If your doctor said you had six months left to live, what would suddenly become crystal clear to you? What priorities in your life would change? Mark Hornibrook knows what that's like. After dealing with melanoma on and off since 1990, he was told in 2012 that he had a 3% chance of living. Luckily, with treatment, Mark has been able to successfully battle his Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, and he's still with us today.

As co-founder and CEO of Precoa, a preneed funeral planning and marketing company based in Portland, Mark knows the value of planning — both for families thinking about future funeral logistics as well as companies handling executive succession planning.

In this week’s episode of Success That Lasts, Mark joins host Jared Siegel to share what he learned from his battle with terminal cancer and discuss adversity, resilience, and funeral planning.

Tune in here, at delapcpa.com/podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts:

Here are a few highlights from Jared's conversation with Mark Hornibrook:

• If you don't prioritize your company's organizational culture, it will build itself. Culture is not neutral; it's always growing and evolving. The default company culture is one where everyone seeks their own interest, so if you want something different, you will have to manage it.
• The happier and more successful you are in all other aspects of their life, the more effective and productive you will be at work.
• Mark talks about his battle with cancer and how he survived despite being told he had a 97% probability of dying. Focusing on helping his partners at his company be successful instead of his own ego was healthy for him, he comments.
• Planning your funeral ahead of time makes it financially easier for your family when you pass on, Mark says. Everyone thinks it's a good idea but no one wants to do it because it seems like a morbid affair. Ironically, he claims, funeral planning can actually be quite fun.
• Jared asks about Precoa's core values and what they mean to the organization. Mark defines two of them.
• Jared talks about the value of planning.

Resources

Mark’s book: Fear Not, I Am With Thee: Our Journey with Metastatic Melanoma

What Issues Should I Consider Before I Update My Estate Plan?

What Issues Should I Consider If My Spouse Has Been Diagnosed With A Terminal Illness?