Honestly, it feels more like a spoof of the slogans on motivational posters, as an example of wry humor. Such slogans usually extol virtues deemed meaningful, but this one subverts that on two levels.
It says that the most important thing in life is collecting playthings. That’s a trivial life priority, but by itself, it might mean to have fun while you’re still young enough to enjoy life at its fullest. Certainly boating plays into this, and instead of waiting to buy your dream pontoon boat when you can afford it down the road, maybe start with a smaller, less expensive model and work your way up. But this slogan carries it a step further – it portrays life as a contest, where you “win” not by being fulfilled or happy while you’re alive, but by being the one who dies with the most toys. I’m really not a big fan of winning anything posthumously because, well, um…I’ll be dead, so what’s the point?
So what did I do? I countered with a poster about winning if you die with the most toys, juxtaposing it with the serious posters. Most in the office cracked up when they first saw it, which may say more about the warped sense of humor of the people I work with. Others probably just returned the eye roll; that’s fair.
Taking a deeper perspective, I’d like to think this saying is about moving forward in life and not stop dreaming, regardless of your age or circumstance. Blame it on the increasing number of funerals in my life these days, but I think aiming to leave this earth with the most friends is a better life goal to strive for.
There is no right or wrong way to increase the number of friends in our lives, but regardless of our age, we should always be open to making new ones. How do you find really good friends? That’s easy: by being a really good friend. My dad was a big fan of motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. He always shared his quotes with me, but one that my dad seemed to quote the most often was, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
I absolutely love this quote, and as I’ve grown older, it’s proved to be more and more true. Being a reliable friend who is willing to help at a moment’s notice has, in turn, given me a solid group of friends I can reach out to when I need help.
Another way to build on friendships is to take others with you when you go boating. We seldom go to the lake with only our immediate family. We encourage our children to invite their friends along, and I can’t begin to count the number of families we’ve introduced to boating by simply extending an invitation. Boating is such a unique and fun experience that it should be shared with those around you. I’m not expecting any type of “finder’s fee” or commission check from our local dealerships, but I love seeing my friends get into boating by purchasing their own pontoon boats after spending a couple of times out on the water with us. One of my neighbors ditched his impulse buy of a camp trailer that, following the COVID pandemic, seldom left his driveway. He sold his camper and bought a boat, and he and his family have never been happier. Of course, by not keeping both, I guess that takes my neighbor and close friend out of the running to die with the most toys, but the important thing is he’s now found the right toy.
Pontoon & Deck Boat Editor
