As I see it, there are three times: past, present and future. I believe that while it is important to think about the past and the future, it is very dangerous to LIVE in either of these times. Earlier I talked about living in the past. Now let’s look at the dangers of living in the future.

I should start by clearly stating that I’m not advocating that you ignore the future and abandon forward-thinking goals and dreams. It is very important to plan your future and work towards it. The danger comes from looking EXCLUSIVELY at the future and ignoring the present moment.

Living in the future carries two dangers:

We might never start living. In my book, I wrote about about “the once trap”. Too often we are waiting for something to happen before we allow ourselves to start living.
“Once I get the promotion…”
“Once I finish MBA…”
“Once I weigh a certain amount…”
All too often we get so caught up in “the once trap” that we forget that ONCE is exactly how many times today comes around! We need to be mindful of this and make the most of every moment that we have.

We can be so goal-oriented that we don’t take time to appreciate what we’ve already achieved. Consider a dieter who obsesses so much over losing the last five pounds that they forget to rejoice over how much they’ve already lost.

There is another danger with living for the future… what happens to you when you get there? In his autobiography, astronaut Buzz Aldrin said that after walking on the moon, everything else in life seemed insignificant. This is clearly a person who was so focused on one goal for so long, that he forgot that simply walking on THIS planet each day is a tremendously significant achievement.

Previously, I urged you to learn the lessons that your past has to teach and then move beyond them into the present! Now I caution to you simply visit the future in order to help you plan and set goals. Now is the only time that truly matters because now is the only time we can work with. Living a mindful life provides a luxury that few people allow themselves – the luxury of enjoying things RIGHT NOW!

As I see it, there are three times: past, present and future. I believe that while it is important to think about the past and the future, it is very dangerous to LIVE in either of these times. Let me explain what I mean by that. (This post discusses the perils of living in the past and this post talks about living in the future.)

When it comes to living in the past, there are two major variations on this theme.

First, there are those who are constantly reliving past glories or accomplishments. These people define themselves by who they were and what they’ve done. These people believe that who you were in the past is who you will be in the future. Or that what you’ve had in the past is what you will have in the future. When life takes an unexpected twist, people who live in the past often have a very difficult time adjusting because they are too busy living in a state of disbelief. “This sort of thing doesn’t happen to me. I never expected this. How can this be happening? How will I ever cope?” We all know people who’ve said or thought these things.

The second group are those who are constantly reliving past setbacks or failures and define themselves by the problems that they’ve had in the past. Strangely enough, these people, like the first group, ALSO believe that who you were in the past, is who you will be in the future. They let the shadows of the past keep them from achieving wonderful things in the present. These shadows often obscure the new opportunities and possibilities that life is constantly offering us in the present. “I’ve never had any luck. The world is out to get me. Why would things get better now? Why bother trying?” Again, we all know people who’ve said or thought these things.

So far, scientists have said that Time travel is impossible. Yet I know someone who does it on a regular basis! She is able to instantly return to a past time in the blink of an eye. If the wrong name is mentioned or a painful subject is raised, this person is able to instantly transport herself back to the moment when the pain and anger were fresh. Her entire demeanour changes and it is as though she is back reliving the entire event. She can instantly ruin a great mood in the present just by thinking of some issues that are long past.

I urge you to learn the lessons that your past has to teach and then move beyond them into the present! Now is the only time that truly matters because now is the only time we can work with. Living a mindful life provides a luxury that few people allow themselves – the luxury of enjoying things RIGHT NOW!

Don’t forget… there are also dangers associated with living in the future.

I don’t have a Fuelband (but I’d like one, if anyone from Nike is reading!) but I really like the concept. It’s the athletic equivalent of my barcode tattoo – a visual reminder that everything we do each day counts.

Yesterday, I saw a video (below) by filmmaker Casey Neistat. He claims that he was hired by Nike to produce a movie promoting the Make It Count slogan, but instead took the money and left with his friend on a round-the-world adventure. Whether he really did that, or whether the video is exactly what Nike wanted, it’s wonderfully done and features many fantastic quotes and inspiring scenery.

Now I’m not suggesting that you go on a whirlwind trip until your money runs out. (Just ask John Brandrick about that.) I’m simply suggesting you look at what you can do with each day to make it count.

