I heard an interesting interview recently, where the question asked was “if today was the last day of your life, would you want to go out and do what you’re about to do?” How many times have you heard a similar question? You may not consider what you’re going to do today to be the thing you would want to do on the last day of your life, partially because you don’t really know when the last day of your life is, but also because maybe you don’t know what it is you would want to be doing.
My guess is you would be doing something you love, something you have always wanted to do, or very likely something you’ve always dreamed of doing…but, what if you never identified that dream? What if you had it long ago, but are now so caught up in the rat race that the dream is nothing more than a memory of something you ‘used to think about’ or ‘dream of’. Does life have to be like that?
What if you made a change today? Maybe changed just one thing that would get you closer to doing something you have only dreamed of doing? Do you want to write a book on something you’re passionate about? Sing opera? Skydive? Drive an Indy race car? Travel to Europe? Eat a New York steak in New York? So many things people want to do sound crazy, particularly to those who have never done them. So, what if it’s crazy? What’s more crazy, moving toward something you’ve always wanted to do…or living your last day wishing you would have?
Whatever it is you want to do is more than likely possible, you just have to overcome the fear of stepping off the edge, away from the status quo. Scared? Yes, you will probably fail along the way (all our heroes have), but you will never catch a dream without setting yourself into motion – and FYI, the fear doesn’t go away, it’s always there to prevent you from doing something fulfilling. Oh yes, and be ready for the people that will laugh at you and tell you that you can’t do it (more than likely close friends and family…why is that?).
And what about people whose life dream turned into a nightmare? Whose dream was smashed into a thousand pieces, or someone who gave up on a dream? Yes, that happens, and it leaves you with two options: find another dream, or live your last day wishing you had.
Life isn’t perfect, so don’t wait for the magic formula or the perfect map, it will not miraculously show up in your mail box.
I’m just a normal guy, but I’ve had dreams come true, that means anybody can do it (Full disclosure, I had God on my side, still do).
What’s your dream? Are you chasing after it? Or have you left it behind…and it keeps chasing after you? If today were the last day of your life, would you want to go out and do what you’re about to do?
