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.

Earlier this week Steven D. Levitt, one of the co-authors of Freakonomics, posted a blog article titled: “If You Were A Terrorist, How Would You Attack?“. As you might imagine, this topic generated a tremendous amount of passionate responses. Later in the week, Levitt addressed some of these responses in a follow-up article titled: “Terrorism, Part II“. I was one of the people who commented on his follow-up (I’m #18) and I’d like to take a moment here to expand on my comments.

I feel that there is a link between Osama Bin Laden, bird flu and gang violence. I have done a number of radio interviews where I’ve discussed this point. In fact, the subject even came up during my hour on Oprah & Friends Radio. I maintain that all of these things have two things in common: FEAR and CONTROL. Inherently we fear anything we cannot control.

That’s why terrorism “works”. I don’t believe that terrorists use roadside bombs simply to kill people (there are far more efficient ways to do that). Terrorists use roadside bombs to instill uncertainty and fear. We fear the actions of terrorists precisely because: a) we can’t predict what they will do next; and b) we can’t control their actions - there is just no way to have a contingency for every possibility.

It’s the same with the threats of bird flu and gang violence - we can’t control them and we fear that we will be affected by them.

But at the root of it all, is our fear of death.

We can’t control the fact that we are going to die. There is nothing we can do to change the fact that one day our bodies will stop working. And for people in the Western world - that lack of control terrifies us. So we externalize the fear. We obsess about the things we feel we can control. For some it is their health. For others it is their safety. And increasingly for the USA, it is the idea of “national security”.

But how big is the threat of terrorism? In his second blog post, Levitt says: “The actual cost of … terrorism in terms of human lives is relatively small, compared to other causes of death like motor-vehicle crashes, heart attacks, homicide, and suicide. It is the fear that imposes the real cost.“

And that’s where the Power of Mortality™ comes in.

Once you’ve embraced your mortality and accepted the fact that you have a limited and uncertain amount of time on this earth - the fear melts away. After all - what are you going to fear if you no longer fear death? Oh - and as an added bonus, embracing your mortality allows you to live a life filled with vitality! I tell people that I can help them live lives that are “FEARLESS, FOCUSED and FREE FROM REGRETS”

Interested? Start with the Mortality Manifesto.

In my book, “What’s Your Expiry Date?“, I wrote that my goal was to help people understand the Power of Mortality™ without the need for them to undergo a traumatic event. On October 10, 2006, twelve years after discovering the Power of Mortality™, I suffered a stroke.

Technically, it was a Transient Ischemic Attack or TIA. As I lay in the hospital for a week following the event, I realized that, thanks to the Power of Mortality™, there was nothing - not one thing - in my life that I needed to change! How many people could say that when faced with their own death?

Thankfully, I made a full recovery from the TIA and suffered no deficits or after effects. Two weeks ago, when I first wrote about this in “Mindful Moment“, one of my subscribers suggested that TIA could also stand for “Teaching In Action”. I really liked that idea! So, in the spirit of using acronyms, I would like to present a short lesson on “How to have a STROKE“.

S - STOP!
You can do it. You can take some time for yourself. Let the rest of the world take care of itself for a while. You owe yourself this time. Besides, if you don’t stop once in a while, life has a habit of stopping you.

T - Take stock of your life. Who have you become? Who did you intend to be? How do you feel about that? Be honest with yourself.

R - Realize that you are not owed any specific amount of time on this earth. Likewise, you need to realize that your loved ones are not guaranteed any specific amount of time.

O - Open yourself up and listen. You’re listening for the small voice inside of you. It may take a few minutes or it may take a few days, but you will hear it. This voice comes from your heart of hearts - listen to what it has to say about your life. The process of tapping into the Power of Mortality™ isn’t something you can “think” your way through. It must be felt at the core of your being. The problem is that most of us are very out of touch with the core of our being because we are too busy letting life live us. We never intend for it to happen that way - it just does.

K - Keep in mind the principles of the Mortality Manifesto. Commit to aligning your life with your dreams. Commit to paying attention to your thoughts, words and actions. Realize that everything in your life happens because of your thoughts, words and actions and it is up to you to ensure that these three things are moving you in the direction of your dreams. Free yourself from fear and regret by keeping your focus on the present moment.

E - Embrace your life by embracing your mortality. EVERYDAY!

Let me finish by saying that I sincerely hope that this is the only STROKE that you ever have to experience. However, if you approach this exercise with a sincere heart and actually work though the process I know that you’ll be ready for whatever life brings your way in the future.

The Universe has a wonderful sense of humor!

Just as I was wrapping up my series of Mindful Moments on the topic of Living the Power of Mortality™, I was given the opportunity to put my beliefs to the ultimate test!
Last Tuesday, October 10th, I suffered a stroke. It was 08:30 in the morning and I was alone in my home office when it hit.

