You Must Live Your Own Life
I’m certain you’ve seen the “biggest regrets of my life” lists before. They come from people on their death beds and usually told to the nurses or caregivers in attendance.
“When writing the story of your life,
don’t let anyone else hold the pen.”
— Anonymous
Host: Tom Hering
It seems universal that the single biggest regret has to do with authenticity and goes along the lines of this statement. “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
After 70, 80 or 90 years of life, they basically say “I’ve lived someone else’s life.”
It is both sad and heartbreaking to not live your own life.
We do tend to pay a lot of attention to key influences in our life. These include our parents, friends and bosses who are certainly well-intentioned but do not know what lies in our hearts.
Only you know that.
And it is your job to not only discover what that is, as I’ve told both my young adult sons, but to get on that path and start moving toward that passion, regardless of what comes your way.
Steve Jobs captured this lesson beautifully in his graduation speech to Stanford University’s class of 2005:
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
Here’s to paying attention to your heart.
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Live well.
In my book 51 Life Lessons Every Boomer Male Should Have Learned by Now, I write about key lessons that I believe every evolved boomer male needs to know to make his third act his best. They fall into one of three categories: health, wealth and happiness. Each lesson serves to inspire and motivate you.
