Who can recall names of titans-gone-by, such as Bernard Baruch, who made himself one of the richest men in the world by 30 years old sitting in a room, alone, trading sugar? Or Payne Whitney? Or Edward Harkness? Or Horace Dodge? Or George Baker? Or Thomas Ruyan? Or Edward Berwind? These people are lost; forgotten despite the enormous wealth and power they held less than 90 years ago! They don’t matter one bit, anymore. Their names are meaningless.
Chances are, you don’t even know who your own great-great grandfather was; what his parents were named; what he did for a living; where he lived; what his hopes and dreams were.
The same will someday happen to you. The day will come when not a single living person on the planet remembers that you existed. This should not cause you concern. It should free you. Awareness of your own mortality strips away all pettiness and meaningless activity. It keeps you focused on what matters.
Embrace It and Follow Your Heart
Do not live a life enslaved by the expectations of others.
Chances are, you don’t even know who your own great-great grandfather was; what his parents were named; what he did for a living; where he lived; what his hopes and dreams were.
The same will someday happen to you. The day will come when not a single living person on the planet remembers that you existed. This should not cause you concern. It should free you. Awareness of your own mortality strips away all pettiness and meaningless activity. It keeps you focused on what matters.
Embrace It and Follow Your Heart
Do not live a life enslaved by the expectations of others.
Don’t go into a career you hate.
Don’t bother dating someone you wouldn’t want to marry.
Don’t marry someone you don’t love.
Don’t waste your time on things that don’t bring you joy.
Don’t spend your life working for scraps of paper just to buy a little more stuff.
Don’t get worked up if your candidate wins or loses and election.
Don’t fight over petty things. It’s almost all petty.
Don’t forget to spend time on the things and with the people whom matter to you most. Too many men and women invest their energy into what is going wrong, forsaking that which they say they value.
Find things that interest you and do them, even if they don’t make you money. So many opportunities show up in unexpected places. If nothing ever comes of it, you at least had a blast.
Don’t spend your time rationalizing things that you shouldn’t have to accept.
The old adage is true: You will regret the things you didn’t do far more than you will regret the mistakes you committed. Be rejected. Be fearless. Who cares if you embarrass yourself? We are all dead in the long run!
So many people are willing, and even insist upon, living miserable lives. It makes no sense. You cannot live to make your family, friends, or employer happy above your own happiness. When they put you in the ground, they should at least be able to say you enjoyed the incalculably tiny fraction of eternity you happened to be on this spinning rock.
If you can’t live the life you want where you are, then leave. Pack your bags and leave. Move halfway around the world if you need to but get out before you waste your life.
Author and Credits: Joshua Kennon