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How much of your time do you spend focused on things over which you have absolutely no control or influence?

I’m talking about things like the weather, the price of oil, the wars and conflicts that are raging around the world, terrorism, global warming, the stock market. And the list goes on and on. Sure, we can and should “think globally and act locally”, but how often do you find yourself worrying, stressing or obsessing about these things?

But what about the “smaller” things over which you have little, if any, control or influence? I’m talking about the thoughts and actions of others. It might be your boss, your clients, your spouse or your kids. Depending on who we’re talking about you might have some level of influence, but it is a very fine line between “attempting to influence” and “attempting to control”, isn’t it?

And what happens to your quality of life when you are preoccupied with things that are “out there”? You know the answer to that question very well, even if you don’t like to admit it or even think about it.

I have recently discovered Byron Katie and her philosophy called “The Work”. You may already be familiar with her since her first book Loving What Is was published a number of years ago. In it, she says that there are only three kinds of business in the Universe: mine, yours and God’s. She goes on to say that stress comes from mentally being in any business other than your own.

If you think about this for a minute, you’ll probably agree that focusing on someone else’s business is a recipe for stress and conflict. But there’s another consequence to focusing on God’s business or someone else’s business and that is that you are not focusing on your own business!

Just let that sink in. Who’s living your life if you are spending your time and energy trying to live everyone else’s lives?

Now let’s look at this in terms of the Power of Mortality™. When you woke up this morning you were given a tremendous gift - a gift that was not owed to you - the gift of more time. The gift of another day on this earth. Do you really want to spend that time trying to live someone else’s life?

If your goal is to live a happier, healthier, more productive life - doesn’t it seem natural that the best way to go about it is to put your energy into your own affairs? After all, it’s much easier to change the way YOU are thinking about something than it is to change the way THEY are thinking, isn’t it? The sooner we start to choose our own life, the sooner our life will be the one that we want to choose!

So the next time you find yourself stressed, just stop and ask yourself these two simple questions: “What is it that is causing this upset?” and “Who’s business is that?” (And then thank Byron Katie).

PS: For more information on “The Work”, including some powerful video clips of “The Work” in action, please visit: Byron Katie’s website.

ENJOY NOW!

Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of offering my book, “What’s Your Expiry Date? Embrace Your Mortality - Live With Vitality“, to the corporate world for bulk purchases.

Companies are often looking for meaningful and impactful items to use for promotional or marketing purposes. I’m sure you’ve been on the receiving end of these kind of items. All too often these sorts of giveaways miss the mark because they are something that you look at once and toss away. Or they may be something useful, like a pen or mug, but still miss the mark because there is no emotional investment in the item and therefore no transfer of that emotional attachment to the company or organization that gave it to you.

On the other hand, a small, (7.1 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches - 6.4 oz) attractive, hardcover book is not something that is likely to be thrown away. In fact, a hardcover book is something likely to be passed from person to person, thus easily having an exponential impact. And if the message of my book is something that resonates with the message of the company or group, imagine the emotional attachment and goodwill that will naturally be engendered by receiving this sort of promotional or marketing item! (I know that Deepak Chopra certainly appreciated the copy I gave him when we had a chance to sit down and discuss The Power of Mortality™)

So here’s my pitch:

• If you know of a company or a group that is looking for a promotional item that carries real impact…
• If you know of a company or a group whose message is complimentary to The Power of Mortality™, or whose products or services would be a natural fit with the message behind The Power of Mortality™ (just off the top of my head, I can think of how easily this would fit with industries such as health care, financial services, insurance and direct sales)…
• If you know of a company or a group that would like to be associated with a book by an author who was a guest for a full hour on Oprah & Friends…
• If you know of a company or a group like this… then I want to hear from you!

Depending on the quantity ordered and the desired budget, we can put together packages whereby the company/group would receive:

• an attractive name-plate on the inside cover
• 1/2 of the back cover for their message
• a star-burst or top banner on the front cover

We can also add options that could include:

• a keynote presentation (or a number of them) for the company/group
• a workshop (or a number of them) for their company
• custom-written articles for their newsletter, corporate blog or website

Anyone interested in opening a discussion about this should contact my manager Allan at:
allan [at] mathieu [dot] com.

Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon University professor who became famous for his “Last Lecture”, has died at the age of 47.

I’m sure that you’ve heard his story, watched him on Oprah, seen a video of his lecture or read his book.

I applaud Randy for two things:

1. When told that he had six months to live, Randy chose to focus on the LIVING part and not the dying part!  So many of us make the opposite choice.

2. Randy took a very selfless approach to the precious time that he had left and generously used his experience to help others examine their own lives and priorities.

And that’s what the Power of Mortality™ is all about!

Thanks Randy!

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Earlier this morning, I had to take my son to the emergency room of our local hospital. (Don’t worry, everything worked out fine and he’s good as new already!)

As we were going through Triage, the nurse assessed my son, started a chart for him and then sent us to the registration clerk. As we were sitting at the clerk’s window, I noticed that MANY people had written graffiti on (or scratched graffiti into the paint of) the metal frame around the clerk’s window. (I snapped the picture above. Click to enlarge)

What jumped out at me though, was something that was written in the very center. Along with the usual graffiti and name-writing, I read the following:

You’ll be ok

And somehow, those simple words made it just a little easier to sit with my son in the waiting room of a hospital’s emergency department! So “thank you” to whomever wrote those reassuring words.

Now I’m challenging each of you! Tomorrow, please find a small, random (and legal please - no graffiti) act of kindness that you can perpetrate that will help ease someone else’s day-to-day existence!