Dealer" Jim Gilbert shared their game-changing experiences and how much this approach has impacted their companies and their people in a positive way. Convergent IS allowed us to hear the story of "The Never Ending Climb" from Shaun Syvertsen, Josh Wood of West Shore Home, and Ryan Gubic of MRG Wealth who offered an eye-opening perspective on what it's like to discover a story that is uniquely yours. On Day Two it was off to Raptor Mining in Edmonton where Craig Harder wowed the crowd with his 65 million-year-old origin story while introducing the power of symbols and rituals to any business and brand. Jim Puffalt drove 7 hours from the City of Moose Jaw to reveal the hard conversations that happened before the creation of "Canada's Most Notorious City" To top it off Rick Harvey brought his own brand of sax appeal to open a panel discussion at Q Cigar Room where Quentin Gardiner shared his visionary pontifications between puffs on a smooth Cuban.
A life-changing, exhilarating week for business leaders from two entirely different worlds; an opportunity to discover how the ideals of mutual respect and genuine friendship are universally felt when people come together for the common good.
p.p.s. If you are curious to learn more about our private coaching programs, including the all-new BIG LITTLE LEGENDS MASTERCLASS, click here and we can schedule time for a chat. https://calendly.com/gairmaxwell/45min
p.p.p.s…. Now published on the second Wednesday of every month, Leaders & Legends is dedicated to sharing untold stories about Icons & Trailblazers who dare to ignite positive change. If you have a spark of an idea about future story possibilities or personalities you think should be profiled, send a direct e-mail: gair@gairmaxwell.com.
PLANNING A SPEAKING EVENT?
The wheels of business turn faster each quarter and your company or industry association may be curious to explore timeless principles from the origin of legends that will never change. We know true and measurable value comes doesn’t occur from time on the stage, but the enduring IMPACT generated after the smoke clears and the dust settles that keeps you ahead of that moving target called Relevance. If you have an in-person event coming up later this year or in 2024, you may want to consider offering the universally-applicable message of BIG LITTLE LEGENDS.
“Heroes get remembered. Legends never die” BABE RUTH.
For more information on scheduling an In-Person or Virtual Speaking Program, contact us here: bookings@gairmaxwell.com.
YOUR BRAND. ON TRACK.
If now is an opportune time to discover the brand story and strategy uniquely your own, consider exploring a metaphorical road trip called THE BRANDING HIGHWAY. Designed for larger companies and organizations, our Executive Bootcamps serve as a journey and destination to help your brand emerge as an undeniable, undisputed, "Category of One.” Along the way, you will discover how to create substantial Differentiation and strategic Relevance while aligning your executive team. Impossible to describe with its many twists and turns, it helps to take a quick peek at this video:
“No one remembers who took second place. That will never be me" ENZO FERRARI
Every week, someone asks a question about our videos, and our media partner is responsible for the storyboarding, production, and editing. Headquartered in Toronto, ON with a Western Canadian office in Calgary, AB, DEFIANT ASTRONAUT MEDIA is uniquely positioned to help business leaders all over the continent rethink what's possible with this art form.
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