Douglas Flora: Core memories don’t create themselves
Douglas Flora, Executive Medical Director of Young Family Cancer Center at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Core memories don’t create themselves. Cancer taught me this truth at 46. Now I invest in moments, not maybes…
Consider the paradox of modern healthcare professionals: We spend our lives saving time for others, yet hesitate to spend it on ourselves. Eight years post-cancer, this irony isn’t lost on me.
Today’s decision was simple: National championship tickets. Expensive? Yes. But after 14 years (so far) of writing OSU tuition checks – four years of med school and three kids who chose to be Buckeyes – I’ve learned something profound about value. It’s not the dollars we’ll remember. It’s the moments we choose to be present for.
Here’s what cancer teaches you: The real currency of life isn’t found in your bank account. It’s collected in those crystallized moments that become your life’s highlight reel.
- That concert you’re debating?
- That family trip you keep postponing?
- That bucket list event making you check your budget twice?
Buy the tickets.
We’re exceptional at caring for others’ futures. Yet somehow, we’ve convinced ourselves that our own memories can wait. That ‘someday’ is a guarantee. That experiences are expendable.
They’re not.
Tonight in Atlanta isn’t about a football game. It’s about choosing presence over postponement. It’s about understanding that while professional achievements matter, peak moments matter more.
- PowerPoints don’t fill photo albums.
- Spreadsheets don’t tell stories.
- Perfect attendance doesn’t create memories.
Your someday isn’t promised. Your moments won’t create themselves. Your memories are waiting for you to show up.
What story will you choose to be part of?”
Proceed to the video attached to the post.
More posts featuring Douglas Flora.
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ESMO 2024 Congress
September 13-17, 2024
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ASCO Annual Meeting
May 30 - June 4, 2024
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Yvonne Award 2024
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OncoThon 2024, Online
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Global Summit on War & Cancer 2023, Online
Dec. 14-16, 2023