Today, take a moment and think about the people In your life who need to be cherished, appreciated And told that their support has been helpful.
42. The Value of Dying Daily
I have no desire to be the richest person in the graveyard. To me, a life well lived is mostly about being surrounded by people I love, staying healthy and happy( no one’ s happy all the time, except in the movies, by the way), stepping toward my highest potential each day, doing work I love and having an impact on the world around me. so how can you stay focused on the things that are most important to you amidst the daily pressures of life? Die daily.
I wrote about this in The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, but the point of wisdom bears repeating: Connecting to the fact that life is short and no one knows when it will end is a great personal habit to stay centered on your highest priorities. Walking up each morning and asking yourself,“ How would I show up today if this day was my last?” is not some cheesy motivational exercise. It’ s a profound way to bring some urgency and commitment into your days. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said it far more powerfully than I ever could when he observed:“ No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’ t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life.”
Most of us let life act on us – we are asleep at the wheel of our own lives. And the days really do slip into weeks, the weeks into months and the months into years. Before we know it, we are lying on our deathbeds, wondering where all the time went. I’ ve talked to a lot of elderly people who express that very sentiment, with tears in their eyes. A participant in a recent seminar made the point beautifully, sharing the following quote from one of his family members with me:“ When the sun shone and the shops were invitingly open – alas – I forgot my shopping. Now the night has fallen – and I remember my shopping.”