I Don’t Know How Many Days You Have

I’ve lost several friends in the past few years to cancer, ALS and other illnesses. They left my life too soon. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

Each one of their deaths has shattered me in unexpected ways as I watched them morph from strong, healthy people who loved life into patients who weren’t ready to go yet.

We each have a timeline, but none of us knows where the endpoint is.

I hope that you live a very, very long life and become the beautiful old woman that I imagine you to be. But there are no guarantees.

So my wish for you is that you LIVE your life.

Live it big, in technicolor, and with your face to the sun.

Stay up late.

Give lots of hugs.

Don’t follow the well worn path.

Be authentic.

Eat great chocolate.

Be kind.

Create things.

Be ridiculous.

Sing in the car, in the shower, and anywhere else that you can.

Ooze gratitude.

Be a good human.

Take the vacation.

Carve out time for your passions. It’s the real reason that you are here.

Give your crazy ideas a shot.

Try new things.

Read.

Take risks. Make mistakes. Do better.

Live every day as if it’s a special occasion…because it is.

Don’t get caught in the grind of every day life. You weren’t made to be like everyone else. Follow your own path. Listen to your own inner voice. Resist the temptation to take the easy route. Put the work into your passions.

If you look back on the past five years and you don’t want the next five to look the same, then make a change. Now.

Write the book. Take the class. Make the call. Face the fear. Take the leap. Do your thing.

Because we don’t know when the story ends.

Make it extraordinary.

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Cover Image credit:
Cristina Gottardi