In 2005 I wrote a book called What’s Your Expiry Date? Embrace Your Mortality – Live With Vitality. In it, I introduced a concept I call The Power of Mortality™. I have been speaking about this topic since 2003 and done many radio and television interviews, including an hour long interview with Dr. Oz on Oprah & Friends. In 2009 I was featured in a documentary movie. But first and foremost the accomplishment that means the most to me is the incredible feedback that I get from people who have been impacted by my message.
People have changed their attitudes. People have changed their behaviors. People have changed their careers. People have changed their relationships. People have changed their lives! What more can you ask than to be able to do life-changing work?
In December of 2008 I got a message from my friend Sherry. We’ve never had the pleasure of meeting but have connected through Facebook. She and her family are fans of my book. They even have my Mortality Manifesto printed out and displayed on their fridge! Here’s what Sherry had to say:
I don’t know how you and your family talk about death, dying, living (I know your kids are younger) but my 12 year old daughter just brought it up to me. We were in the car and she just very quietly said, I love you Mom. We say it a lot in our house so I didn’t make much of it. Then also quietly she said, “i’m afraid to die”. Of course, i turned off the radio and really listened (which is what i should have been doing anyway). I’m not sure what brought it on but I think i remember having thoughts about mortality at about her age.
I really took it as an amazing opportunity to talk about mortality with her. I mentioned your name and your message (along with a bit of my own thoughts) and she knew who you were because I talk about you a lot in our home.
My point is, we continued the conversation at home in bed in the dark (where all the best intimate conversations happen). And we will continue the conversations as they come up. I`m pleased to say that she understands about mortality as something that is inevitable. And she has agreed to open her mind to facing it without fear. She also knows that there is every reason to believe that she and her family will live long lives but that each day is a gift.
So… thanks! You gave some powerful parenting tools.
Within a few weeks I had created an outline of a book that would be aimed at children, to help them to understand the idea of mortality and to approach it from a place of power, rather than fear.
And then… my life got crazy so I shelved that project.
Now, I’m proud to say that it’s back in full swing!
My question to you is:
What age do kids start to ask questions about mortality?
I’d love to hear your insights and anecdotes on the topic.
“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.
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!
I’ve decided to finally start using video to help spread the message of the Power of Mortality™. Here is the first video in the series. It’s a short (41 second) video called “Enough Time?”
And I need your help!
- Please pass this video on to family and friends!
- Post it on your Facebook or MySpace pages!
- Share it via your own blogs!
- Spread the news through Twitter!
- Vote for it on StumbleUpon, Digg, and any other social bookmarking utility!
Let’s see how many people we can get to Take The Pledge!
This morning I was looking at some amazing photos that Jose’ has on Facebook. As soon as I saw them, I realized that I had to write a blog post about them, so I dropped him a note to ask if I could use them. He wrote back and told me that I was welcome to use the photos. He also told me that there was a story behind them – and what a story it is! So today, I will bring you Jose’s story. Then, in my next blog entry, I will give you the post that I was originally inspired to write when I saw these fantastic photos.
Here are the photos (Jose’ is the one in the white t-shirt) – Click on each one to see the larger photo):
And here’s the story behind them, as told by Jose’:
I was scared of heights. A couple of years ago the German girlfriend I had at the time took me sight seeing on top of Cologne cathedral. Going up the never ending stairs did not make me realize how high we were going as we had no windows around us. When we got to the top and realized the height, I simply froze, got hold of the wall behind me and was shaking with panic. Well it took her and some other tourist around 45 minutes to get me down. I went down the steps facing the wall and my girlfriend talking me about silly stuff to deviate my frightening thoughts.
Last year I started working on myself and getting my life in shape. One of the things I had to work on was the fear of heights. I was going to be in Hawaii for a conference regarding personal development and I decided to take action to defeat this fear of heights. I booked a skydive 5 weeks before the jump and from that day I created a mind movie where I saw myself boarding the plane with a smile and no fear and also watched myself jump off the aircraft with a big smile and screaming with joy having the time of my life. I went through this mind movie at least once a day till the jump and while doing so I said aloud to myself “I am going to skydive and am going to have fun”. Well, I jumped and it was a live performance of my mind movie and did not feel any fear for not even a fraction of a second. Now I know that with the right mind-set I can achieve what I want.
Do I have some powerful friends, or what?
Now I want you to consider doing three simple things:
1. Use the comments section below to tell us how you’ve overcome fears.
2. Forward this to any of your friends who are having difficulty facing their fears.
Wow! You need to click on the picture and look at this! (It will only take 30 seconds to read … but a lifetime to think about!)
I couldn’t have said it better myself!!
Take a long, hard look at those blobs. Count them out and see where you are right now.
And then remember that 936 is just the statistical norm. It’s not a number that you are guaranteed, owed or otherwise entitled to.
To further put this in perspective… last month Dave Freeman, the man who co-wrote 100 Things To Do Before You Die, died at the age of 47. That, my friends, is only 564 blobs.
Have you ever seen someone doing something that you’d love to try?
Something like:
Whitewater rafting
Hiking in the Himalayas
Driving a race car
Shooting under 100 for a round of golf
Or maybe it’s something like making pottery or working with stained-glass.
You see what they are doing and you say to yourself: “Man! I’d love to try that one day!” But of course one day isn’t a day on the calendar – so you never get around to trying it.
I recently met a very interesting young man named Frank who is involved in parkour. If you don’t know what parkour is (or even if you do) you need to watch this amazing three minute video clip. (Warning: your heart will be beating faster by the time you finish it and you if your boss catches you watching it at work, you will have the urge to vault over your cubicle wall to escape.)
I’ve always wanted to try parkour, but I’m wise enough to know that you need some basic training before you start (not to mention a level of physical conditioning that I just don’t have at the moment). Now that I know Frank, I can live vicariously thorough him and that might be just the motivation I need to start getting in shape to try out some of these moves.What about you? What things would you love to try? Are they things that you can jump right into, or do you need to work up to them? If you can jump right in – what’s stopping you? If you need to work up to them – what are you doing to start the process? A good place to start would be to become acquainted with someone who is already doing what you’d like to do.
For 2008, why not vow to surround yourself with “successful” people? And by that, I mean people who are doing what you’d like to do.
Now I just need to ask Frank if he’s ever done THIS – because MAN-O-MAN would I ever love to fly like that!
If you go to Amazon.com and search for the phrase “before you die” you will find an incredible number of books. You’ll find titles such as:
* 1,000 Places to See Before You Die
* 1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die
* Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die
* Unforgettable Things to Do Before You Die
* 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
* 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
* 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
* 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
* Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die
* Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die
What about you?
Have you made any of your own “… before I die” lists?
If not, why not? It’s a lot of fun!
If you have (or you would like to get started), I encourage you to share them via the the comments section below.
Make your “before I die” list and then get busy crossing off the items! You’ll thank me later!
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