(Hey, did we ever decide what we we’re calling that last decade? We had the 80′s, then the 90′s but what is the name for the decade we just finished? And what are we in now? The “teens”?)

Well, it’s a new year and the beginning of a new decade!  Why not take this opportunity to create a new life for yourself?

As I mentioned on December 1st, there are some big changes coming for me in 2010.

I have been writing and speaking about the Power of Mortality™ for six years now. As you are probably aware, my message is closely tied to my life story, and since life continues to grow and evolve, my message has evolved as well.

If the Power of Mortality™ was about waking people up to the importance of their lives, then my next step involves helping people get into action when it comes to creating their dream lives.

I am thrilled to invite you to join me at ChooseTheLifeYouWant.com as I discuss a three-step process to help people live the lives of their dreams. Lives of significance. Lives that are fearless, focused and free from regret.

Choose The Life You Want (CTLYW) simply builds on the discussion that was started with The Power of Mortality. Naturally, the concept of embracing your own mortality is one of the cornerstones of the CTLYW approach. If you haven’t already read and signed the Mortality Manifesto Pledge – do it now!

I am replacing my Mindful Moment newsletter and podcast with a weekly email newsletter called “Fearless, Focused Fridays“. The idea is to give yourself a few moments on Friday to reflect on your dreams and head into the weekend and following week with a renewed sense of purpose and clarity.

You can subscribe to receive Fearless, Focused Fridays, as well as CTLYW blog updates via email or RSS feed. And you can subscribe to get updates on other news such as the upcoming book, public workshops and weekend retreats.

As I begin this new chapter, I want to sincerely thank you for being part of my journey so far. I would be honored in you would continue with me as we both begin to choose (and live) the lives we want!

ENJOY NOW!

And it is certainly not about my amazing hair re-growth.

I’m talking about LIFE ITSELF!

Yes, on March 18th, 2009 I celebrate 39 years on planet earth!

Which means that I have now enjoyed 30% more life than my expiry date had given me!

Now this is not just a cheap attempt to get all of you to wish me a happy birthday (although you should now feel obliged to send your good wishes via the comment section below!).  Instead, I want to use this an an opportunity to do two things:

1. I want to wish my mother a Happy Birthday! No, she wasn’t also born on March 18th. You see, in my opinion, the birthdays should be about the mother.  After all, she is the one that GAVE BIRTH.  All I did was show up and look cute. So when your birthday rolls around, I encourage you to thank your own mother and to wish her a happy birthday!

2. I want you to think about what you would do with an extra 30% more life.  Just imagine the possibilities!  And to help you get started on living those possibilities, I’d like to offer you a gift.  (Yes, it’s my birthday, but I’m the one giving you a gift) It’s called the Mortality Manifesto Pledge and it just might change your life, if you let it.

ENJOY NOW!

(And Happy Birthday Mom – I love you!)

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!

Thanks!

As you may know, I have recently made a choice to increase my fitness level and decrease my body mass and body fat percentage.    I am using all of my skills and expertise to ensure that this choice becomes a reality for me in a fast and efficient manner.

This week, (the first week of my program) I paid very close attention the self-talk that was coming up around my lifestyle choices.  I found that I was really embracing the exercise components of my plan, but I was having some difficulty around food choices.  I was eating well, but not consistently.  Towards the end of the week, I found myself making some “bad” choices when it came to snacks.  As I tuned in to the self-talk around these choices, here is what I heard:

“Yummm! I’m going to have some of this – just as a treat.”

“That’s a bad idea and it’s out of line with my goals.”

“Yeah, I only live once. Do I want to live a spartan lifestyle, or do I want to enjoy myself? I deserve this little treat.”

WOW!  Those are a lot of unconscious beliefs at work there!  Let’s take a look:

• First, you can see that my Power of Mortality™ mindset is working against me with the excuse that I deserve a treat because I only live once and I could die at any moment.  That’s an absolutely silly excuse now that I’m aware of it!
• Second, I am equating sticking to my plan as living a “spartan lifestyle”.  How likely am I to stick with something like that?
• Third, I am further equating this to a lack of enjoyment and self-deprivation. I’ve even gone so far as to make it an either/or situation – “spartan lifestyle” or “enjoy myself”.  Hmmmmm.. no wonder I’ve struggled with this in the past.

I recently wrote about the fact that nothing has any meaning except for the meaning we give it. I said: “Once we realize that we have complete control over the meanings we assign to things, we gain a tremendous amount of power.”  Here’s how I shifted my meaning in this situation.

I zeroed in on my phrase “Do I want to live a spartan lifestyle, or do I want to enjoy myself?”.  As I heard the words “spartan lifestyle” I was able to instantly shift the meaning. When I heard the word “spartan”, I thought of the movie “300” which was an incredibly violent and gory movie full of guys with fantastic abdominal muscles. (I choose to believe that these were computer generated abs courtesy of Pixar Studios!)

That one shift has made all the difference!  Now, when I hear my self-talk whining about not being able to eat something, and I hear “do I want to live a spartan lifestyle?” I think of those guys and their abs and I answer: “Hell yes,  I want to live a lifestyle like that!” (The great abs part of the lifestyle – not the death, violence and gore part.)

Then I visualize the negative and limiting self-talk as the messenger in the movie who is standing at the edge of the well and I kick him backwards into the abyss!

I imagine myself as the main character in the movie, standing there with rippling abs and armed with a celery stick, ready to take on thousands of invading chocolate bars or cookies! This a completely silly and ridiculous way of thinking and that’s precicely why it works for me. I find it fun and easy to do!

And more importantly, it breaks the pattern in my head about what my healthy choices mean (lack of enjoyment and self-depravation) and helps install new, supportive meanings and beliefs.

So this week, I encourage you to consciously tune in to your own self-talk and be on the lookout for limiting beliefs that might be working against your goals and objectives. If you need help… I’ll be over here eating celery and doing situps!

“And what happened was, um.. life took over… life took over.  I started getting overwhelmed.”

Excuse me – what was that?

I had to back up and listen to it again, but that’s what she said.

I was dumbfounded.  How can Oprah get overwhelmed because “life took over”?

So I kept watching the video clip.  She spoke about insomnia and being exhausted.  “…many a day I didn’t want to come into work. I didn’t want to come into work because I’m so tired.  Too much work, not enough play, not enough time to come down, not enough time to really relax.”

