Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest athletes of all time, was killed Sunday in a helicopter accident. He was 41. His daughter perished with him. She was 13.
Life is short and the kicker is we never know just how short. Kobe Bryant was famous and thus we know about his death, but death visits people of all ages, races, and wealth every day.
Gary Vaynerchuck, entrepreneur, was asked: “what are three words to give me inspiration for any day I’m feeling down?”
He answered, “You’re gonna die.”
His point was you need to get to it. Whatever it is you want to do with your life, in your life, for your life…get to doing it.
Gary wants to move people into an action mindset. Once you have excepted death as inevitable and understand that every day is a gift you treat them as such and you will get to work, whatever “work” is for you.
The stoics also used death as a way to understand the value of life. They had a saying “memento mori”, which is Latin for “remember you must die.”
Focus on the things that are most important to you and what you want to make out of life. Too often we get stuck in a rut or we focus on the things that are urgent or we focus on the things that other people (media, friends, the world at large) want us to focus on. What are the things that are most important to you, but you don’t feel are urgent?
I will give you a few categories for ideas:
– Wellness promoting activities
– Relationships
– Preparing for the future while enjoying the present
– Seeing and doing the things you want to see and do
– Learning
What are the things that are important, but don’t feel urgent for you? Are you getting them done? If not, how can you start putting them first?
Brett “Carpe Diem” Denton