October 30, 2007
I have a confession to make. In May of 2003, I decided to become a motivational speaker and start sharing my personal story and telling others about the Power of Mortality™. It was an agonizing decision! I was VERY concerned that I wasn’t an “expert” and that people wouldn’t listen to my message because I wasn’t “somebody”.
I was constantly comparing myself to “experts” in the self-help and personal development fields and questioning why people would listen to me. I was second-guessing myself at every turn.
So, I decided to simply turn myself into an expert! After all, no one else was talking about harnessing mortality as a motivating force. “Oh sure, there are lots of ’survivor stories’ out there,” I would tell myself. “But my message is different.”
In May of 2003, I made a decision to put myself up on a mountain top and hang out a sign saying “Caution: Guru At Work”
Well, it’s time to come down from the mountain.
I want to be crystal clear about something. I have never lied about my story or embellished it in any way. What I have done, is spend an inordinate amount of time concerning myself with how I was being perceived. And somewhere along the way, I began to get caught up in the ego drama. It might have been the first time I walked into a bookstore and saw my face on the shelf beside Dr. Phil. It might have been some of the profound and moving feedback I’ve received from people who’ve seen me speak or read my book. While their stories have touched my heart, they also fed my head. I was operating from a position of pure ego.
All of this has recently come roaring to the foreground for me because I’ve been going through a rather challenging time for the last year, but I’ve taken great pains to hide it from people for fear of harming my status as a “self-appointed guru”.
No more!
I now realize that it is, and always has been, my story about facing my own mortality that helps people. My public image might contribute to how likely people are to listen to the story in the first place, but in the end it is the message that must shine through. I have also come to realize that my story is an evolving one. One that is made up of ups and downs and if I’m serious about helping others, I need to be serious about sharing myself with them.
In the past, when I have been deciding whether or not to share some part of my life with others, my number one question has always been: “How will this make me look?” Today, I want to pledge to you that my new number one question will be “Will others find this helpful in their own life journeys?”
Stay tuned… big things are coming!
ENJOY NOW!
October 23, 2007
A recent news item reported on a study that examines the cost of treating elderly lung cancer patients and the associated increase in life expectancy.
As I read the news item, this part really jumped out at me:
The cost-effectiveness ratio (the cost of treatment to an additional year of life) was $143,614 for localized lung cancer (a cancer that is confined to one area of the lung), $145,861 for regional cancer (a cancer that has spread within the lung but is contained within it) and $1.2 million for metastatic cancer.
Now if I’m reading that correctly, they are saying that if you are an elderly person with lung cancer, it costs between $143,614 and $1.2 million to keep you alive for one additional year! If we average that out, that works out to be:
$496,491.67 per year of life
$41,374.31 per month
$10,343.58 per week
$1,477.65 per day.
Have you ever thought about your life in terms of a “cost-effectiveness ratio”? Let’s take today for instance. What kind of day are you having?
Would you have paid $1,477.65 for today?
I’ll bet that your answer to that question depends a lot on whether you are fit and healthy or whether you have metastatic cancer.
So here’s my suggestion: If you wake up tomorrow: live the day as though you had to pay someone $1,477.65 for the privilege. (And if you feel the need to actually pay someone… I accept cheques or PayPal!)
ENJOY NOW!
October 18, 2007
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What would your life look like if you were FEARLESS, FOCUSED and FREE FROM REGRETS? It’s time to Revolutionize Your Life!
FEAR – I want you to think about fear for a moment.
- What has fear cost you over the years?
- In terms of money
- In terms of wasted opportunity
- In terms of erosion to your self-confidence and self-worth
- In terms of relationships
- In terms of your health
- How many of your day-to-day decisions are made based on fear?
- How many of your fears have been with you so long, that you no longer recognize them as fear? Here’s a clue – do you ever find yourself using these words to explain why you didn’t act on something:
- Responsible
- Levelheaded
- Mature
- Reasonable
- Prudent
- Safe
How much impact does fear have on your life today?
REGRET – Now I want you to think about regret for a moment.
