When I had my heart attack in 2005, it was a gift. I know that’s a strange thing to say. But it gave me a whole new perspective on life. I got to experience a dying man’s wish because I thought it was possible I could die. Let’s talk about it.
So often we get caught up in the day to day activities and goals, we don’t stop to look at the bigger picture. But during my heart attack I got a much wider perspective. I hadn’t made the impact in the world that I would have liked. I wondered if I had squandered a lot of my time on things of little consequence. For me, that moment was a gut wrenching rude awakening filled with regret.
It’s perhaps a little bit like the scientists those years ago who worked for many months cracking the atomic code and creating the first atomic bomb. When the bomb was dropped and they heard the news that it worked, it was a huge success and they cheered for an oh so brief moment. But then they stopped cheering realizing what that meant. I imagine that many of them were thinking something like, “Oh crap. That’s not the legacy I want to be known for.”
If you’re not careful, you can end up in a similar situation. In life, we all have so many goals both big and small:
- get a new car
- buy a new/bigger house
- get the job we’ve wanted
- go fishing
- visit the Bahamas
- climb Half Dome
- see that movie we’ve been looking forward to
- hang with friends
- lose 10 lbs
- run a a marathon
- and many more
When we achieve these goals, we go, “woot!” But at the end of your life, if that’s all you’ve got to show for it, you’ll be thinking, “oh crap. that’s not really the legacy I want to be known for. What happened to all the time?”
To avoid this, we need to get really clear on the legacy we want to create. One we’re clear on this, then we can do as Stephen Covey says, “begin with the end in mind.” We can plan our days, weeks and months around creating this legacy.
What are the results you want to create with your life? If you’re not clear on this, we’d love to support you. Spend two days with us in December getting clear on the impact you want to make both interpersonally and in the world. Save the dates, Dec 5th and 6th. This is probably the most important thing you can with your life that weekend. Watch for details to come later this week.
