I lost a friend last week. His name was Larry.
Here’s the part that guts me, “Call Larry” was on my weekly task list. Not for a week. For months. Every Monday I’d look at it, tell myself I’d get to it after the next shipment went out, after the next client call, after the next race. There was always a next something.
Now there’s no next call.
The Lie We Tell Ourselves
I run three businesses. I’ve finished hundreds of races. I know how to grind, how to prioritize, how to get things done. And still, the most important item on my list, the one that took ten minutes and cost nothing : got bumped every single week by things that, honestly, won’t matter in five years.
The lie is “later.” Later feels free. Later feels safe. We treat the people we love like inventory that never expires. But time isn’t stock on a shelf. You don’t get to reorder it.
Urgent Beats Important, Until It Doesn’t
Every entrepreneur knows the trap: urgent crowds out important. The email pings, the order needs fixing, the ad account needs attention. A phone call to an old friend has no deadline, no notification, no consequence for skipping it.
Until the consequence shows up all at once, and it’s permanent.
I would trade a lot of “productive” Mondays for one more conversation with Larry. That’s not a metaphor. That’s just the math I’m sitting with this week.
Make the Call Today
So here’s my ask, and it’s simple:
Think of the person you keep meaning to call. You already know who it is : their name popped into your head before you finished this sentence.
Call them today. Not this weekend. Not when things slow down. Things never slow down. Today.
If they don’t pick up, leave a voicemail and text them. If it feels awkward because it’s been too long, say exactly that: “It’s been too long, and I was thinking about you.” Nobody has ever been mad about that message.
Borrowed Time
We’re all living on borrowed time. Every one of us. The people we love are too. The task list will be there tomorrow. The people might not be.
I can’t call Larry anymore. But you can still call your Larry.
Do it today.