Waking Up To What Matters Most

If you knew how much time you have left to live, would you choose to live your life differently?

I started to think about this question when my son came home one day and told me about his friend’s mom who just passed away at 48 years old. She suffered a brain tumor that was discovered just a few months earlier.

This made me think about another question: Why do most of us put off our happiness or those things we truly desire, for the future? When you’re on your death bed, will you look back and wish you spent more time working harder? You’ll probably be thinking…

“Did I make a difference, was there a purpose for me being here?”
“Did I love and spend time with those who meant the most to me?”
”Did I truly live my life, the way I wanted to?”

Steve and Donna’s story…

When my husband Steve and I were first married, we were having fun, enjoying our careers and livng quite comfortable. Our decision to wait a few years before having children, allowed us to pursue our dreams, and take a few risks. I followed my passion and opened an interior design business, while Steve was working in the building industry. Real estate was really hot back then. You could easily make a profit within a few months after buying a house. We were having fun buying and selling real estate, and then we decided to start a family and we built a beautiful custom home in the suburbs. We were quite happy with our lives. Until, in the late 1980’s, the building boom collapsed, and so did our dreams. I closed my business, while Steve’s employer closed its doors. We couldn’t afford the mortgage on our home, and walked away, selling it, but for a loss.

While we were picking up the pieces, I was enjoying being a busy mom, while Steve landed a steady job with a municipal department in town, with good pay and benefits. We were living in Steve’s parent’s two-family home, and were thankful for the opportunity to get out of debt and back into a more stable lifestyle. To the outside world, we were happy, and living a normal life.

But soon I started to see a change in Steve’s behavior. Steve was focusing more on retirement, than he was on living. He was losing his enthusiasm, passion, and creative energy for life. Instead, he was wishing his life away, counting the years, months and days, when he could retire.

This can happen very easily when we take a risk, and fail. It is devastating and humiliating. You become more fearful than optimistic, and lose your drive for personal growth and abundance, stop listening to your soul, and instead you hope for the best.

NY Times Best Selling Author, Joe Vitale puts it this way:
“Intention Rules…You can float with the circumstances life brings you, or you can create your own direction and your own circumstances. It begins with a decision. What do you want? Decide. Choose. Declare.”

This is what happened when Steve realized how unhappy he was. The light inside him started to flicker again, and he knew his destiny was not his present reality. He found the courage to take another chance, which landed him in a job that far exceeded his expectations. He soon became a partner in the business, which has created many job opportunities for others, the business is thriving, and so is Steve, his employees and his family. And next month, we will be celebrating 30 years of marriage.

Don’t wait for the end of your life to live. We never know when our time is up. Live life now, share your unique gifts and talents, spend time with those who mean the most, nurture your relationships and give yourself a break if you fail. It’s just one more lesson to learn, and it’s part of your journey. You’ll move into your retirement years, looking back at all you have accomplished, knowing you made a difference in this world, and made precious memories with your spouse and family.