Here’s what I want you to do. Find a quiet place like your bedroom, without any noise from TV, music, phone, spouse or kids, and lie down for at least half an hour, preferably longer. Close your eyes and project yourself forward in time. You are now much older and know you have just a few days left to live. A pretty frightening thought, but this scenario will eventually happen to most of us.
Reflect upon what you have accomplished in life for a few minutes. Then I want you to think about some important things you wish you had done during your lifetime. It could be researching and visiting your family roots in Europe; spending a year in Tuscany learning Italian; deep sea fishing in Bimini and every other famous fishing spot in the world your best friends; writing the book you always wanted to write; completely restoring a ’56 Corvette with your teenage son; climbing Mt. Everest; riding a Harley cross country with your wife; training for and running a marathon, or a million other things.
Now, still on your imaginary deathbed, ask yourself the following questions: Do you wish you had worked ten hours per week more for your company instead of taken more vacations with your family? Do you wish you had watched more television? Do you wish you had eaten more junk food? Do you regret you didn’t spend more time at the shopping mall? The answers to all of the above will be: Probably not. Definitely not! Think about this for a while.
Then I’d like for you to come up with the three top things you really wish you had done in life and start envisioning these imaginary journeys. How would you plan them? Who would be involved? When and where would they take place? What would you have to sacrifice to commence such a journey? Visualize, fantasize, dream and imagine yourself traveling down his new and exciting road.
After this pleasant escape into dreamland, I want you to write the three things in a journal, on a post-it sticker on the fridge or set it as a screensaver on your computer. After a week or two of thinking about this, I want you to make a decision on what journey to first embark on. You don’t have to decide when or how yet, just make the decision of what you want to do. Once you have done this, your journey has already begun.
Sounds like “The Bucket List” on steroids? Kind of, but I’m describing something much more and significant than just taking a trip somewhere. And something you’d do early in life and not when you are about to kick the bucket. Life-changing journeys rather than a short excursions. What I’m talking about is an irrevocable commitment to something you really would like to achieve in life in order to satisfy some of your inner, unfulfilled needs and desires. A dormant trigger that will transform the rest of your life.
Your life is one long journey made up of many smaller journeys, some good, some bad, some voluntary and some involuntary. The more we take charge, control our lives and make great journeys happen, the more content and fulfilled we’ll be. It’s not the end result or the destination that’ll enrich our lives, but the journey itself. Climbing Mt. Everest for example is a massive undertaking that only few people have the physical and mental disposition to do. Planning and executing such an adventure is a gigantic undertaking, from making the incredibly difficult commitment to attempt it, getting in top physical shape, acquiring technical climbing skills, communicating with the Sherpas in Nepal, teaming up with other adventurers, to ultimately risking your life as you advance from Base Camp and then on to the summit. Once you reach the top of the world, a whole new journey starts because you have just changed the rest of your life forever. Journeys are fantastic catalysts for new journeys.
I could also have used the example of shooting a photo essay of unique wooden boats from around the world, and eventually publishing a coffee table book showcasing your favorite photographs including brief narratives of your findings and experiences. Or spending a couple of years in a poor village in a Sub-Saharan country as part of an international aid organization initiative. They are all the same and all wonderful. These are extraordinary journeys that are raring to go but need people like you to get going. No matter what you choose to do, your life will be enriched and changed forever. And you’ll feel absolutely fantastic about it.
Embarking on these journeys will invariably involve reprioritizing your time and money, and significant compromises will have to be made. But no excuses. You hear me? NO EXCUSES! Just do it! Risks must be taken and uncharted waters explored. Push yourself outside your normal comfort zone and you’ll reap life-lasting rewards you never knew existed. When the time eventually comes and you only have a few days left to live, I want you to be in a position to happily smile and say quietly to yourself: “I had a great life and did what I wanted to do.”
-Nick
www.nickraybourne.com
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