When can you say you won at life?

 

If link fails, listen to Queen, we are the champions

In this competitive world, what's a clear metric that says you won at life? More money (or debt) than the next guy? More children ? More wives? 

   I had a bit of a chance to think about it yesterday, waiting for a funeral service. Same chapel where my father had his, his brother in law a few years ago and now his sister, my aunt. On each occasion I saw the number of people attending drop, from over 50 to around 30 to a bit more then over a dozen, all of them family members. 

   So here is my pitch: a good metric of how good you were in life is the amount of people that show up at your funeral! If you want to refine it even further, subtract family, first  and second relatives and anyone that stands to gain something personally from being seen there. You can add double points if friends or ex coworkers you haven't seen in a long time show up. 

  Why do I think this is a good KPI? There are several reasons:

1) If you're dead, it's not likely you can still do something for them, so it will be because they are greatfull for something you already did for them (gave them, taught them, helped them with). The game is truly over, no more chances to repay them for this unless you have some weird will that parts out the estate to those who show up uninvited to the funeral (you get disqualified for that). 

2) As I've said before, you die once when the hearts stops, you die a second time when everyone that knew you has died. So it stands to reason that the more people knew you (and cared enough about you to show up) the more chances you have of one to leave just a bit longer with that memory of you. That's got to be worth something!

3) Having children or making money may or may not involve skill and hard work. You can inherit money, you can have children simply by donating some drops of body fluid (or several minutes of hard breathing). Creating the kind of relationships that will get someone to say goodbye to you for the last time in person doesn't come easy and I think is something that should be  rewarded. 

The downside? You probably won't be able to enjoy the win. 

What do you think? Is there a better way to measure succes in life? 

May you be loved and your funerals attended by many many friends and loved ones (sometime far far away in the future)!