Last year at an event the speaker asked the question: “If I told you that you had 70 years to live would you still be here?” The answer by almost everybody was yes. He then re-asked the question: “If I told you that you had 7 years to live would you still be here?” To that, a large portion of the room said no. He asked one more time: “If I told you that you had 7 hours to live would you still be here?” The entire room said no. You get the point…when time is short we focus on and do what is important. The speaker’s point was why not do the things you would if you only had 7 hours to live as often as you can. While it is somewhat impractical given all the other pressures we have, some things can be done like we have 7 hours to live.
Last week I wrote about my tribe. This week, I am sad to say, my tribe is one short. My dear friend and confidant, Paul passed away suddenly on Sunday. He exemplified exactly what I said about my tribe last week. He was the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back before you asked for it. He was always there when you needed him. Paul was truly selfless, in many cases he put others before himself. Paul was always full of life and always made you smile. At 48, he was only a few months younger than me.
This last week has been incredibly hard. It’s been hard to focus. The barrage of sudden emotions has been difficult, and I’ve found myself going from sadness to anger to worry to laughter.
Studies have shown that the average life span in this day and age is about 80 years. If that is true, Paul was robbed of about 30 years. This goes to show you that life is unpredictable and that we should make the most of it. Tell people you love them, spend time being present and enjoy the moment.
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” – Dr. Seuss
Spend your weekend like it’s your last 7 hours. Have no regrets.
Vijay