It was like any other morning. I had breakfast with my family and saw them off as they left for daycare, school and work. After I finished my espresso I sat down to start up my computer, but all I could do was sit and stare at the login screen. It was as though I had never seen the screen before in my life. I had no idea what to do. But at the same time, a voice in my head said ‘You do this every day! Come on!’ Then my right arm went numb and I had trouble with the vision in my right eye. At that moment I realized that I was having a stroke. (If YOU don’t know the warning signs of a stroke, do yourself a favor and learn them.)

Thankfully, I didn’t panic. Remembering something I had once heard, I went to the bathroom and took three aspirin to help reduce the impact of the stroke. I looked at myself in the mirror and made all sorts of funny faces to ensure that both sides of my face were still working. Seeing no signs of paralysis, I tried to talk out loud. Let me tell you - unless you’ve been through this, you can’t imagine how scary it is to discover that some part of your brain is on strike and you can’t even string together a simple sentence!

As I write this, it’s now Monday afternoon (October 16th) and I’ve been in the hospital since Tuesday. Thankfully, I have no paralysis or lingering effects from the stroke. I’ve felt perfectly normal since Tuesday afternoon. The doctors say I had a TIA (transient ischemic attack). I’m still in the hospital so they can monitor my response to the anticoagulation drug that I’m now going to be taking. (In case you are wondering.. typing with an IV drip in your hand is not an experience that I’d recommend trying.) I’ve been told that I should be discharged later today or tomorrow.
I was talking with a friend yesterday who asked me how my teachings held up to real life testing. She thought that perhaps my enthusiasm for embracing mortality might have changed because of the stroke.

I’ve now had seven days to reflect on the events of last Tuesday. Seven days to think about my situation. I’m pleased to report that the Power of Mortality™ works - even in the face of a stroke! Yes, I was scared when my brain wasn’t responding properly, but I wasn’t afraid!

Perhaps most significantly though, over the course of the last seven days of reflection, I have not uncovered a single thing about my life that I feel needs to change. How many people can say that when faced with their death?

What about YOU?

Will you be able to say that when you are finally faced with your death?

Would you like to be able to?

Start with the Mortality Manifesto.

ENJOY NOW!

Last weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving here in Canada. As I sat down to write the Mindful Moment for that weekend, I thought about using the theme of Thanksgiving. Instead, what came to me was a piece on saying goodbye. (I suggest you re-read it here.) Now I know why I was compelled to write using that theme.

Last Friday, I received the following e-mail from a Mindful Moment subscriber (she kindly agreed to let me reprint it here):

Patrick:
Reading your Mindful Moment comments this Thanksgiving brought forward a very important message often overlooked. At first I was puzzled that you chose this for Thanksgiving. Soon it became clear.The following morning at 5:15 a.m. my oldest daughter Jamie was in a severe motor vehicle accident and was transferred to a trauma center in Hamilton with a fractured pelvis and back as well as a small bleed on her brain.

How quickly our normal routine lives can change. A knock at the door and a police officer and the beginning of something you never imagined. As my husband and I drove home from the hospital tonight and did our usual venting of exactly how blessed and grateful we feel, how incredibly lucky Jamie had been, and how wonderfully supportive our family, friends and entire community has been, the importance of your message shines through.

I hope all my daughters have known they are loved unconditionally but there will never be a time that I will hesitate to say it.

God bless you and promise to give your son a HUGE hug from his “friend” Debbie.

-Debbie

Friends, I want each of you to promise me, and promise Debbie, that as soon as the goose bumps on your arms go down, you’ll run to your loved ones, or at the very least pick up the phone and call them to let them know just how much they mean to you! Promise?

Think of someone very dear to you. Perhaps your spouse or lover comes to mind. Maybe it is a child, parent or friend.

Now I want you to imagine that this is the last time you would ever see that person again.

• Imagine how long you would take to say goodbye.
• What would you say?
• What would you make absolutely sure they know?

Our need to say goodbye is tremendously strong. The book Final Gifts by two hospice nurses, Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley, is filled with very touching stories illustrating dying people’s need for closure.

Brazilian author Paulo Coelho recently shared the following story:

During the atrocities that accompanied the Bolshevik revolution, thousands of people were arbitrarily arrested, beaten, stripped and executed with a shot in the back of the head. According to one witness: “at the most tragic moment in our lives we have an absolute need to not feel alone. So most of the victims asked to say goodbye - and since there was nobody nearby, they embraced and said farewell to their executioners.”

Life is full of uncertainties. We never know when we will be saying goodbye for the last time. Now I’m not advocating that you say your final goodbyes each and every time you leave for work or head to the store for milk.

What I am suggesting is that from time to time we need to check in with ourselves to ensure that those whom we love know how much they mean to us.

I will consider my life a success if I can go to my grave knowing that there is no one to whom I didn’t get the chance to say the words “I’m sorry”, “I forgive you”, or “I love you”.

Is there anything you are leaving unsaid?