“I was stuck in this job, feeling like I was just on a treadmill of having to earn enough money so that I could afford to buy the house that was near enough to my job. It was just like this crazy cycle. On Sunday nights, me and my husband would be just grumpy and unhappy about having to go back to work. And I’d think, you know, we don’t have to do this. … I felt like I wasn’t being true to myself.”

Could that quote be from you?

It’s actually from a woman named Roz Savage who decided that she’d had enough of the “perfect life” – husband, corporate career, big house, little red sports car.  She decided to give it all up and row solo across the Atlantic.

While I don’t share her vision of rowing single-handedly across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a 23-foot carbon-hulled rowboat – I absolutely LOVE her resolve in deciding to choose the life she wanted.

And how did she come to this life-changing conclusion?  She wrote two obituaries for herself. (A woman after my own heart!)  The first obituary was based on a life that continued along the path of the “perfect life”.  The second was based on a life of following her dreams.

While I haven’t read her book yet – I encourage you to read this interview that Roz did with the Globe & Mail newspaper: “Goodbye husband and career, hello high seas”

This article came to my attention via a Twitter post from my friend Bill Star. Bill is the CEO of My Life List™ which is a fantastic, free online community dedicated to helping each of us to design a “life list” that really matters.

So,  back to my original question: “Could the quote at the top be from you?”  Do you feel like you aren’t being true to yourself? Here’s how to get started on choosing the life you want:

1. Download and sign my free Mortality Manifesto Pledge.

2. Like Roz, write your own obituaries. One for the life that continues with the status quo and one for the life you would love to be living.

3. Sign up with My Life List™ and start creating and designing your new life step by step. There’s a wonderful community there to support you so you won’t feel like you’re alone on the Atlantic. (Unless that’s what you want to do!  In that case – talk to Roz!)

4. Come back here and share what amazing things you’re up to!

CONNECTING

Roz Savage – Twitter: @rozsavage Blog: http://rozsavage.com/blog/

Bill Star – Twitter: @mylifelist Blog: http://mylifelistceo.blogspot.com/

Everyone wants to be on the first page of listings in a Google search, right?  Well today, I’ve done one better than that – I’m on the Google HOMEPAGE!!

Ok, so that isn’t really MY barcode logo, but it is a screenshot of today’s Google homepage. Special thanks to my friend Alison in Australia for alerting me to this yesterday, when it was already today over there. (Did you follow that?) It seems that October 7, 2009 marks the 57th anniversary of the date that the barcode was patented.

So what better opportunity to address the three major questions I get about my barcode?

1. Do you really have a barcode tattooed on your arm?

Yes I actually have that tattoo on my arm.  No, it’s not a photoshop trick for the cover of my book.  It’s real.

2. What is the significance of tattooing a barcode on your arm?

If you are familiar with my story, you will know that I was born with a heart that was made completely “wrong”. At the age of 18, I was told by a leading cardiologist that medical science “hoped” that I would survive to see the age of 30.  As you can imagine, it took me a long time to come to terms with that news, but ultimately I decided that this was the best thing that anyone could have ever told me – and the Power of Mortality™ was born!

Shortly afterwards, I took the numerals of my 30th birthday (031800 – for March 18, 2000), the date that I referred to as my expiry date, and converted them into a barcode that I had tattooed on my shoulder.

3. You got the tattoo as a marketing gimmick, didn’t you?  You read a book that talked about developing a “brand” for yourself and took it literally, right?

Nope.  I got the tattoo long before I realized that my story and my message of the Power of Mortality™ could be useful to others.  I got the tattoo strictly for myself!  The idea was that I would see it in the shower every morning and it would serve as a reminder of the fact that I was lucky to have woken up that day – no one “owed” me another day on earth.  When I see that barcode each morning it inspires me to do something powerful with the gift of another day alive.

So how does this apply to YOU?

I dream of one day having a team of tattoo artists at set up at the back of the auditorium where I’m giving a speech or a seminar, with a huge lineup of people waiting to get their own barcode tattoo.  Somehow though, I think the paperwork involved with the necessary release forms would be too much to handle!

Instead, at my live events, I hand out a barcode card that represents the date of the presentation.  I challenge my audience to accept the fact that no one owes them another day of life and to agree that the very last day of their live will be that day. Then, if they wake up the following day – they are living with the Power of Mortality™!!  And how much different will your life be when you realize that you are living on “bonus time”?

But you don’t have to wait until you can get out to see me at one of my live events – you can get started right now by taking the Mortality Manifesto Pledge.

ENJOY NOW!