While she is talking, we see footage of Oprah running around back stage, being tended to by hair and makeup people, in meetings, and in the studio for her radio program.  At one point she enters the frame of the camera while walking down a hall.  She has a coat draped over her shoulder, looks at the camera and says: “Done with that – on to my next job.”

At that point, Oprah lost me completely.

Here is one of the wealthiest women in the world talking about being overwhelmed because of ‘work’??  I can only imagine how that comment would have sounded to someone who is working two (or more) jobs in order to try to pay the rent and put food on the table.  Wikipedia indicates that Oprah’s 2008 salary was $385 million dollars.

I found myself inadvertently yelling at the computer: “Oprah! Have you completely lost your mind??” Who is making you go to work each day? Who controls your schedule? You’re Oprah Winfrey for godsake! You can do whatever you want!”

Clearly Oprah was making a HUGE mistake.

Then I calmed down and decided to do some more research. Now, I believe that the video clip was edited to be a sensationalistic teaser, designed to get you to tune in to the Oprah show to hear more.  After reading an article on her website, titled “How Did I Let This Happen Again?“, I discovered that she doesn’t blame “life taking over” for her weight gain.  She has a thyroid condition.  But she also doesn’t blame the weight gain entirely on the thyroid condition.

She writes:

What I’ve learned this year is that my weight issue isn’t about eating less or working out harder, or even about a malfunctioning thyroid. It’s about my life being out of balance, with too much work and not enough play, not enough time to calm down. I let the well run dry.

When I stop and ask myself, “What am I really hungry for?” the answer is always “I’m hungry for balance, I’m hungry to do something other than work.” If you look at your overscheduled routine and realize, like I did, that you’re just going and going and that your work and obligations have become a substitute for life, then you have no one else to blame. Only you can take the reins back.

That’s what I’m doing. These days I’ve put myself back on my own priority list; I try to do at least one hour of exercise five or six days a week. As I work out, eat healthfully, and reorder my life so there’s time to replenish my energy, I continue to do the spiritual and emotional work to conquer this battle once and for all.

If I could offer a word of advice to Oprah, it would be this: “It’s all a choice.“  Especially for someone as powerful as Oprah.  She can choose how much or how little she wants to work.  She can choose to utilize the army of personal trainers, nutritionists, doctors and specialists that she has available to her.  Or she can choose not to.