- If I were to give you a pen and piece of paper right now and ask you to write down any regrets you have, would you:
- Stare blankly at the paper for five minutes and then hand it back to me – empty
- Write for a few minutes and then hand it back to me with a shake of your head and a sigh
- Ask me for more paper, a more comfortable chair and a box of tissue – and then tell me to come back tomorrow – with food
How much impact does regret have on your life today?
FOCUS – Now I want you to think about focus for a moment.
- On a scale of 1 – 10, how focused would you say you are?
- How would your spouse rate your focus
- How would your children rate your focus
- How would your parents rate your focus
- How would your coworkers rate your focus
- How would your friends rate your focus
- How much of your life is spent focused on the past (regrets) or focused nervously on the future (fears)?
- How much sleep have you lost wondering if you are on the right path or making the right decisions?
How focused is your life today?
Now – here’s the really big question – How happy are you with how your life has turned out so far?
Let me ask that another way:
If you were just informed that today was your last day on earth, how ready would you be to accept that what you have, is all you are going to get?
Is it time to revolutionize your life?
I can help you! We can do it together – through the Power of Mortality™
ENJOY NOW!
October 11, 2007
A few years ago an incredibly powerful independent film called “What the Bleep Do We Know?” swept across North America. One of the most talked about points in the movie was a piece called “I Create My Day” by Dr. Joe Dispenza. (You can read a transcript of his remarks here.)
I have always known that a fantastic way to really make something your own is to create a ritual around it. In that spirit, I created a ritual that helps me to create my day each and every morning. I’ve been using this ritual every day now for a number of years, and I’ve hd fantastic results.
The ritual simply involves making an espresso on my gas stove (something I do each morning). If you don’t drink coffee you can easily adapt it to tea. 
I tell myself that the coffee represents the raw talents and skills that I have been given, useless on its own, but incredible once combined with the other elements. As I add the coffee, I focus on all of my abilities and I choose which of them I want to use that day. Perhaps it will be a day where I am speaking to an audience. Or a day where I am focusing on writing. Or maybe I’m going to be networking and meeting new people.
As I add the water, I tell myself that it represents life itself, without which nothing can happen.
The espresso maker represents TODAY. It holds a finite amount of “life” (water) and you can only put a finite amount of your skills and talents (coffee) into it. You cannot make tomorrow’s coffee today and you wouldn’t want to drink the coffee you made yesterday, so each and every day you must create a new brew.
The gas represents the Universal Source (or God, if you prefer), always available for the asking.
The spark that lights the burner is what happens when I bring my full attention to the moment and realize how connected I am to the Universal Source.
So then, when I am mindful of my incredible partnership with the Universal Source, I ignite a powerful force that ALWAYS works, whether I understand it or not. I don’t have to DO anything beyond acknowledging and allowing. It ALWAYS heats ANYTHING that is placed within the circle of its flame – it makes no judgments or discriminations. Once I have combined this endless power with my talents and skills and with life itself, the result is INEVITABLE!
Just as when I combine coffee and the water with the heat, the result is INEVITABLE.
And so it is!
As I prepare my morning coffee I consciously remind myself of these elements, thus turning this into an important ritual that centers me and prepares me for the day ahead. It is how I create my day.
What will you do with YOUR day?
ENJOY NOW!
October 10, 2007
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I still find it hard to believe that one year ago today, I had a stroke.
For the benefit of those who don’t know the background, let me start at the beginning and give you the highlights
- I was born with a very complicated heart condition and my parents were told that I wouldn’t live to see my first birthday. Since the doctors didn’t understand why my heart was working in the first place – they opted not to touch it.
- I lived a relatively “normal” childhood with no surgeries, no medicines and no hospitalization. It was a miracle!
- At the age of 18, I met a cardiologist who told me that my life was more than half over! His exact words were: “We hope you live to be 30.“
- Six long, torturous, depression and anger filled, years later – I finally came to terms with this prognosis. I accepted my own mortality and as soon as I did I realized that it was the most liberating and empowering thing I had ever done! I coined the term “Power of Mortality™” to describe this new way of living.