Imagine this scene…

It’s your birthday. Your family and friends are throwing you a great birthday party complete with presents and a delicious birthday cake. Everyone sings “Happy Birthday”, you blow out the candles, cut and serve three or four pieces of the cake. Then you pick up the remainder of the cake and head for the trashcan with the intention to throw it out.

You wouldn’t do that, would you? Of course not.

You also wouldn’t simply set it aside and let it sit there – day after day – getting stale and mouldy, would you? Of course not.

That would be wasteful. It’s a treat that’s meant to be savoured. It’s meant to be enjoyed with gusto. It’s part of your gift and it’s meant to be shared with those you love.

Well guess what?

For every morning you are fortunate enough to open your eyes, it’s as though life is throwing you a fantastic birthday party – complete with cake! I don’t want to see you throwing your days in the trashcan. I also don’t want to see you letting the days sit around getting stale and mouldy. I want to see you savouring each day – enjoying it with gusto. After all – today is part of your gift and it’s meant to be shared with those you love.

I want you to have your cake and eat it too!

Happy Birthday to you! Now make a wish.

For instance – Mathieu.com has been my domain since 1995 (yep!), but I haven’t really used it for anything for a number of years. It’s now back to being my main site and has had a similar facelift. This is where people can get information about my speaking and coaching services as well as information about my books. (Yes, I said books – plural – see below!)

ChooseTheLifeYouWant.com has been redesigned as a straightforward blog.

And… I’ve dusted off PowerOfMortality.com. I’ve recently realized that I still have more work to do in the area of helping people with the concept of Mortality.

I’m also re-evaluating my plans for a follow-up book.  Read more about those plans.

Ultimately, I want to thank you for being part of this fun ride and for all of your feedback!  Please be sure to subscribe to this blog and to the Power of Mortality blog via the Subscribe links at the right of each website. That way, you’ll always be up to date.

And please – feel free to let me know what you’d like to see me talk about in these spaces!  You can do that my commenting below, or by contacting me directly.

Thanks!

Personally, I’m grateful for that degree of uncertainty in each day. Variety is the spice of life, and I think it would be incredibly boring if each and every day went exactly as you planned it.

And yet, many people seem surprised when life presents them with opportunities to improvise. They are so rigid in their thinking that they don’t know what to do, or how to react, when life doesn’t follow the script that they’ve written out in their own minds.
Do you want to know the secret? The secret to good improvisational skills is to listen and observe more than you speak and act.

Years ago I was in Toastmasters and won numerous awards for impromptu speaking. I was always amused when people would see me before a competition and ask if I was prepared. How on earth do you prepare to improvise? I would answer, “Yes, all day long I’ve abandoned my usual prepared statements. Instead, I’ve just been talking to people!”

Open your mind to the possibilities of improvisation as you make plans and think about your goals and dreams. In the Mortality Manifesto I wrote that you should : “…always strive to ensure that your every thought word and action is moving you in the direction of your dreams.” Notice that I use the word “direction”. As long as you are moving in the right direction, don’t let your plans suffocate spontaneity. Because in the end, some of our fondest memories will be of the wonderful impromptu detours that we have taken while on our journey.

Sure, there are the usual ceremonies that society dictates are standard practice (Christenings, Graduations, Weddings, Funerals, etc.)- but I’m more interested in the ceremonies that we create ourselves. The ceremonies we engineer in order to mark the beginning of a new chapter in our life. These may be very private ceremonies or they may be very public.

If you’ve read my book, you’re familiar with the private sunrise ceremony I held on the top of Mount Royal in Montréal on April 15, 1994. I took the photo above to mark that occasion. This was the day I accepted and embraced my mortality. It was my last day on earth – and my first day – all in one.

Well, it seems I’m not the only one who thinks the top of Mount Royal is an excellent place for ceremonies to mark epic beginnings!  Watch this video and then use the comment section below to tell me about any epic beginning you’re planning for your life and what sort of ceremony you’re planning to mark the occasion.

Yesterday, I read about the launch of Sir Richard Branson’s latest book “Screw Business As Usual“.

The title struck me immediately and sent my mind spinning a mile a minute.  It’s clear that “business as usual” doesn’t work. Just look at the economic woes in Europe and the US. Look back to 2008 at the collapse of so many financial institutions and large businesses in the US. It should be clear to everyone that if we are trying to bailout and restructure our business infrastructure with the intention of returning to “business as usual”, then we are dramatically illustrating the definition of insanity.