For her sake, and for the sake of everyone who is looking to her for an example, I sincerely hope that Oprah realizes the power of choosing the life you want.  This is a choice that you make moment by moment, day by day.

~~~

Note: Writing this article has moved me to put my words into action.  Read Choose, Then Act!

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I just read a funny blog post written yesterday (Dec 30th at 11:32pm) by an acquaintance of mine named Chip.  It was titled “Eeek!” and the first paragraph says:

How has this happened? I had big plans to implement before the end of the year. I mean, I still have 24.5 hours but I plan on sleeping for at least 5 of those.

Do you find yourself in the same boat? I think that’s one of the reasons that people like to celebrate the new year – it allows us to turn the page on things that may not have worked out as we’d hoped and start fresh with a new set of goals, dreams and resolutions!

But unless you make some different choices in 2009 than you made in 2008, I guarantee that you will find yourself on Dec 30, 2009 saying: “Eeek!”

It really is that simple.  Whether or not we achieve our goals, has less to do with the actual goals, dreams and resolutions and more, much more, to do with the choices we make and the actions we take.

My resolution, my goal, my choice for 2009 is to help as many people as possible to begin to live the lives they really want, rather than the lives they’ve been getting by default.  I am working on three new books (a children’s story about the Power of Mortality™, a book of rituals that I’m working on with a co-author, and a follow-up to What’s Your Expiry Date?) and I’m going to have a powerful weekend seminar/retreat ready for the fall.  All of these exciting projects have the same objective: empower people to choose the life they want!

I want to make sure that from now on, at the end of December we aren’t saying:

“Eeek! How did this happen? Oh well, I’ll try again next year”

Instead, I want everyone to be left with the amazing feeling that you get when the roller-coaster pulls into the station and you say:

“YEAH!! That was a blast, let’s go again!”

So, who’s coming with me?

Happy YOU Year to everyone!!

If you find that my message offers a useful point of view, please take a moment to share it with anyone who might also benefit from hearing / reading it.

Also, please share your thoughts in the comments section!

Subscribe to the Mindful Moment Podcast.

(By the way… if you have only listened to the audio version and are wondering what is so special about April 15, 1994. Wonder no longer!)

Last week I had my annual check-up with the cardiology team.  These are not your standard cardiologists – these doctors are specially trained in dealing with adults with congenital heart conditions. (Public Service Announcement: If you, or someone you love, was born with any sort of heart defect [as 1 in 100 babies are], then you need to be sure that you are being followed by a congenital heart specialist – not just a regular cardiologist.  For more information contact the CCHA in Canada or the ACHA in the US)

I have been having annual checkups since I was born (except for the seven or eight years after receiving my ‘expiry date’ – you may have read about those years in my book).  One of the diagnostic tests that they almost always use during these checkups is called an echocardiogram.  It’s the same technology that they use on pregnant women to check the progress of the baby and it gives you a fascinating look inside the human body.

So I have had the privilege of being able to watch my own heart as it does its thing.  I’m guessing that I’ve probably seen this “live and in person” about 31 times. And I have a powerful video clip of my own heart that I keep on my BlackBerry (Ask me to see it the next time you meet me).  For me, watching my heart is like visiting with a wise old friend.

Now my heart bears little resemblance to yours.  (If you haven’t already listened to my heart – you can do that here.) All my life I have had cardiologists tell me that if someone were to intentionally build a heart the way mine is built – it would never function.  But mine does!  I know that I am a walking miracle!

And that humbling fact was brought home to me once again last week as I lay on my side watching my heart beating away – doing things that it’s not supposed to do.

As I reflected on this miracle in action, I felt a renewed sense of purpose and drive sweep over me.  “I’ve been given a tremendous gift here!  Who am I to squander it by living an ‘ordinary’ life?”

Isn’t that a powerful realization?

But you don’t have to have a freakish heart to tap into that same feeling. Your own body, whether young or old, healthy or not, is a miracle of nature!  You have the ability to turn food and drink into muscles and bones.  You pull oxygen out of the air and turn it into thoughts and dreams.  And all without any effort on your part!

You’re a miracle in action too!  So please tell me you’re not planning on living an ordinary life!  No matter what sort of live you’ve been living up to this point – it can all change now!  With the very next beat of your heart, you can decide to live your life on purpose.  And if you ever get discouraged or doubtful… put two fingers on your wrist, feel the driving rhythm of your pulse and tap into that motivation from within!

ENJOY NOW!

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.

3. Join Jose’ and I on Facebook!

ENJOY NOW!

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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!

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.

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On April 3 I promised to tell you some big news on April 15th. Well, sometimes things take longer than expected. Now I can finally let you in on the news!

First, the background… In the fall, I started working with a Speaker’s Bureau. After we had been working together for a while, Cathleen (the woman who runs Speaker’s Gold) introduced me to another speaker of hers because she felt that we ought to know one another, since our messages are so complimentary.

The gentleman’s name is Derrick Sweet and we hit it off right away. We had lunch to discuss the possibility of doing a joint speaking event. As lunch continued, we found ourselves more and more amazed at how well we got along and at how our messages and our styles meshed so well. Derrick told me that in addition to being a professional keynote speaker, he was also the Founder and Chairman of an international training and development company. (Naturally, I already knew this because I had done my research before our lunch meeting) The company is called Healthy Wealthy and Wise and its mission statement is: “To provide leading edge training and development programs in the areas of coaching, sales training, public speaking, and self-improvement. To empower our clients with new and innovative tools, skills and resources which enable them to reach their full potential.”

Derrick told me that he felt that my skills and my style would make me a perfect fit for the Healthy Wealthy and Wise team and asked me to consider accepting a position with them. I was excited at the prospect, because I felt that the HWW offering would be an excellent compliment to my role as a motivational speaker and author. Initially, I made the decision to become involved with the Certified Coaches Federation, which is the coaching division of HWW. In February, I became a Certified Coach Practitioner™. I was so impressed with the powerful program developed by the Certified Coaches Federation, and I was so blown away with the phenomenal reactions from fellow attendees, I decided that I needed to incorporate this into my own offerings. In April, I became a Certified Master Coach.

Since I had a 10-year career in sales, I was very interested to learn about HWW’s Sales Mastery program. Also, since I entered my first public speaking competition in the seventh grade and since I’ve been a professional motivational speaker for the past five years, I was also very interested in HWW’s Speech Mastery program.

Derrick and I continued to discuss opportunities and I’m pleased to announce that I am now a Senior Vice President with Healthy Wealthy and Wise! I am excited about this for two main reasons:

1. I truly believe in what Healthy Wealthy and Wise does and the value that it offers to its clients.

In the past, I have worked with more than my fair share of companies who’s vision didn’t match mine. I chose to work with them because I felt, “well, sometimes you have to compromise to put food on the table, and work is work.” Does that sound familiar to any of you? Well, you can only tell yourself that for so long before the disconnection between what you do and what you should do gets to be too much. I am so happy to be working with a company that has the same ideals and goals as I do!

2. It doesn’t require me to compromise my own message or mission, in fact, it compliments it beautifully!

