Why Didn’t We Do This Earlier?

Turns out, the best life lessons don’t always come from a pulpit or a Tom Petty song – sometimes, they're hidden in plain sight in grocery stores surrounded by seniors.

Here’s what I mean…

I was at breakfast with three of my buddies this morning.

It was in a Hy-Vee grocery store eatery. For you, non-upper Midwesterners, Hy-Vee is our version of a Krogers or Publix.

And for the record, grocery store eateries are generally not my style. I’m more of a local greasy spoon guy, but it was convenient for everyone.

Anyway…

Shit’s Gettin’ Real

One of the buddies had just had a heart attack, one other is battling cancer, and the other is working his way back to running after major knee surgery. Shit’s starting to get real.

But we can laugh about it.

Case in point, here’s the post-breakfast text from the knee surgery guy…

Yep.

And if we can’t laugh, we’re probably doing it wrong.

After all, we sat in a grocery store eatery surrounded by seniors at 8 am on a Saturday. We were easily the youngest table by 10-20 years.

Our issues probably weren’t anything compared to what they’ve probably faced and/or are facing. We can’t take ourselves too seriously.

Ten Years Ago

So anyway, the heart attack buddy brought up an interesting point that popped up in two separate stories he told. The point really got me thinking, and there’s a lesson in there for all of us.

In the first story, he mentioned how the heart attack forced him to really watch his diet and how he felt better.

He said, “Why the hell didn’t I do this ten years ago?"

In the second story, he described how his parents and siblings began hosting weekly dinner get-togethers following a health scare within the family.

Again, “Why the hell didn’t we do this ten years ago?”

Good Question

So after I was back at home, I started thinking, “What the hell am I not doing right now that ten years from now I wish I had started?”

A couple of things came up right away…

• I need more breakfasts like that.

• I need to figure something out regularly with my family.

• I need to get off my ass and pursue the podcast idea I’ve had for months.

It's crazy how that one question can put so many things in perspective.

We’re always living day to day, pushing shit off.

I’ll do it next year.

I’ll do it when I retire.

I’ll do it when my youngest is in her fourth year of college.

We think we have forever when really, we don’t.

Call To Action

Ask yourself…

“What am I not doing right now that ten years from now I wish I had started?”

I bet you’ll get closer to the things you want to be doing and light a fire under your ass.

Live Like You Were Dying

Ok, this song is a tad sappy and not my usual motivator, but it’s perfect for this theme, and from a songwriting perspective, genius.

Here’s the story behind the song form one of the dudes who wrote it…

Sound familiar?

Now, let’s listen to Tim McGraw sing it live…

So again…

“What are you not doing right now that ten years from now you wish you had started?”

Think about it.

Have a good one,

Corey