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#105 Funerals

 “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Imagine going to the funeral of a loved one. You’re getting out of your car, walking into the chapel or funeral parlor. You see the flowers and the other people entering. You feel the sadness of loss and the joy of having known.

Feel into that.

You walk to the front and look into the casket and suddenly come face to face with yourself. You realize this is your funeral.

Feel that.

You sit down and look at the program in your hand—reading the description of your life and seeing the people who will be talking about you.

What do they say?

How does the program capture your life?

What do your closest loved ones say about you? Your spouse or children? Your friends and colleagues?

…

Now, fast-forward twenty-five years from today.

Imagine that scene of your own funeral.

You have that program in your hand. What does it say?

You watch your loved ones get up and speak about you and their love for you. What do they say? Who were you in their eyes?

Take some time today/this week (right now?!?) to sit down and really reflect on this.

…

This is what Stephen Covey would call “Beginning with the End in Mind.” It’s Habit #2 of his “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”

It’s rather simple: Get clear on your highest “end” goals and line up every thing you do today (and tomorrow and …) to be in integrity with these ideals. If you tell me you want to be recognized as a kind, generous, loving man who always had time for his family. Then guess what? BE a kind, generous, loving man who always has time for his family NOW.

Begin with the end in mind. And live with absolute integrity to those ideals.

And watch your life completely transform. Today.

“If not now, when?”

~ Hillel