A really great book..."When Breath Becomes Air"

I just finished a really great book, called "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi.  Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgery resident when he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer (a rare form that has no relationship to cigarette smoking).  I had read several good reviews of the book, and I had talked to a few friends who highly recommended it.  I sat down this morning, on one of those rare days when I had some time to myself, and read the book from cover to cover.  I couldn't put it down.  Perhaps the book meant more to me because I am a physician, and the book really talks about the unique and special relationship between a physician and his or her patient.  But I think that there is a lot more in this book than just medicine - it is really a book about how to live one's life.

Paul Kalanithi was an English literature major in college, later when on to get a Master's degree in the history and philosophy of science before finally attending medical school.  He was nearing the completion of a long, hard residency training program in neurosurgery, with a bright future ahead of him and seemingly just within his grasp when he was diagnosed with cancer.  He spent the final years of his life continuing to be a good husband, becoming a father, finishing his residency, and writing this book.  The book was published shortly after his death.

The title comes from a poem by Baron Brooke Fulke Greville in "Caelica 83":

You that seek what life is in death,
Now find it air that once was breath.
New names unknown, old names gone:
Till time end bodies, but souls none.
      Reader! then make time, while you be
      But steps to your eternity.

While the book is packed with quotes and lessons, there is one that I think is pertinent to leadership (among many):

You can't ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.

In other words, vision.  Set a vision for your future and take the steps needed to get there.  There is so much in this book, and I cannot hope to do it justice.  So I will just finish by saying, if you can only read one book this year, make it this one.