I’ve learned a lot from Tim Ferriss, the author of The 4-Hour Work Week. I’ve picked up countless tips from reading his book and his blog and watching his YouTube videos. But today, I learned a new kind of lesson. A lesson in community.

Today, Tim wrote a serious blog post on the topic of depression and suicide. (You need to read it!)

Tim isn’t a doctor. He’s not a psychologist. But he has a blog with a very large audience and he has decided to step outside of his usual subject matter to make a very important comment on a very important topic. He says:

Statistically, out of the millions of people who visit this blog, a fair number will consider or attempt suicide. I want to know that I at least made an effort to prevent such terrible loss.

Tim’s post has reminded me of two important things:

• We all have a duty to watch out for one another
• You don’t need to be an expert to offer assistance - especially if that assistance is to help someone find an expert.

It would have been so easy for Tim to simply continue using his blog to regale us with his globe-trotting, time-saving tales of his fantastic life and how we too can have that life. But today, Tim decided to step out of that comfort zone and give something back to the community.

Thanks for the lesson Tim!

ENJOY NOW!

I just read about a most incredible ceremony!

In South Korea, a company called Korea Life Consulting will let you attend your own funeral!

That’s right - you read your last will and testament then climb into a casket.  The good folks from Korea Life Consulting then nail the lid shut, sprinkle dirt on the lid and play funeral music!  After 15 minutes, they pry open the lid and you emerge - reborn!

One of the participants had to say this:

“I felt really, really scared inside the coffin and also thought a lot about my mom,” said Lee Hye-jung, a 23-year-old woman studying engineering. “I’ll live differently from now on so as not to have any regrets about my life.”

POWERFUL STUFF!

So what do you think?  Should I incorporate some caskets into my next workshop or weekend seminar?

Read the story for yourself.

What are you doing to invest in your success for 2008?

How much more successful would the year be if you had laser focus and were confident that you were focusing on what is most important to you?

I will be holding a “Fearless Focus” workshop in Toronto on Tuesday, January 29th. In order to accomodate different schedules, and to allow as many people as possible to participate, I am offering two sessions - one in the afternoon (1pm-4pm) and one in the evening (6pm-9pm).

To keep the sessions as interactive as possible, I am limiting attendance to 24 people per session. So REGISTER NOW!

For more information and to register, visit the Fearless Focus page.

(Would you like to see a workshop held in your city? Contact me and let’s get one set up!) 

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!

I encourage you to read what my stroke and my son have taught me about the illusion of time.

The article is at I Will Change Your Life . com where my friend Peter recently asked me to write a guest post. (Thanks again Peter!)

Last week, an article titled “Are We Happier Facing Death?” appeared on Time’s website.

The answer to the question goes against logic and common sense, but it didn’t surprise me a bit! After all, I’ve known the answer to that question for thirteen years.

I encourage you to read the article for yourself and please feel free to leave comments below.

By the way: here are some other links to articles about the same research

Death-Defying Thoughts  - findcounselling.com

How our minds counter the fear of eventual death - anxietyinsights.info

Faced With Death, Our Minds Turn To Happier Thoughts - sciencedaily.com

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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!

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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!