Motivational Article

I work with people. I love my work and it is a big part of my life.

But it is not my “whole” life. My real life is everything I experience. Everything I am.

I used to confuse the two, believing my life and my work were the same. I spent years behind computer screens and office doors thinking that I was being productive and “contributing”. Don't make the same mistake.

Your life consists of more than simply sitting at your desk, in front of your computer or commuting to and from your workplace. It is more than your bank account or your what appears on your business card. A successful life involves more than living through your head - it is living with your heart.

Do you really believe that you'd care so very much about the next promotion, a bigger paycheck or a larger house if you had a heart attack today or found a lump in your breast?

My Life Passed Before My Eyes…

In one of my workshops I bring the participants, through a guided visualization, to their deathbed - a chance to reflect back on their life.

After looking at the movie of their life, they look at the values they acquired, at their successes and regrets, at the people they spent too little (or too much!) time with.

They have a chance then to look at how would they like to spend their last hour and with whom.

I give them a break after this process. Suddenly everyone is totally involved in life again! People call their parents, their children, neglected friends and lovers. There is a new sense of urgency and passion in their eyes.

If you think of life as a terminal illness, it will teach you how to live with joy and passion and immediacy - the way it ought to be lived. And then when your day comes, you'll die with the same joy and passion looking forward to the following new adventure.

No man ever said on his deathbed, "I wish I had spent more time at the office." No woman's epitaph has ever listed her resumé.

This is my resumé:

I am a good father to my 4-year-old daughter. She is my best teacher so far.
We laugh a lot. We hug. We're moving ahead together.

I am a good partner to my life partner as I removed all the reasons and needs to be with her.
We laugh a lot. We hug. We're moving ahead together.

I am a good friend to my friends, doing my best to support them being all that they are.
We laugh a lot. We hug. We're moving ahead together.

I give 100% every moment of my life; yet I know fully well that the next moment I can give even more.
I laugh about it. I hug myself. I move ahead.

What does your life's resumé look like?

GET A LIFE!

…a life in which you notice the soft snowflakes touching the bare ground before melting to be one with the earth;

…a life in which you stop and watch a spider spinning its web fully trusting in the universe's abundance;

… a life allowing you to smell flowers that share their essence for no reason at all, for nobody in particular;

… a life in which you FULLY participate, taking risks and learning from the outcomes.

I have spent the last few years re-training in the classroom of life. It continues to teach me many valuable lessons:

•  enjoy the journey, not the destination

•  value the good in the world and believe in it wholly

•  contribute to it, in part, by sharing what I have learned with others

•  there is no dress rehearsal—every day is an “improv”

•  today is the only guarantee that we have

Life is a magnificent gift that should never be taken for granted!

It's time to Live, and Learn…