By Rhonda Lauritzen
One of the hardest parts of the job we do here at Evalogue.Life is saying goodbye to people who become dear to us. When we help people tell their stories, we grow to love them and form strong attachments. It was a stunning, sad call when I learned that James M. Sweeney, my co-author had passed away. Known as one of the most well-respected healthcare entrepreneurs in the world, he taught me much about business and life. Spending the years it took to write Creative Insecurity was one of my all-time career highlights. I will forever view the world differently and strive to be better because of that experience.
One of the most remarkable parts of working together was seeing how someone so brilliant and accomplished was also so humble. His kindness was evident in the way he interacted with everyone from his housekeeper to restaurant staff. He always asked people’s names, talked with them about their lives, and showed a genuine interest in them. He served as a Stephen Minister, helping people through challenges in their lives.
In our work together, he insisted that I be named as a co-author on the book. He always referred to it as “our” book, even though I had signed on with the intent of being a ghostwriter. He wanted to acknowledge my contributions and to help my career any way he could. That is the opposite of an ego-driven approach that would want to hog all the credit for himself.
Every time we talked, I left feeling more uplifted and positive than when the call began. He was forever seeing new possibilities on the horizon and loving the idea of the blank page. He got involved with several new company launches during the time we worked on the book, and I felt his contagious excitement every time he got a new business card or saw a website go up. Even as his health was failing, he was still making plans to get new ideas off the ground that would move the healthcare needle.
I find myself quoting him all the time:
“A big idea and a small idea take the same amount of time.”
“What am I missing? What am I missing?”
“Tell me more…”
Here is a short, informal video I made from a small-group class he taught to some of my students:
Sage advice on responding to criticism:
…I could go on for about a dozen more quotes, but will end with his advice to exit a project when the “schlep-to-thrill” factor is not there anymore. He was active with new ideas until the end, but when he found himself having to spend too much time receiving care in hospitals and not working to change hospitals, the schlep-to-thrill factor wasn’t quite what it once was. He went out with his boots still on.
See you on the other side, my friend.
You can read the formal tribute to Jim here: https://creativeinsecurity.com/blog/james-m-sweeney-founder-of-the-home-infusion-therapy-industry-has-died/
You can read more about “our” book here:
