Live (and Work) Like You Were Dying

Like it or not, we are all dying. (Admittedly, this is not what one would initially expect a seasoned motivational speaker to use as a headline for an inspo-post.)

I was starting this very full workday of coaching and collaboration calls by taking a sunny morning walk, getting my head right and my spirit light. An unexpected song from a lifetime ago steamrolled into my feed, my earbuds, and heart: Live Like You Were Dying, by Tim McGraw.

I vividly remember listening to that song almost two decades ago while driving with my then-little girl in her car seat. We had just learned of the terminal diagnosis for my mother Kaylene, and I was coming to terms with the fact that my amazing mom wasn't going to be with us very much longer. I viscerally recall sobbing in the car with my five year-old keenly observing me, wondering why her Mama was crying so hard about skydiving, Rocky Mountain climbing and a bull named Fu Manchu. (Little EmmaBean comforted me later, stroking my hair, and saying, “It’s gonna be okay, Mama. Don’t be sad.” Easily one of the saddest and sweetest moments of my life.)

Almost 20 years later, as I speed-walked through the park, I thought of another painful loss I have been recently working through. Some would say that I was a glutton for punishment for revisiting an emotional trigger that I KNEW would bust me open into the land of the ugly-cry.

However, I'm of the belief that truly creative, powerful, courageous, brilliant, and inspiring people like me don't shy away from feelings. We understand that life is an expression of energy – all kinds of energy.

When we cry, we feel. When we feel, we heal. When we heal, we LIVE.

Ultimately everything we do is an expression (or denial) of Love from our hearts, our bodies, our minds, and our spirits – from everyday moments like our morning walks to big growth opportunities like crafting that next award-winning book or stepping onto bigger stages. From giving hugs to my little girl in the car seat one day to supporting clients as their Crystallizing Strategic Co-creator during their tender, vulnerable, and incredibly powerful moments of transformation, I’m here for it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly-cry.

Thank you, Tim McGraw, for reminding me of the energy contained within me. (Some of which comes out of my eyeballs in liquid form.)?

Turns out that after a good cry, I am already having an amazing day. I am harnessing my strategic, co-creative, and healing energies to make every moment count with my clients, my colleagues, and my circle of loved ones.

I may not be skydiving. Rocky Mountain climbing, or going 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu, but I’m bringing as much presence, power, and love I can possibly muster until I take that last breath.

I hope you do too.