For a number of years, I wore two distinctly different hats. On the one hand, I was a motivational speaker and author. On the other hand, I was a corporate sales person in the field of IT security. This split-personality situation was the cause of a great deal of personal anxiety for me. In 2003, when I decided to start my career as a professional motivational speaker, I wasn’t financially ready to leave my career in sales. So I did both. (Again, does any of this sound familiar to you?) And I told myself, that I would only continue with the IT world, until I was in a financial position to leave it behind. The problem was that my heart just wasn’t in the world of IT any more. After I would complete a corporate security sale, no one ever came up to me and told me how much better their lives were as a result of the product that I had sold them. But that is where my money was coming from. So I stayed. The next thing I knew, it was four years later and I was no closer to being financially ready to leave my career in IT sales.

And that’s when the Universe introduced me to Healthy Wealthy and Wise! And as Bogart said at the end of Casablanca… “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

To learn more about my work with Healthy Wealthy and Wise, including the Certified Coaches Federation, the Sales Mastery Course and the Speech Mastery Course – please visit http://www.Mathieu.com/

ENJOY NOW!

I encourage you to watch this fantastic, throught-provoking presentation (it’s only 18 minutes and 44 seconds long). If the embedded video below isn’t behaving properly, then you can find it at this link.

Then I encourage you to read (and listen to the podcast) about my own experience and the lessons I learned from my stroke in 2006.

If all of that leaves you feeling left out (hehe!) you should read my post titled: How to have a STROKE. It gives you all of the insight and none of the hospital food! How’s that for a deal?

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As most of you know, I developed the Power of Mortality™ in 1994. For a number of years it was simply my own personal philosophy. It was how I lived my life and it worked wonderfully!

Then in 2003 I realized that my story and my philosophy can help others with their own personal life challenges. I decided to use my considerable talents as a communicator to help people implement the Power of Mortality™ to live a life that is fearless, focused and free from regrets.

• I began giving keynote speeches.
• I started an e-mail newsletter that now reaches people in 30 countries around the globe.
• I began conducting workshops.
• I wrote a book.
• I began doing television and radio interviews, including Oprah & Friends.
• I was featured in newspapers and magazines.
• I started a podcast.
• I started a blog.
• … and I have many other plans in the works!

It has been a very rewarding five years and I have met many fantastic people who have shared with me how they have applied the Power of Mortality™ in their own lives. Their stories have always touched me deeply.

You will notice though, that all of my efforts so far have been on the level of one-to-many. Countless people over the years have asked me if I can work directly with them. They wanted to supercharge their experience with the Power of Mortality™ by having a one-to-one relationship with me. So far, I have not offered that type of service because I felt that I lacked the proper tools and framework for dealing with someone on a one-on-one basis.

However, I am thrilled to announce that I have just finished my training with the Certified Coaches Federation and I’m now a Certified Coach Practitioner! This training has given me the skills and techniques that I wanted to have in place before I started working with people on a one-on-one basis.

So for those of you who’ve read my book, attended one of my presentations or simply just been following my blog or podcast – I want you to take a moment to consider the following: Possibly something about the Power of Mortality™, or a certain aspect of my personal story, has touched something deep inside of you. You might have noticed that it has awakened long forgotten dreams and goals. Or perhaps you are now experiencing something in your life with which you would like help. If you want to achieve a certain goal or overcome a limitation I would be honored to offer my services. Together we can use the Power of Mortality™ to create a life for you that is fearless, focused and free from regrets!

You may want to consider booking a free 30-minute initial session with me. After we’ve had an opportunity to complete that call, you will have a solid understanding of the possibilities that are available to once you hire me as your coach. Here is how to reach me:

Phone: +1-519-763-6245
E-mail: patrick@mathieu.com
SkypeID: barcodeguy

This is the next level in the evolution of my mission to use the Power of Mortality™ to help transform the world! I invite you to come and play with me on this delicious journey called life!

ENJOY NOW!

But don’t worry, on February 15th, we can all go back to normal!

I wouldn’t call myself jaded, but I’m always perplexed by our society’s need to set aside a special day to honor things that we should be constantly honoring.

• Do you only express your love on February 14th?
• Do you only cherish your marriage on your anniversary?
• Do you only celebrate someone’s life on their birthday?
• Do you only honor your mother on Mother’s Day? Your father on Father’s Day?

When we set aside these days, it can lead us to take things for granted the other 364 days of the year. This sort of thinking is exactly why so many people end up a funerals saying: “If only I had told them how much they meant to me.”

Years ago I wrote an article where I suggested that we replace the cliché “Carpe Diem” (Seize the day) with “Celebre Diem” or Celebrate the Day!

So go ahead and buy the chocolates and flowers tomorrow. But if you really want to show them how much they mean to you… do it next week too!

ENJOY NOW!

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
- Zig Ziglar

I’m not a doctor, but I have two prescriptions for those of you who like to remain freshly bathed in motivation.

FIRST

Symptoms: Lack of focus. Early morning lethargy. Feelings of “what difference will today make in the big picture?”.

Prescription: 365 Daily Expiry Dates.

Dosage: One per day for 365 days.

IMPORTANT DIRECTIONS: Once you have read the daily note, you MUST throw it out. No matter how much you like the message, you can’t keep it. This is to remind you that life comes at you one day at a time and you aren’t able to save up the good days and throw out the bad days.

SECOND

Symptoms: A need for audio motivation. Desire for variety of motivational information and material. Wish to help others at the same time as helping oneself.

Prescription: 52 Motivational Interviews.

Dosage: One per week for 52 weeks.

KNOWN SIDE EFFECTS: An overall feeling of self-satisfaction and happiness that comes from the knowledge that a portion of the proceeds of this program are being donated to fight Alzheimer’s Disease.

Now, take both of these and call me in the morning!

ENJOY NOW!

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I have a question for you.

I want you to be really honest with yourself when you answer this question:

How much of your life is dedicated to “being right”?

I’m currently taking a seminar series and one of the things that has come out of that seminar is the idea that we waste an awful lot of time and energy focusing on the idea of being “right”.

If you honestly reflect on this, you’ll see that I’m right! (ha!)

But the real issue isn’t about being right or wrong. The real issue is about how long you hold onto that feeling of righteousness. It’s also about the cost of that sort of mindset.

Let me give you an example: Two friends are driving somewhere new for the first time. They are old friends and haven’t seen each other in a while so they have a lot to discuss. They are having a fantastic conversation when the road comes to an end and they can only turn left or right. There are no signs to indicate which way they should go and the directions they were given didn’t include this information either. One friend, we’ll call him Mr. Left, says “I think we should go left.” The other friend, Mr. Right, says: “No, I’m positive that we should go right.” But Mr. Left is behind the steering wheel and decides to go with his instinct, so they turn left.

Now I want you to consider two scenarios that unfold from this point.

Scenario 1
