
Boy, do I feel old. Or at least older.
No, I didn't just have a birthday (well, it was last month). I am thirty-seven years old. No, my oldest child just had a birthday ? he turned 13 last Friday (I have four kids ? 13, 11, 9, and 8).
Sure, I am not old, and neither is he. But this birthday ? the 13th ? is significant and is cause for reflection. "They don't get any younger," they say. And that is exactly my point.
It seems like just yesterday I was playing baseball in little league. Or getting my high school diploma. Or walking down the aisle to get married. Or seeing my firstborn for the first time in that hospital in Morristown N.J.
All of those things were great experiences and ones that I will only experience once. They were fulfillments of goals I had set or dreams that I had. They came, and they went. Now they are but memories. Can you remember yours?
Soon enough this young man of mine will graduate himself and be gone from our home. And his three little sisters soon after that. When the youngest graduates from high school, I'll be 47. Ten more years of goals fulfilled , but ten years less to live.
Life goes on and there is nothing you can do to stop the wheels of time? All you can do is make sure that you live every moment of every hour, of every day, week and year to it's fullest. That is all we can do.
So these are my question to you this week: Are you aware that your life goes on? Do you realize that many of things you are experiencing will never be experienced again? Do you know that once a day is gone, it is gone forever?
Its true. All the more reason we must be extremely proactive. I am not suggesting that we work all the time. I believe that we should live balanced lives and that our down times are just as important in the grand scheme of things as those in which we are working away. The key is to know what we want to do, to be proactive in making sure we do it, and then following through so when that day comes on which we take our last breath, or someone close to us does, we know deep down in our hearts that we did everything we could to make the most of our lives.
Have you taken responsibility and ownership for your life?
Do you have clearly stated goals?
Are you working on your relationships to make them as healthy as humanly possible? Are you keeping your life in balance?
Will you leave a legacy for others to enjoy and follow?
These are important questions to answer. More important than that is to do what it takes to live the life of your dreams and leave a lasting legacy.
I am spending my life committed to helping others do all they can to make the most of their lives and enjoy them to the fullest. If you are doing that and living the life of your dreams, that is great!
If you don't take the time and invest today, when will you? You don't have to pursue your dreams ? they can wait right? But remember, life goes on. The kids get older, and so do you. Tomorrow there will only be one less day to make your significant mark on the world. You know the world needs your contribution, don't you? Now more than ever!
Here is my challenge: Live your dreams TODAY! Take your life under your control and make it happen.
About The Author:
Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams.
To see Chris "live" at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.
AP - Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage.
AP - Pink slips are piling higher as companies scramble to cut costs even deeper to survive the country's economic and financial storms.
AP - Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.
AP - Senate Democrats beat a hasty retreat Wednesday from their rejection of Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama's successor, yielding to pressure from Obama himself and from senators irked that the standoff was draining attention and putting them in a bad light. Burris said with a smile he expected to join them "very shortly."
AP - Protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer turned violent Wednesday night with windows broken, fires set and train stations closed.
AP - Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club.
AP - Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures as the heavy snowfall that has buried parts of the state began to rapidly melt.
AP - The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.
AP - Jeremy Lin scored 27 points to lead Harvard to an 82-70 upset over No. 17 Boston College on Wednesday night, three days after the Eagles upset previously top-ranked North Carolina.
Reuters - Israeli warplanes bombed targets across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and tanks advanced on Palestinian guerrillas as U.S. backing for a truce proposal raised expectations of an end to the offensive.
Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama will call for quick action on a fiscal stimulus package in a speech on Thursday aimed at reassuring Americans that he is determined to stem the economic crisis.
Reuters - A fresh wave of profit warnings and job cuts soured investor sentiment on Thursday after an employment report suggested U.S. job losses in December could be the worst in almost 60 years.
Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday to swear in Roland Burris, appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
Reuters - It took war, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the collapse of some of New York's famed investment banks, but Manhattan apartment prices are finally falling.
Reuters - The case of Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al Qaeda "sleeper" agent and held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, will be an early test for President-elect Barack Obama.
AFP - Israeli warplanes bombed suspected arms-smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza early Thursday, as diplomats worked to secure a ceasefire in an offensive that has killed 700 Palestinians.
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