There are “vanity plates” and then, there are “sanity plates.” We’ve all seen them, and many of us have them on our cars’ license plates as we drive here and there every day.
There’s: I RIGHT I (“Right between the eyes”)
Then there’s: IM12XL (“I am one to excel”)
There’s one to read in your rear-view mirror: TI 3VOM (“Move it”)!
There are many variations of: IM40BUX (I am for the Buckeyes).
I’ve even seen this one around Central Ohio: MISSSS (For Chet’s lovely bride Missy Scott).
One we won’t see as much:
OPUS 26 (The sum of Larry Allen’s love of the work he was doing at BUILT TO LEAD).
“OPUS,” as many of you already know, is the Latin word for “masterpiece.” Larry believed about life what all the Band of Builders at BUILT TO LEAD believe: Everyone in this world is called to live the life they are individually designed to live. Rather than toil away at work because of someone else’s expectations for your life, or for the mindless pursuit of money, or for some other set of unexamined reasons, Larry believed in a life of OPUS; a life where it would be difficult to make the distinction between work and play because PASSION infuses the work and joy comes from the pursuit of an integrated life lived on PURPOSE.
The “26” stood for the sum of BUILT TO LEAD’s curriculum of the 12 + 8 + 4 + 2.
12 Essentials of Personal Excellence
8 Essentials of Leading Teams
4 Essentials of Leading Leaders
2–The power of BUILT TO LEAD and our clients working together to bring our motto to life–“Together, we improve.”
At Larry’s Memorial Service this morning, we listened to seven of his oldest and dearest friends speak of the PASSION that inspired his life and served the heart of his PURPOSE.
Here it is. Do NOT miss this. This is HUGE.
Larry was on the planet for one purpose–to make others better.
Each of the speakers reached deep into the well of emotions and told us stories from every era of Larry’s adult life. All carried the same theme. Larry had gone to the source well early in his life and drunk deeply from the spring of Almighty God, Larry’s true father. From that moment on, Larry lived to serve God through his other children, making each of us better for having been touched, mentored, smiled at, or built by him.
Larry lived out this purpose every day. It brought him joy every day. It expanded the world for everyone it impacted every day.
We will miss him every day.
Larry made the world a better place…
Now it’s up to us.
As one of Larry’s newest friends, I am profoundly grateful to have made it just in time.
OPUS LIVS
BUILT TO LEAD 