Mr. Right is very vocal about his opposition to the decision to go left. “You’re wrong. This is the wrong way. Turn around and go back,” he tells his friend. But they continue driving. Mr. Right, convinced that they are going the wrong way, cannot sit still. He keeps fidgeting in his seat and steaming over the fact that his friend didn’t listen to him. For his part, Mr. Left can sense his friend’s displeasure and is now getting worried about whether or not he made the correct decision. Twenty minutes later, it is very clear that they made the wrong choice at the intersection, so they turn around. Mr. Left feels very bad about this. “See, I TOLD YOU SO.” says Mr. Right. Clearly he was correct. The facts have supported his position. But then why doesn’t he feel any better? As they drive back, his mind has escalated beyond being upset that his friend didn’t listen to him and has now started thinking about all the other times his friend didn’t listen to him. And about all of the other people in his life who might have dismissed his ideas or opinions. ANOTHER twenty minutes and they are back at the same intersection, only this time they proceed in the correct direction. “We’re now forty minutes later than we would have been if only you had listened to me!” yells Mr. Right. Ten minutes later they arrive at the destination. They are both very stressed out and neither of them is speaking to one another.

Scenario 2
In this scenario, Mr. Left still decides to go left and Mr. Right still thinks that this is the wrong decision. However in this scenario Mr. Right has let go of the need to be right. The two men continue their conversations and appreciate the new scenery. After twenty minutes, it is very clear that they made the wrong choice at the intersection so they turn around. “Told ya so!” jokes Mr. Right. Twenty minutes later they pass the intersection without comment because they are too busy with their engaging conversation. Ten minutes after that they arrive at their destination, having had an extra forty minutes of fantastic discussion.

So, how important is it to you to be right?

Oftentimes we are given a choice between being right and having peace. Peace of mind and peace in our relationships. I’m certainly not advocating that you let people walk all over you in the name of “keeping the peace”. You should still stand up for what you believe is right. My advice is to let go of the need to be right as soon as the decision is made, because if you cling to it beyond that point, you are living in the past. And living in the past can only lead to suffering. Living in the past breeds regrets and resentments. And you and I are above that. We’re after lives that are FEARLESS, FOCUSED and FREE FROM REGRETS, aren’t we?

(You know I’m right!)

ENJOY NOW!

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So who is your favorite motivational person?

• Maybe it’s Jack Canfield or Mark Victor Hansen, the co-creators of the Chicken Soup for the Soul empire.
• Maybe it’s Bob Proctor, Joe Vitale or John Assaraf – all of whom were featured in The Secret.
• Maybe you’re a fan of Loral Langemeier, T. Harv Eker, Wayne Dyer, or Robin Sharma.
• I know that at least one of you (thanks Mom!) will say that Patrick Mathieu is your favorite motivational person!

Well, what if you could have all of these people (including ME) and forty-three others working to help keep you motivated throughout 2008?

Wayne Kelly is a radio host who has has put together an amazing personal development program called 52 Motivational Interviews. Here’s how it works: Join the program for only $47.00 and each week you will be e-mailed a new 10-minute motivational interview that Wayne has done with some of today’s top names in the field of personal and professional development! That means that you will have one full year of powerful motivational messages delivered right to your inbox. You can download the audio files and play them over and over again.

And as an added bonus, Wayne is donating 30% of the money to charity – his goal is to raise $1 Million dollars to fight Alzheimer’s.

And as an added, added bonus, you can become an affiliate of the program and make some money for yourself and a charity of your choice! If you are going to sign up as an affiliate – please enter 4cb2ea5c in the box that says “Referrer ID” – that way, while you are making money, you’ll also be helping:

• me
• the Canadian Congenital Heart Alliance (my charity of choice)
• Wayne
• the Alzheimers Society
• PLUS you’ll be helping the people that you share this program with!

It’s win-win-win-win-win-win!! How motivating is that?

So ask yourself this question: “What would the next 52 weeks look like for me if I were being coached by 52 top motivators?”

Well… what are you waiting for?

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Happy 2008 everyone!

How did 2007 turn out for you?

For me, 2007 was a year of … lessons. Looking back, it feels as though I spent the year standing at a crossroads. All in all, I’m glad to be moving forward into 2008!

And I have big plans for 2008! I’ve started working with a speaker’s bureau and together we have created an outstanding marketing strategy to increase my speaking exposure and get my message out to the corporate world. (If you know of a company or group that uses motivational speakers… contact Cathleen at Speakers Gold and tell her you want to book me for your next big meeting or event!)

Furthermore, I am launching a seminar program for individuals that will allow participants to really move beyond the typical material of “self help”, beyond the realm of “personal development” and dig deep into the exciting world of personal transformation! Stay tuned for more on the seminar program – there will definitely be an opportunity for you to get involved!

I will also be making some cosmetic changes (no, I’m not getting a hair transplant). I am going to change the name of my newsletter and podcast from “Mindful Moment” to “Fearless Focus”. I’m not planning on making drastic changes to the style or content, I just like the sound of “Fearless Focus”. The name fits much better with my mission of helping people live lives that are fearless, focused and free from regrets.

Those are just some of the big initiatives that I have for 2008. It is going to be a record-breaking year for me and I invite you to come along for the ride!

What about you? What are your plans for 2008? More importantly – what are you going to DO to achieve those plans? (Just a gentle reminder that expecting different results while taking the same actions is the definition of insanity!)

ENJOY NOW!

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I, Patrick Mathieu, have given up my quest for happiness.

That’s right, I am no longer striving to achieve happiness.

A few weeks ago I wrote about my happiness experiment. I also wrote about how I thought that the key to happiness was in carefully choosing your reactions. But now I’ve come to realize how foolish that is and I’ve given it up.

Why? Because “happiness” is a noun. A thing. A thing that can be lost or found. And I now realize that I don’t want to have happiness, I want to be happy.

The difference isn’t just semantics or word games. It makes a real difference in your life whether you are chasing some elusive state of mind or actually embodying a way of being.

So I am going to BE happy.

Correction – I AM HAPPY.

The Power of Mortality™ is about cherishing your life and recognizing it for the “limited time offer” that it truly is. By forcing ourselves to come face-to-face with our own mortality, we come to realize that underneath it all – we are happy to be alive!

Not convinced?

Imagine that you were drowning and someone pulled your head above the water so that you could breathe fresh air. In that moment you would understand just how happy you are to be alive. So the next time you are having trouble finding happiness, I invite you to hold your breath. And keep holding it. Hold it … … … until you remember that you’re happy to be alive.

Happiness is being.

Everything else is a story that we’ve added on to make things more complicated.

I’ve given up the story.

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- Are you one of those people that needs to ALWAYS have things planned out?

- Are you someone who needs to have a contingency plan for every possible outcome?

- Do you usually hold off on making a decision until you have ‘all the facts’, but never seem to get around to taking action because there may be something else you aren’t considering?

If this sounds like you, I want to give you some advice that might just be very liberating for you. Either that, or it will be completely terrifying for you!

Life is meant to be LIVED, not planned!

So many people today use ‘planning’ as a delay tactic to hide their fear.

• Fear that they will be wrong
• Fear that things won’t ‘work out’
• Fear that they will look foolish

And since fear is such a pervasive part of our modern society, we completely justify this obsession with planning as a ‘responsible’ or ‘rational’ thing to do.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not advocating that you make snap decisions or rush into action. I’m saying that life is a full-contact game and if your strategy is to mentally play out every move to its logical conclusion before you start moving, you won’t actually be living – you’ll be staring at a clipboard on the sidelines until the game is over.

Now I’ll bet that 20% of you are saying: “Thanks Patrick, but I already spend more time in action than in planning”.

20% of you are saying: “You know what? I do plan too much and I like the idea of getting into action more quickly. I’m going to give it a try! Thanks for the push Patrick!”

10% of you are saying: “Patrick, are you crazy? Give up the comfort zone that ‘planning’ offers me? Never!!”

