Wise Words from Tim Russert

Last Friday when Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert died of a heart attack at age 58 the world lost a brilliant journalist and from all accounts, a wonderful human being. I think what appealed to me most about Mr. Russert is that he seemed so "real." He was one of us. When Mr. Russert conducted interviews he asked the questions we, the public, would have liked to ask. I was struck by something he said, when discussing the path his career took.

Mr. Russert came from a humble background. He was born in Buffalo, New York, attended college and then put himself through law school. At age 29 he became the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's chief of staff and then worked for former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Mr. Russert eventually ended up in broadcast journalism, a path he apparently didn't foresee when he was growing up. On yesterday's tribute to him on Meet the Press a video montage that ran at the end the program featured a voice over by Mr. Russert himself. One thing he said is relevant to all of us as we do our jobs everyday. I wasn't able to grab a pen quickly enough to get the entire quote, but this is the jist of what Mr. Russert said when discussing what he planned for his future as he was growing up in Buffalo: "I thought I'd go to college and then law school and become a good lawyer here." His life took him down a different path, but what I found most interesting about this quote are the words "become a good lawyer." Had Mr. Russert become a lawyer, rather than a world-renowned broadcast journalist, he would have done his job to the best of his ability. Had he become a sanitation worker like his father was, I bet he would have given that job his all too. There's a valuable lesson in this, I think. Whatever your job is, do it well. Success, however you measure it, will follow.