I'm coming off of a very busy weekend of travel and celebrating another birthday. As I have now had more time to reflect on the last year of my life, I can truly say that it was nothing short of incredible. I am seeing so many dreams fulfilled and so many prayers answered in my life. The last year has built my capacity for greatness and empowered me to become a better version of myself. As I get older, I become more aware of the gift that life truly is. I want to share a few insights with you that will help you to value the gift of life and to never again take it for granted!
- Stop counting the days. I talk to so many people that are simply existing. They are rushing frantically through life and they are missing out on valuable moments and invaluable experiences. You do not have to be in such a hurry. The older I get I realize that many of the things that I thought were important did not really matter. Moreover, many of the things I saw as insignificant have become matters of great importance in my life. You are not racing against the clock and you are not in competition with the calendar. You do not have to count the days but you can make a conscious decision to make the most of your days. Life is precious and you cannot afford to squander it. In order to make the most of your life, you have to approach each day with purpose, passion and intention. The more intentional you become the more fulfillment you will experience in all aspects of your life. An intentional life is your greatest defense against a meaningless life.
- Make the days count. While I would advise against counting the days, I would encourage you to make the days count. In other words, you have to make a conscious decision to live every single day of your life with purpose. I call it maximizing the moments of your life. Over the last year, I have become much more intentional about pursuing worthwhile activities and not worthless distractions. Many times we choose easy but we rob ourselves of the opportunity to live an extraordinary life. You do not have to settle. I encourage you to be audacious and pursue the life that you were born for. I've made an effort to squeeze every second and every moment out of every day. At the end of the day, you will never get the opportunity to experience this moment again. So you owe it to yourself to make the most of the moments of your life. Moments were never meant to be squandered. Moments are designed to be seized. You make the days count by making destiny the center of every single day of your life.
- You have to make the decision to live your own life. If you are not careful, you will live a life that has been scripted for you instead of living an authentic life. While we should welcome diverse perspectives and different opinions, you must never forget that you are ultimately in control of your own life. Too often we allow the opinions and expectations of other people to steal our joy, rob us of peace and defraud us of our personal power. I love everyone and I am grateful for all the relationships in my life. However, at the end of the day, I am in the driver seat and I determine the course that my life will take. I refuse to get to the end of my life bitter or resentful because I lived the life that everyone else wanted me to live and never lived my own life. The most courageous decision you can ever make is to live free from the expectations of other people. It is only when you make this decision that you are empowered to live your own life and to realize your greatest potential.
- You must raise your standards. If you talk to those that know me best, they will tell you that I push the boundaries of my potential and test my limits all the time. Why is that? I am committed to being a person of excellence. More importantly, I am dedicated to realizing my greatest potential. Your life is being shaped by your standards. What I have discovered is that low standards reveal low self-worth. In other words, when you do not value yourself you will always have a limited vision of what is possible for your life. On the other hand, when you know your value you will dream big and dare to create a life without limits. Anyone that tolerates your mediocrity, accommodates your failure and accepts your excuses is an enemy to your potential and an adversary to your destiny. I choose to surround myself with people that challenge my excuses, believe in my potential and champion my growth. Your standards not only determine how high you go in life. Your standards determine whether or not you honor the seed of your potential.