But I’ll be there are at least 50% of you who are saying: “You know what Patrick, I think you are on to something here! It sounds like a good idea and it definitely warrants further research. I’ll add that to my ‘to-do list’ and look into it as soon as I get a chance.”

Well, if you’re in the last category I’m not letting you off the hook that easily. I’ve put together a reading list for you.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell

Jump In!: Even If You Don’t Know How to Swim by reality TV mogul Mark Burnett

Screw It, Let’s Do It by Sir Richard Branson

And for those of you that don’t want to wait to start researching, read this fascinating interview that Tim Ferris (author of the Four Hour Work Week) did with invention guru Stephen Key and pay particular attention to question #2.

ENOUGH! Start Living!!

ENJOY NOW!

I believe that the secret to successful resolutions can be found in my Mortality Manifesto‘s concept of daily living. Allow me to explain.

Let’s say that you smoke cigarettes and would like to stop. But you’ve been smoking for so many years that you don’t know how to live without cigarettes. In fact, you actually think of yourself not just as someone who smokes, but as “a smoker” – it has become part of your identity.

Making a New Year’s Resolution like: “I will stop smoking in 2008″ is the equivalent of saying that you will completely change a major aspect of your personality overnight. Of course, you can enlist nicotine gum, patches and hypnosis to help you with this transformation, but you are still trying to make a drastic change all at once. On top of that, by making this change at the beginning of the New Year, you are proclaiming that this change will last for the entire year ahead. When you’ve been cigarette-free for three weeks, you are likely to focus less on the 21 days that you’ve succeeded and more on the 344 days left in 2008! Talk about overwhelm!

The Mortality Manifesto encourages you to ensure that your every thought, word and action are moving you in the direction of your dreams. But the real key to successful resolutions comes in the last line of the Manifesto, which reads:

“This is the gift I give to myself – today and every day!”

You CAN change a major aspect your personality overnight – provided that you are only trying to change it one day at a time. As If you commit to doing that each and every day, I believe you can have anything you desire in 2008!

Make it an outstanding year by making each day an outstanding day!

ENJOY NOW!

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In my last podcast, I spoke about how happiness is a choice.

This week I get the chance to put my money where my mouth is. My wife left on a business trip on Saturday and she doesn’t return until late next Friday night. That means that for seven days I am a single-parent to a five year old and a two year old!

Talk about Living the Power of NOW!

When I was speaking with a friend of mine recently she said, “I don’t know how you do it. I’d go crazy after a couple of days.” The truth is, I’ve had practice. This summer my wife was sent to China for 10 days and in the month of November, she has three trips that have her gone for a total of 15 days.

But instead of focusing on the fact that I’m outnumbered by little people who have way more energy and persistence than me – I choose to focus on the fact that I’ve been given the gift to really spend some with my kids and be fully present to their lives.

I’ve seen too many people who view parenting as yet another item on their “to do” list and for the most part, that attitude is reflected in the way their children behave.

Now don’t get me wrong. When I’m running the show alone, there can be some crying at my house. There can be yelling. And there can be tantrums. And the kids have had some rough times too! But when things get too crazy, I just remind myself that I have a choice about how I react. And I always choose happiness.

And you want to know an amazing side-effect of choosing happiness? It seems to rub-off on the kids too! I’ve found that when I’m more relaxed and happy about things, the overall mood in the house is relaxed and happy. Which means that when the tears come over a toy that isn’t being properly shared, they tend to disappear quite quickly. It’s as if the kids understand that they too can choose to be happy or not.

ENJOY NOW!

So today it’s confession time. Ready? It’s a big one.

I have not been living my own message.

It’s very difficult for me to admit. And the past year was so challenging because I was “preaching” one thing and “practicing” another thing. I feel like a fraud.
Somewhere along the way, I allowed myself to fall into a number of traps:

Trap #1 - Listening to “them” rather than listening to my heart.

In my heart, I always knew that The Power of Mortality™ was an intimately personal message for individuals. After all, I’m talking about YOUR life and death. Instead, I allowed myself to be swayed by other “experts” who tried to convince me that in order to “make it” as a professional speaker, I had to be speaking to corporate audiences.

This trap was like very slow moving quicksand for me. It kept me paralyzed for months and months as I tried to find the right corporate audience. There aren’t too many companies that will pay to you tell their employees that life is short and they need to live with power and passion. And I just couldn’t bring myself to twist my message to fit a corporate agenda that wasn’t in line with the ideals of the Power of Mortality™. (“Ladies and gentlemen… that’s how embracing your mortality today will help you sell more photocopiers!” – I don’t think so.) I wasted so much time and energy trying to find the right fit that I drained myself and began to allow doubts to creep in. Doubts about the value of my message and doubts about my ability to deliver it.

Trap #2 – Losing focus

After my first year of speaking, audience members kept telling me that I should write a book. So I did. And I’m thrilled that I did! I’m quite proud of What’s Your Expiry Date? It was a lot of fun and it allowed me to reach an entirely different audience. But the process of writing a book is no small task. I’ve often said that it is the closest that I’m ever going to come to experiencing childbirth firsthand!

Writing and publishing a book demands a lot of attention and energy. And I allowed myself to get swept up in that process and somewhere along the way I began to think of myself as “a writer”. I knew that something was wrong when I found myself worrying about my Amazon ranking. Then in the spring of 2006 my book distributor declared bankruptcy. They hadn’t yet paid me for all of my book sales through Wal-Mart and Chapters, so in an instant I lost a very large sum of money and I was without distribution.

It took a long while before I was able to regain focus and remind myself that I was a speaker with a book, rather than an author who speaks.

Trap #3 – Buying into my own hype

As I mentioned in my “Down From The Mountain” post, I had consciously set myself up as an expert – a “guru”, if you will. The more success I achieved, the more I needed. My ego was now running the show and the more my ego took over, the more difficult things became. I became very preoccupied with carefully orchestrating each and every move I made. I wanted to be 110% certain that any new action would be “properly” perceived and would contribute to my success. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I let things become all about ME, rather than all about YOU – the people that I set out to help in the first place.

I’m sorry.

(And the real irony of the situation is that by allowing that to happen, not only did I lost sight of YOU, but I lost touch with myself too!)

So now, with this new clarity and new humility, I am going to get back to living the principles of the Mortality Manifesto! I am taking ownership of my circumstances. I’m going to recapture my life again and I am going to live from a place that is more inline with my beliefs of a life that is FEARLESS, FOCUSED and FREE FROM REGRETS!

And I’ll start with freedom from regrets! As I said, I’m deeply sorry that this unfortunate turn of events happened, but I won’t waste any time or energy with regrets. As I say in the book, “hang on to the lessons and let go of the circumstances that brought them to you.” ONWARD!

ENJOY NOW!

I was constantly comparing myself to “experts” in the self-help and personal development fields and questioning why people would listen to me. I was second-guessing myself at every turn.

So, I decided to simply turn myself into an expert! After all, no one else was talking about harnessing mortality as a motivating force. “Oh sure, there are lots of ‘survivor stories’ out there,” I would tell myself. “But my message is different.”

In May of 2003, I made a decision to put myself up on a mountain top and hang out a sign saying “Caution: Guru At Work”

Well, it’s time to come down from the mountain.

