36525 days to live

“The future will depend on what we do in the present”

Mahatma Gandhi

(1869-1948)

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We all know this, it is so simple to understand when we read it. However, the challenge is not only to read it and understand it, the real challenge is to practice what we understand so well.

Yes, practice it day in day out, especially when you have distractions, a bad day or a good day.

Whatever is your dream, your project, your goal, pursue it relentlessly without wasting time.

You need a burning desire to keep you absorbed and focused, even when you have so many responsibilities and distractions.

When we face a challenge, we should try to focus on the future instead of the past. Instead of worrying about who did what and who is to blame, we should focus on where we want to be and what we want.

It is important to know exactly what we want and we must act on what we want. Action is what will transform our circumstances towards a more desirable future.

Let’s use our past experiences to guide us; while being appreciative of our present conditions, let’s dream of an outstanding future for ourselves, our family and friends and the rest of humanity.

“Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.”

Anne Frank

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Most of us know exactly what has to be done and when, but sometimes we just don’t do it.  Why?

I have some important papers that I know I should put away, and I know I should have put them away many months ago. Why?

I’m the only one who knows about it, I procrastinate and I’m being lazy with this task. Why?

Because I prefer to do more exciting things…

Today, I’ll put the papers away.

I know I should have done it a long time ago and I know I’ll feel better after it’s done. It will give me satisfaction.

This is an example that is not very important, but my question to you is the following;

How many things or tasks in your life are left undone or unfinished because of plain laziness?

If there are too many, what will you do about it?

Just for today…

Don’t hurry.

Don’t worry.

We are only here for a short visit.

So don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.

I’m astonished how so many people in so many fields of activity and from different backgrounds are wasting so much time. Think of all the kids who are wasting too much time on video games instead of learning practical and useful skills.

Think of all the adults who are wasting too much time watching television or surfing aimlessly on the Web.

Think of all the people of all ages wasting time on the phone or chatting on the net. What a waste of resources.

Of course, we need to relax once in a while and it is good sometimes to do some mindless activities.

But how much is too much?

Laugh as often you can.

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Apologize when you should.

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And let go of what you can’t change.

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Click on this image to enlarge.

One man who I recently saw, age 94, responded to my question, “So how are you doing?” with the following: “I have some aches and pains, you know, but at my age, everyday is a bonus.”

What a great attitude!

This is an attitude that I rarely witness with a lot of younger people.

This man of Polish descent is a first generation immigrant.

He had to face many challenges during his lifetime.

Yet, he’s still going strong.

I have seen him exercising regularly for the last 25 years.

Even if he has been retired from his regular job for many decades, he chose to be more physically active than many people half his age.

We don’t have to wait until we reach age 94 to appreciate the fact that every day is a bonus.

Why?

Because every day IS A BONUS… even for a toddler.

Do you remember how much time and energy you have wasted in pursuing your former desires?

The same thing could happen now with the desires that excite you currently.

Try to tame your present desires, calm them, you will save so much time.

When we become obsessed with our desires, it is good to ask ourselves: WHY? WHY? WHY?

Write down your thoughts on a piece of paper.Try to figure out why you want what you want sooooo much.

It is a good investment of our time to question ourselves about the most recent craving because  the consequence of our choices could put us in debt for 5, 10, 20 or 30 years,

The buying impulse lasts for a moment. The monthly payments will last for months or years to come.

Wouldn’t it makes sense to ensure we want to commit to this investment or to these expenses.

And if the specific desire doesn’t cost money, try to evaluate how much of your personal  time it takes.

 Try to remember also that expectation is better than realization. 

If ever you have doubts about what to do, just imagine that today is your last day on this planet and then all your doubts will disappear, and you will see clearly which way to take or which choice to make.

Scarcity leads you to clarity.

The challenge is to eliminate all the non-essentials before Life forces you to do it.

Will you?

If I died today
Who’d turn off my coffee pot?
Would there be a street parade?
Would I just be an after-thought?

If I died today
Would I still be a waiter?
Could I fly around like superman?
Would I make the Sunday paper?

I wonder who I’d see
Cryin’ standin’ over me
Who would just send their regards?
Would anybody say “at least he’s in a better place?”
And who would get this old guitar?

If I died today
Would my mama keep on prayin’?
Would my buddies go out drinkin?
Would my alarm clock keep on blinkin’?

If I died today
Would I need to be ashamed?
Would I be easy to forget?
Could I live with my regrets?

I wonder who I’d see
Cryin’ standin’ over me
Who would just send their regards?
Would anybody say “the world will never be the same?”
And who would get this old guitar?

If I died today
Could I see my room from Heaven?
Would my family talk about me
At Christmas and Thanksgivin’?

I wonder who I’d see
Cryin’ standin’ over me
Who would just send their regards?
Would anybody say “what a good guy, what a shame?”
And who would get this old guitar?

If I died today
Who’d turn off my coffee pot?