- I got married at the age of 30.
- We had our first child when I was 32.
- When I was 33, I realized that my mission in life is to help others by sharing my story and my concept of the Power of Mortality™, so I began my career as a professional speaker.
- We had our second child when I was 35.
- At the age of 35 I wrote my first book, “What’s Your Expiry Date? Embrace Your Mortality – Live With Vitality“
- And then at the age of 36 I had a stroke.
By then, I had been living the Power of Mortality™ for twelve years. I had been speaking about it, writing about it and teaching others about it for three years. And at the age of 36, I was given a chance to walk my talk.
As I have previously written in a post titled This Is NOT A Test, (which I wrote a year ago from my hospital bed), I walked into my office that morning and had no idea what my computer was used for. Next, my right arm went numb and the vision in my right eye went blurry. At that point, I realized that I was having a stroke.
And then the most remarkable thing happened! Rather than panic, rather than loose my cool, rather than be gripped by fear, I decided to sit down for a second. I sat in my office chair and asked myself: “Well, I wonder if today is the day?”
My mental dialog continued: “And if I am moments from death, how do I feel about my life at this moment? Am I ready to go?”
I ran a quick mental check:
- I just finished a good breakfast with my wife and children.
- I kissed them goodbye and told them I loved them as they left the house.
- My mother, brother and friends all know that I love them.
- I don’t need forgiveness from anyone that hasn’t already forgiven me.
- I don’t need to forgive anyone that I haven’t already forgiven.
- And I owe the bank lots of money!
So the answer is ‘YES’ I’m ready to go!
But I didn’t die. I didn’t but I know that I will. One of these days today will be ‘the day’. And thanks to the Power of Mortality™, I know that I will be just as ready to go then as I was a year ago!
ENJOY NOW!
October 4, 2007
I was listening to a satellite radio comedy channel earlier this evening. I heard a bit by Father Guido Sarducci that was recorded in 1986 and I wanted to share some of it with you.
Fr. Guido starts with the premise that insurance companies have statistics that say how long we are expected to live. He says that men are expected to live 78 years. Then he proposes a radical idea. He suggests that we should start out with 78 candles on our first birthday cake and then take one away every year. “That way, we know how much longer we have to go.”
He says it will give us something to shoot for – the goal of cleaning the cake.
All joking aside, imagine for a second how differently you would consider the upcoming year if you tried the countdown cake idea.
October 2, 2007
When people first hear about my concept of the Power of Mortality™, they sometimes get the wrong impression. It is NOT all about death, doom and gloom. It’s true that the first and most important step in tapping into the Power of Mortality™ is to actually embrace your own mortality. But that’s just the starting point.
The Power of Mortality™ is not about death – it’s about life!
- It’s about appreciating how truly precious and important your life is by contrasting it with your inevitable death.
- It’s about using that contrast to help you get clear about what you want out of life.
- And, it’s about using these newfound insights to make choices and take actions that move you in the direction of your dreams.
So how does that apply to your day-to-day life?
Well, once you’ve mastered the Power of Mortality™, the focus is no longer on your mortality, but on how you choose to live your life each day. The mantra is:
Fearless! Focused! Free From Regrets!
How powerful is that?
- Imagine how different your life would be if you were fearless!
- Imagine having no regrets about past actions, decisions or events!
- Imagine living your life each day with a clear focus!
You’d be unstoppable, wouldn’t you?
- The Power of Mortality™ will change the way you view your job or career.
- It will change the way you view your family life.
- It will change the way you view your relationships.
In short – the Power of Mortality™ will change YOU!
And I think that’s precisely why the Power of Mortality™ terrifies some people. They just aren’t ready to have their life shaken up. They’ve grown comfortable with living their life “by default”. But the reality of the situation is that one day, whether they are ready or not, their life will be shaken up. That’s just how it works.
I also think that’s why the Power of Mortality™ excites so many more people. These people realize the fact that facing their death – and their life – on their own terms, puts the control and power back into their own hands!
Which will you choose?
Will you try to control death? Or will you take control of your life?
You can get started with the Morality Manifesto.
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