I want to be crystal clear about something. I have never lied about my story or embellished it in any way. What I have done, is spend an inordinate amount of time concerning myself with how I was being perceived. And somewhere along the way, I began to get caught up in the ego drama. It might have been the first time I walked into a bookstore and saw my face on the shelf beside Dr. Phil. It might have been some of the profound and moving feedback I’ve received from people who’ve seen me speak or read my book. While their stories have touched my heart, they also fed my head. I was operating from a position of pure ego.

All of this has recently come roaring to the foreground for me because I’ve been going through a rather challenging time for the last year, but I’ve taken great pains to hide it from people for fear of harming my status as a “self-appointed guru”.

No more!

I now realize that it is, and always has been, my story about facing my own mortality that helps people. My public image might contribute to how likely people are to listen to the story in the first place, but in the end it is the message that must shine through. I have also come to realize that my story is an evolving one. One that is made up of ups and downs and if I’m serious about helping others, I need to be serious about sharing myself with them.

In the past, when I have been deciding whether or not to share some part of my life with others, my number one question has always been: “How will this make me look?” Today, I want to pledge to you that my new number one question will be “Will others find this helpful in their own life journeys?”

Stay tuned… big things are coming!

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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™

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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!

Today, I read something that reminded me of my article and I thought I would share it with you.

How many of us live our lives perpetually on “autopilot”? We have routines that have become so routine that we don’t even realize we’re doing them anymore. And it starts as soon as the alarm clock goes off in the morning. Many of us sleepwalk through our ‘morning routine’ and don’t really wake up until we’ve been awake for hours (if we wake up at all… but that’s a topic for another discussion).

So please consider Brett Kelly.

This man takes his coffee seriously. And I mean s-e-r-i-o-u-s-l-y. Read for yourself.

Now I’m not suggesting that we all need to become coffee aficionados or that we devote nearly as much time to our morning coffee as Brett does. I am, however, suggesting that we follow his lead and look at our morning rituals to discover how much of our life is run on autopilot and where can we make some changes to put some thoughtful, flavorful life back into the mix.

ENJOY NOW!

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How big are your dreams?

In my Mortality Manifesto, I encourage you to be constantly moving in the direction of your dreams. But how big are those dreams and what limits have you placed on them?

I read a news item last week and between the story and the associated photos, I haven’t been able to stop smiling. It’s a story about dreaming BIG and I want to tell you about it.

Have you ever thought about becoming an astronaut? What about simply a space tourist? Now let’s think about this for a moment… when you travel as a tourist, what are you left with when your journey is over? Yes, you have memories that last a lifetime. Yes, you have fun travel stories to tell. But for many people, the real legacy of a trip are the photos they take along the way. Imagine being able to amaze and amuse your friends with the photos that you took on your trip to outer space!

Well, that’s the kind of big dreams I’m talking about!

On August 11, 2007, a group of regular guys from Canada (southern Alberta, to be exact) launched a high altitude helium balloon from one of their backyards. Attached to the balloon was a box containing an ordinary digital camera which was set to take photos every 60 seconds. The box also contained a special tracking device to allow them to follow the balloon’s progress and retrieve it when it landed. Just above the box was a parachute (to slow down the descent when the balloon burst at high altitude) and just below the box was an antenna for the tracking device.

Sound crazy? I thought so. After all – how far up would something like that realistically go?

But guess what? This homemade contraption rose to an incredible 117,597 feet above the earth before the balloon burst! When it did burst, the parachute worked perfectly, ensuring the safe return of the camera. And the tracker enabled the men to chart the balloon’s progress and safely retrieve it.

So what does Alberta, Canada look like from space? (or at least 117,597 feet above ground)

(http://www.sbszoo.com/bear/sable/images/sbl3/117597ft.jpg)

For me, this incredible photo is many things. Of course it is a beautiful and awe-inspiring piece of photography. But more than that, it is a testament to the fact that we all need to dream bigger and reach higher. The fact that this was the third attempt by these men to accomplish this feat, serves to remind us that we need to persevere in the face of setbacks and learn from what didn’t work in order to improve for the next time. Ultimately, it proves that any one of us can have a photo album from “space” if we want it enough and are willing to work for it!

Ever since I saw this photo and read the story, I have been using this image as my background for both my notebook and my BlackBerry. And every time I see it – I smile and I dream a little bigger!

(Read all about the story and see more photos at: http://www.sbszoo.com/bear/sable/sable3.htm)

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.

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Last week I overheard two ladies talking. Apparently they hadn’t seen each other for quite some time and were catching up. The part of the conversation that I overheard went like this: “Yes, I still find it hard to believe that I lost my husband eleven hundred and seventeen days ago.”

I was astounded when I heard that! I quickly did the math and realized that this woman’s husband had died over three years ago. Three years and she was still counting the days!

Now I’m not trying to downplay the tremendous grief that can come from losing a loved one. I certainly don’t question her right to feel the pain for as long as necessary – we all grieve in different ways. But the first thing that came to my mind was: “I wonder if she can tell me how many days they were married?”

Or for that matter, I wonder if she knows how many days old she is?

It is unfortunate that our society finds it more acceptable to focus on the loss of something, than on the joy of having it. Imagine the strange looks that I’d get if I met an old friend and had this conversation:

“So are you married now?”

“Yes, my wife and I have been married for two thousand, two hundred and twenty seven days! And we’ve been enjoying our son for seventeen hundred and eighty-seven days and our daughter has been lighting up our lives now for five hundred and ninety-nine days!”

It is often said that we don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone. Please do yourself and your loved ones a favor and be sure to cherish each and every day that you have together.

By the way, if you want to calculate things for yourself, you can go to: http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html

ENJOY NOW!

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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!

ENJOY NOW!

I really wish that John Brandrick had read my book or heard me speak!

A report from Reuters last week described how Mr. Brandrick, a 62 year-old man from the UK, reacted to the diagnosis that he had pancreatic cancer and would probably die within a year. It seems that he decided to quit his job, stop paying his mortgage, sell or give away nearly all of his possessions and spend all of his money meals and vacations.

(I’m sure you can guess where this is going!)

Yes, just as Mr. Brandrick was coming to the end of his money, the doctors revised their diagnosis. He didn’t have pancreatic cancer, but merely an inflammation of the pancreas that was not life-threatening.

Oops!

So let’s all learn a lesson from Mr. Brandrick’s experience.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1. Ask yourself what YOU would do if you were told that you had a year left to live? Write out your answers.
2. Look at the list of things that you wrote down. Cross out all of the things that you are already doing.
3. Now look carefully at the remaining items – the “new” things you would begin to do, or the changes that you would make in your life. Ask yourself why you aren’t doing them now. Are they not important enough?
4. Finally, I want you to realize that very few people ever have the luxury of a one-year warning. Have another look at your list and circle any items that you REALLY want to be able to accomplish before leaving this earth.

