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Death and Telling Your Story

1399857_10201816051179645_453302730_oYesterday I read the 23rd Psalms and said the Lord’s Prayer while we laid to rest Cora Clock.

Cora was born in 1917 and died October 3, 2013. She was in Maryland for the last part of her life. She wasn’t from Geneva, Iowa – but her parents were. And they were buried at the Geneva Cemetery. So when her relatives called and asked my mom (the cemetery president) if we would bury her, we said yes. They shipped her ashes to Iowa. My brother dug the grave. I read. Mom prayed for her soul.

It was a lovely fall day, one of the last of the Indian Summer. The wind was blowing,but then it always does at the cemetery. Ms. Clock lived a long life. Her ancestors were instrumental in building the town of Geneva, Iowa. The name Geneva was taken after Geneva Clock. My mind wandered back about 100 years and I got to thinking what life must have been like when Cora was born. 1917 we were in the First World War. Many children had died early in the century from influenza, in fact her brother might have been one of them. There were many farmers, but most of them were very small farms. The machinery used didn’t allow for large farms. Did her parents farm? What did they do?

I hope Cora Clock had a good life.

What does this have to do with marketing, small business and the things I write about?

Scott Meyer’s email today talked about tattoos and the value in treating your business like a tattoo. Scott said “You don’t need to tattoo the name of your business on your forehead, but the identity of your business should be visible in everything you do. Your identity and your story make your business unique and memorable. In a digital age we can work with anyone, anywhere. How then do customers decide? ”

Much like life. Are you telling your story? Are you making those around you happy with your tales? I’d like to know more about Cora Clock, but what I know about her family makes me feel connected to her. She was a Clock. Her family is from Geneva and so am I.  Telling your story can be the one thing that makes you different from everyone else in your field.  

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