As I was thinking about all of this – it occurred to me that it is as though, in recent years, “business as usual” has been given an expiry date.  It has started to realize that it’s mortal and will not continue forever in its current form.  The meltdown of the financial and business worlds are very much like the stroke I had in 2006.  It’s a wake-up call.  An opportunity to start thinking about things differently, setting different priorities and making different choices.

Some might argue that this wake-up call is not new. It’s not something that been caused by the events of recent years – the business system has been sick for much longer than that.  Perhaps.  But what has caught my interest is that this particular rallying cry of “screw business as usual” isn’t coming from the tents of one of the “Occupy…” movements.  It’s not coming from a VW microbus with flowers painted on it. And it’s not coming from the downtrodden, disenfranchised masses.  It’s coming from Sir Richard Branson.

The beeeeellllionaire (said in my best Dr. Evil voice).

The man at the head of a global empire.

The man who owns a spaceship.

If Branson is calling for a business revolution, things are starting to get very interesting.

I train and certify people as life coaches and executive coaches and I’ve noticed that more and more “traditional” business people are seeking to add coaching skills to their skill set. They realize that you get much better results if you take the time to actually “coach” someone than if you simply “manage” them. There is a real shift happening in business (both the private sector and the public sector).

So all of this leads me to a question…

Do you think the business world is ready for the Mortality Manifesto?

I am hired to give keynote speeches for large organizations, but I have always regarded my message as something that is aimed primarily at individuals. One of my tag lines has been: “helping people live lives that are fearless, focused and free from regret”. But now Richard Branson has opened my mind up to the possibility that perhaps my work needs to extend more deeply into the corporate world. Perhaps there are organizations out there who are ready to heed the wake-up call that “business as usual” is dead, so it’s time to start thinking about how they can transform themselves into a new and powerfully empowering environment.

What are your thoughts? Do you think the business world is ready?

I’m not talking about a revolution or attack from external forces – I’m asking if the business world is ready for an evolution from within?

As I drove down the highway the other day, I couldn’t believe I was sharing the road with such terrible drivers. The traffic was moving along at about 120 KPH (75 MPH) yet here were some of the things I saw:

• Talking on cell phones (WITHOUT headsets!)
• Eating (and not just nibbling – I mean hamburgers)
• Very aggressive driving (like they were trying to protect their pole position in an F1 race)
• Heated arguments with someone in the passenger seat
• Putting on lipstick by looking in the rear-view mirror.
• ALL AT 75 MPH!

Crazy people!

I kept asking myself: “What are they thinking? Do they think they’re invincible? Or maybe they have a death-wish? What is it that would make someone drive like that?”

Many drivers have simply lost their respect for how powerful and dangerous automobiles can be.

Remember when you were first learning to drive? You’d finally get the car back home safely, only to realize you’d been holding your breath the entire time and your hands were welded to the steering wheel in the “10 and 2? position. Driving was new to you and you realized that those keys bring a great deal of responsibility.

But something happened, didn’t it?

Maybe it was the 100th time you returned home safely, maybe the 200th time, but somewhere along the way, you started taking it for granted that you were a “good driver” and little by little, your respect for the road and the machine began to wane. Clearly nothing bad was going to happen to you.

IF YOU’RE LUCKY – the wake-up call for you may come in the form of having your driver’s license suspended, or some other “warning”. If you’re not lucky, the consequences could be much more dire.

But that problem isn’t just limited to our experience with automobiles, is it?

When we’re first born we are given the “keys” to this fantastic body of ours. If you’ve ever watched a baby take its first steps, you’ll know that the look on the child’s face is even more intense than their expression when they pull Mom’s car out of the driveway for the first time.

When we are young we have a tremendous amount of respect for life and we live every second of it. Life is a series of awe-filled discoveries.

But something happens, doesn’t it?

Maybe it was the 2,000th time you woke up, maybe the 5,000th time, but somewhere along the way, you started taking it for granted that you were going to always wake up and little by little, your respect for the privilege of being alive began to wane. Clearly nothing bad was going to happen to you.

Well, I’m here today to tell you that I’m hereby SUSPENDING your license to live!

That’s right!

I’ll give it back to you if you PROMISE (not to me – to yourself!) that you’ll work to recapture that same awe and wonder for each new morning and will go to bed each night filled with gratitude.

Do you promise? Really? Good – now please sign this – your life depends on it!

No need to thank me – just doin’ my job!