What this comes down to is an exercise in priority setting.  We all have priorities, but from time to time they need to be reevaluated to see if they are still valid.  And the best way I’ve found to cut through the clutter and uncover your true priorities, is to examine your priorities from the persepective of someone who is acutely aware of their mortality.

ENJOY NOW!

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.

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!

Now stop and think about your life.

How many negative messages do we receive in a day? They might come from the media, coworkers, clients, suppliers, spouses, family, friends, acquaintances or even complete strangers. If you really stop and think about it, how much negativity is there in your life?

My next question is a simple one, but one that you need to think seriously about…

“Isn’t life too short and too precious to allow it to be consumed by any amount of negativity?”

I’m not talking about constructive criticism or legitimate feedback, I’m talking about outright negativity. We all know people who just seem to bring drama, grief and despair with them, wherever they go. My friend Jon Gordon calls them “Energy Vampires” – a wonderfully descriptive term.

So why do we allow these people to suck the life out of our days? You may be thinking, “Yes, but I have to put up with this person”. Let me challenge that – do you? Is it really worth it?

You wouldn’t voluntarily sign up for a negative e-mail newsletter, so why “sign up for” negative media, coworkers, clients, suppliers, spouses, family, friends, acquaintances or strangers? Do yourself a huge favor – the next time you see them, click their “unsubscribe me” button and release them from your precious life.

ENJOY NOW!

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Why is it that we are obsessed with age?

Actually, let me rephrase that. Why is that it we are obsessed with YOUTH?

This weekend, there was a “trade show” in Toronto called “The New You Show”. It was being billed as “North America’s Largest Cosmetic Enhancement, Anti-Aging Show.” When I saw an ad for it – I had to stop and re-read it. Yes, an entire weekend-long event dedicated to pretending you are younger than you actually are!

Now perhaps I am alone in feeling that this obsession with youth is a bit odd. Personally, as someone who was told that he would be lucky to make it to the age of 30, I take great pride in each and every grey hair that appears in my beard. For me, the issue isn’t so much how young you look, but rather how young you feel. And I’m of the opinion that how you look is a direct result of how you feel.

I was really tempted to attend the “The New You Show” for no other reason than to ask the attendees, exhibitors and presenters one simple question: “At what age is it OK to actually look your age?” Do these people plan to live to be 95 but still have the world convinced that they are no older than 69?

My suspicion is that our society’s obsession with youth stems from a direct result of our fear of dying. After all, the young (and the young-looking) are going to live forever, because dying is for the elderly. Isn’t that the way we think? Will a chemical peel, stomach-stapling and liposuction really fool the grim reaper?

This week, I want you to spend a few minutes looking closely at your face in the mirror. I don’t want you to think about how you used to look when you were younger and I don’t want you to think about how old or tired you may look now. In fact, I am making it a rule that each time you are looking at your face in the mirror this week, you MUST be smiling! Simply take a moment to appreciate how far you’ve come and give thanks for the journey thus far!

ENJOY NOW!

“Health nuts” are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
- Redd Foxx

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How does my heart keep beating?

It’s absolutely amazing when you think about the fact that the human heart starts beating only 22 days after conception and doesn’t stop until death. On average, a person’s heart will beat 42,075,904 times in a year!

So how does my heart keep beating?

As you might know, I was born with multiple Congenital Heart Defects, which means that my heart formed incorrectly in the womb. You are probably familiar with the sound of a normal human heart. My heart sounds completely different. If you want to actually hear my heart, you can click the “play” button at the top of this post to hear the podcast audio version of this message.

When I was eighteen I met a cardiologist who told me that he and his medical team hoped that I’d live to be 30 years old. As you can imagine, coming to terms with that news at 18 was incredibly painful and difficult. However, it gave me a lot of insights and taught me a great deal about mortality.

That is why I became a professional speaker. My speeches and workshops, and now my book, teach people about the incredible joy and power that is to be found in embracing your own mortality.

Last March I turned 35! So I come back to my original question: How does my heart keep beating? And when will it stop?

Hey – here’s an even better question: How does YOUR heart keep beating? And when will IT stop?

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?

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?

I also find that simply observing nature is a great way to remain mindful of how precious life is and of the incredible power that each moment brings. If you notice a houseplant in the morning, it will be leaning towards the window that receives the morning light. If you look at it again in the evening, it will have moved towards the window that receives the afternoon light. Any yet… if you were to sit and watch it all day, you would be hard pressed to notice any movement!

I find the same thing with a sunrise or a sunset. If you spend five minutes watching the sun break over the horizon, you will be astounded at how much our planet rotates in only five minutes! And yet in the course of our hectic days, we barely perceive any movement of the sun through the sky. Every time I see a sunrise (or a moonrise for you night owls) I am left with an acute sense of the importance of every minute of the day! I’m filled with a renewed sense of respect for the time that I’ve been given and the last thing I want to do is waste a moment of it on the trivial things that so often clutter up our lives

Now that we are about to enter autumn (my favourite season) nature again provides us with an excellent display of the power of time. Have you ever been out in the fall and suddenly said to yourself:

“When did all the leaves change color? They weren’t like that the last time I looked!”

Well, the leaves don’t suddenly change color all at once. Just like the houseplant doesn’t suddenly swing around in another direction all at once. It all happens minute by minute

I would like to suggest an exercise for each of us to help fine tune our appreciation of the power of time. My suggestion is to pick a tree (not an evergreen) that you are able to observe each day. It could be in your yard, on your street, or along your commute to work. The important part is that you are able to observe it each day. Starting tomorrow – notice the color of this tree. Do the same for the next day and the next and so on, until the tree has no leaves left. This exercise has two benefits. First, you will be sure to witness one of nature’s dazzling displays as the leaves change colors and eventually come to rest on the ground. Second, I’m quite sure that taking a moment each day to observe the rhythm of life being acted out in front of you will help you appreciate each and every day that you are given. I know that it works for me!

In my presentation “What’s Your Expiry Date?” I talk about the fact that we are often so preoccupied with time and schedules that we can forget about the things in our lives that are truly important. Having a child in your life really makes you aware of how precious each moment is.

Today is my son’s 10-month birthday and I can hardly believe that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him for 10 months already! My wife and I know how blessed we are to have a healthy, happy baby in our lives and we often talk about “the old days”. No, not the days before we were parents – but the days since we brought our son home. Like the day he first smiled, or the first tooth (he has 6 teeth now!), or the day that he began to crawl. It has only been 10 months, but already so much has changed and it changes one Cheerio at a time.

Too often we get caught up in something I call “the once trap”.

“Once I get that promotion…”
“Once I meet someone…”
“Once I lose this extra weight…”

It is very easy to try to live our lives in the future. Our goal-oriented society just adds to the pressure. But we need to be mindful and remember that ONCE is exactly how many chances we get at living THIS day.

I know that it won’t be too long before my son no longer finds wonder in each Cheerio. But this morning, he has taught me another important lesson and reminded me to savour every bite of life.

ENJOY NOW!

If this resonates with you, you need to take the Mortality Manifesto Pledge – and start choosing the life you want to live!