Have patience with all things, with everyone, but mostly have patience with yourself.

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections because it takes time to make a permanent change.

Rome wasn’t built in a day… and they had more resources than you do personally.

Today is a good day to pause, to reflect and to praise yourself for what you have accomplished so far.

Every day is a new day for each one of us. 

There is a fountain of youth:

it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love.

When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.

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Sophia Loren

Italian actress

“ Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it… ”

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Mary Pickford (1892–1979)

Canadian actress, Academy Award® winner

For every minute you remain angry,
you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson

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We are disappointed when we lose money or when we don’t receive the salary increase we were expecting.

But how do we react when we lose a good idea which has come to us while reading, listening to someone or while travelling?

An idea that could have improved our life, or better, that could have  improved the world.

If you lost the thought, you already forgot about it, didn’t you?

What if this one good idea was more precious than millions of dollars?

Just like Oscar Wilde used to say:  We know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

We should always take the time to write down our ideas in a notebook, or in our PDA.

We can never know when these notes could be useful to us.

I encourage you to start collecting your thoughts in a place where you can read them later.

You will be amazed that you are the one who wrote this idea or how your own thinking has evolved over time.

Every one of us can produce good ideas. Write them down and avoid losing them forever.

Will you?

Those who believe they have plenty of time get ready only at the time of death. 

Then they are ravaged with regret. 

But isn’t it far too late? 

Buddhist Master Padmasambhava

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It’s tragic that so many people don’t really appreciate life until they’re at the point of dying.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to face death at a young age, not once, but twice.  The first time was with a ski-doo accident at age 7, and the second time was a car accident at age 19. The second one was a real awakening for me, my first wake-up call. This is when I started to question and seek a meaning for life. I started to become aware of my own mortality.

I think for most people, how you face life has a lot to do with how you face death.

So what about you?

How do you view death?

Do you use life to prepare for death?

Or

What about using  the prospect of death to live a more satisfying and fulfilling life?  

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Every day, I witness too many people who are complaining. (myself included)

If only we would realize how short life really is, we would stop complaining and stop wasting precious time.

Since our time is so limited, doesn’t it make sense to figure out what we really enjoy and try to spend as much time as possible doing what we like?

We all have responsibilities, but we also have spare time, and it is in that spare time that we can improve our quality of life.

One of the ways I found to minimize my own complaining is to count my blessings every day. When I focus my attention on what goes well in my life, I notice that there is much more good than bad. If you have time today, take a piece of paper, make two columns, one for the good stuff and the other for the bad things.

Chances are that you will write much more on the side of “good stuff”.

Good health, good friends, healthy family members, good food everyday, living in a safe country, able to give money to charity, easy credit to buy the dream house, the big screen TV or the new car.

And the bad things…

Since I  have started doing this exercise many years ago, it has helped me realize that there is more good than bad for most of us, most of the time…if we choose to look at things this way.

It is an exercise that has to be repeated every day when possible, or as often as possible. When we neglect counting our blessings, there is a chance that people around us will notice it in our attitude. I could compare it to taking a shower, if we skip it for too long, someone somewhere will notice…

Do you find yourself complaining too much?

Don’t you think it’s a waste of time and energy?

Will you try to write down a list of the good things in your life?

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In other words, we should try to be fully aware of each moment, to do one thing at the time with people, to be active and productive and to simply be ourselves.

Happiness is often the result of being too busy to be miserable.

 Anonymous

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Nature does not hurry,
yet everything is accomplished.

 Lao Tzu

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This time, like all times, is a very good one,
if we but know what to do with it.

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Week ends are the right time to catch up things that you really care about.

Don’t miss the opportunity.

Monday will be knocking on your door very soon.

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day and every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.

What would you do?

Draw out every cent of course and figure out how to spend it later! Well we do have such a bank; its name is the bank of time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost, whatever you failed to invest to good purpose. How much time do you write off at the end of the day?

Do you know?

Planning in advance will help you determine what you’ll do next as you arrange the order for accomplishing the activities on your list.

The challenge is that our most important resource, our time, is limited.

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear.

Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow.

But any action is better than no action at all.

 Norman Vincent Peale

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Every day is a day to take action.

Every moment is a moment to make a choice.

Whatever your choices, take action on those choices.

Today.

“Expect the best.

Prepare for the worst.

Capitalize on what comes.”

Zig Ziglar

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How much time and worrying would we save by adopting this attitude in life?

“ Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. ”

Ferris Bueller
American student
from the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

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Will you take some time today to really enjoy every moment?

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

 Abraham Lincoln

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Are you tempted to do what is easy instead of what is necessary?

With your health?

With your personal finances?

With your job?

With your employability?

With your kids education?

With the time you invest with family and friends?

In our leisure society, it is very tempting to get busy with non-important things.

Let’s take our responsibilities first, and after, the leisure times will be even more enjoyable.