When it’s your time to go, what will your LIFE be worth?
It’s a morbid question and a sad way to think about things but it’s the ultimate undeniable truth – you are one day closer to the end of your life than you were yesterday.
Gary Vaynerchuk (or just Gary V), the familiar entrepreneur and general motivational leader, has said more than once that the biggest thing that motivates him is knowing he is going to die. The imminent reality that his time is limited, drives him to use it well. David Goggins, after turning from being overweight and working in pest control into a Navy SEAL and ultramarathon competitor, credits a fear of getting to Heaven and having God show him a list of all that he could have been but never went after, for his driven approach to life. The list of now famous and successful people who credit the reality of death knocking on their door as motivation, is striking.
The ancient Stoic, Seneca reminded us all, our time here is nearly over. The real problem though is not the shortness of life but the amount of time we waste on things that don’t truly matter. We place our energy into the meaningless at a professional level in 2020. I get it, I do it all the time.
I hope the message and lifestyle of the LIFE Council changes the script. I hope it helps us see the time and energy we waste and how to use it better so when our time here is over, we can confidently approach the throne to find ourselves welcomed as a good and faithful son or daughter.
The LIFE Council wasn’t created as a way to make money or bring me fame. Instead, it was created to make me a better man, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those I knew could elevate my life. The LIFE Council is designed to make sure that time wasted is much smaller than time contributing to a greater good in an effort to make our lives all we want them to be (and maybe more for most of us).
Now that I am almost a decade removed from my father’s death in 2012, I see a new meaning in the pain and loss. He was 55 years old when he passed on. He wasn’t old and frail. He didn’t breathe his last in a hospital bed with everyone around him knowing it was his time. Instead, he lost a battle far too early and with so much life to live and wisdom to give.
I’m not God and I won’t pretend to understand the plan for my dad. But every day, when I think about him, I think about the fact that when he was my age, he was over half-way through life. He could never have known he had 25 years left when he was 30 and I can’t know when my time will come either.
On my dad’s funeral epitaph, like everyone I’ve seen, exists the smallest mark that indicates so much. Between his birthday in 1957 and his death in 2012 there is a “—“. That dash represents the life he lived. It notes his time as a son, brother, uncle, father, and husband. It carries his police officer badge and entrepreneurial spirit. Within, sits the wisdom to always be prepared, take care of those closest to you, and never let your emotions run your decisions. My dad did a lot in his 55 years and lived the LIFE principles before they were ever created.
For me, and I think for you, it’s a worthwhile motivator to think about how we will fill that little dash of our own life. I fully believe that in my death, there will be life with Christ. And I believe that God never designed us to walk around the earth aimlessly awaiting that day. We are meant to be people of action, people of purpose, and people of intention.
You must start the journey with principles to guide your decisions and life. If your emotions are your minute-to-minute guide, that dash will probably not contain all it could. Instead, you need a framework. You need reason to work and contribute even when you don’t feel like it. You need accountability. You need hope.
You’ll notice the LIFE Principles do not focus on a social definition of success. You could be filthy rich, dirt poor, or anywhere in the middle and operate by the principles. The social definition of success is an empty one – I’ve chased it and it goes nowhere. Let’s aim to live for something greater, to elevate others and leave a legacy on the world we can be excited about to fill the dash.
Try to operate this weekend with love for yourself and others. Maintain the integrity you need to do what you say you will do no matter how you feel. Quit making excuses and start building people up into fellowship with you. Take bold and immediate action toward excellence in all aspects of your day.
I can’t promise you that you will become great, rich, or famous. But I am confident enough to promise you that you will be more fulfilled, a better spouse, stronger parent, more capable leader, and true spiritual warrior.
You are on the way to death today. Sucks to think about. But for those who have stared death in the face with a loved one gone too early or having their own life on the line, we know that death is the constant reminder to make today count. Make this minute count. Make this hour count. Make this weekend count. Make your life count in the way you want it to.
Weekend Challenge – Write Your Ending
This weekend, I want you to do something that isn’t easy. You get one side of one blank piece of paper and a pencil. On that paper, you get to write your own eulogy. You get to speak at your own funeral.
Don’t be morbid enough to write it as if you die today. Write it assuming you’ll live to be 100. Whatever your age is today, will your eulogy even include what you’ve done so far or are your dreams all out ahead of you? Would you get to a point in life where you throw your hands up and say, “that’s good enough” and let the rest end quietly? I don’t think so.
Goal setting is a fun exercise but this one will really push you. What truly matters to you? What do you hope people would remember about you? Once you’re done, flip that page over and draw or write out a 6-month, 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year path to move yourself toward that person.
P.S. I’ll go ahead and guess that not a single person who does this will include the current balance of their checking account or stock investments. You probably won’t talk about all the things you bought. Maybe that’s something to start thinking about before you make those the priority of your existence…just an idea.
P.S.S. It’s Memorial Day on Monday. If thinking of your own end isn’t something you can or want to handle, think of the men and women who have already paid that price for you. When you remember that lives have been lost to give you the privileges you have to chase your dreams, it’s harder to take that day off or let your goals go unfulfilled. Thank you to those of you who have served – we owe you more than we often know.