Make It What You Want It to Be

What if I told you that you only had a short time to live? What if I told you that you had only a very short time to accomplish everything that you want to accomplish and to make the contributions that you want to make? What would you do with your time to be truly happy?

The truth of the matter is that we all have a very short time.

Taxi Cab Confessions

Yesterday morning I took a taxi to a conference. I asked the driver how he was and how his business was doing. Without a delay, he shot back: “This is not the life I wanted.”

The statement was so frank, so direct, and so honest that I was taken aback.

The driver, a relatively young man from Tunisia, told me that he has been in the United States for 10 years. He said he was hoping that soon automobiles would be fueled by hydrogen because gas prices are too high.

He was waiting for external events to intervene on his behalf.

I couldn’t help but wonder if he was as dissatisfied with his life when he first arrived on these shores. I imagine that when he arrived in the United States that he was full of hope and ambition. I wondered if he felt that other forces were responsible for his happiness those many years ago.

It was a very short cab ride, and as much as I wanted to say something more, all I had time to say was “You better start making this the life you want now.”

America may have some problems, but it isn’t Tunisia. My taxi-driving friend isn’t likely to get a better shot anywhere else in the world. And neither are you.

Your Eviction Notice

How many more people want a life that is different than the life they are living? How many are waiting for someone else to do something that they believe, incorrectly, will make their lives better?

This life is a gift.

All of us are given a short time. Each of us at some point gets an eviction notice. It may many years from now or it may be tomorrow. But you will eventually be evicted. About 80 or so rides around the Sun, and then . . .

The only thing we can be certain we have is this very moment. We can’t even really be certain that we have the next moment.

It’s worth taking a few minutes (or more) to do a little accounting. If your life isn’t what you want it to be, maybe it’s time to scratch this script and start on your rewrite while there is still time. Don’t wait for external events to conspire on your behalf.