What’s in a name?

What's in a name?

People often ask me why I named my business Kochab, and what it means. It’s a beautiful, even magical story that I haven’t had a lot of practice telling out loud. It’s hard to tell and for some it’s hard to hear. But if you’ve landed on this post you’re probably ready.

It’s for my mom.

My mom Cindy worked a lot when we were kids, out of necessity. And over time, her work became a significant part of her identity. Some might have called her a “workaholic." When I was a little kid I didn’t understand her drive to learn more, and be more, at work the way I do now. I got more than a little of that internal motivation from her.

On a day when her offices were closed, my mom went into work anyway. She didn’t make it home that night. My mom was killed in a car crash as she drove home after working on a holiday, stolen from us by a distracted driver. Our family and all of her people, including the owners and colleagues of a business she helped to launch and build (named Polaris), were devastated.

In those early days of grief, the owners of Polaris, her dear friends, gave me a gift in a frame. I placed it on a shelf without paying much attention to it. Not because I didn’t appreciate it. But because I didn’t have a lot of attention to give.

“Since death is certain and the time of death is uncertain, what’s the most important thing?” -Pema Chodron

After she died, I thought a lot about how she couldn’t have known that she’d only have 62 years. I was 42 at the time.

And I challenged myself to redesign this one wild and precious life. Part of that life redesign led me to start my own business. Time seemed even more valuable and finite now, so I wanted to be sure the time I spent at work was on my terms. And the work I choose to do is also directly related to this hardest event of my life. Life is short and we spend so much of our time at work. If that’s the bargain we are striking, we should make work, work. I know I can help us do that.

As I was thinking about what to name my own business, I experimented with names of birds because my mom and I love birds. Owls? Hawks? Cardinals? All spoken for by other businesses. Too many businesses were already named for starlings, whose murmuration is a clear example of exquisite and silent communication and collaboration. All of the good bird names were taken. Out of ideas, for some reason I picked up that framed gift from Polaris, which had been sitting on a shelf in plain sight.

It was a framed image of the night sky. They had chosen a star to honor my mom. Kochab.

Kochab is one of the outer stars in the Little Dipper, part of the Ursa Minor constellation, which also includes Polaris, the North Star. Of course I should name my business after this star that is part of a constellation that also includes Polaris.

Happy after arriving at what seemed to be the perfect name, I walked out into my backyard to enjoy the night air and the clear western skies. Still thinking about stars, I pulled out my constellation app and pointed it overhead.

And there it was, Kochab, staring me in the face and absolutely cementing the name for me.

Sure, I have to teach people how to pronounce it.

But it’s worth the effort to stay connected to my mom in this way.