Why I Have A Barcode Tattoo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So how does this apply to YOU?

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

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

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

ENJOY NOW!