You Can Make a Difference: Build a Legacy That Matters

Death in itself is a morbid point of conversation to bring up for most. It’s one of those elephants in the room that no one wants to talk about beforehand, but when it occurs no one is ever ready. Obviously, there are exceptions such as if someone dies unexpectedly from an accident, cancer, or a random disease. Regardless, life is part of death, and death is part of life. It’s a cycle that has existed since the beginning of time. The moment you left your mother’s womb, you have an internal timer that is counting down your days. Every morning you wake up, some part of your physical body is slowly dying. Now, this doesn’t mean you should view this as a negative that drastically affects your mental state. Instead, I ask that you look at it as the reasoning behind executing on your happiness. If you aren’t happy right now... at this moment…you need to take a step back and figure out how to fix that.

You can’t stop the inevitable, regardless of the supplements, plastic surgery, or beauty crème. Many are guilty of this in the sense of denying their fate because of having lived an unfulfilled life. In an age where people are expected to live longer, these same individuals keep putting that thing “they’re going to do” off until tomorrow. This continues on until it’s two or three decades later and they still have made zero forward progress. The infamous “tomorrow” is a dangerous road to travel down. Once you get deep enough, it’s almost impossible to turn around and go back. Understandably, accidents or last-minute changes do make their appearances in life. You don’t have a magic crystal ball to depict the future, but also don’t let tomorrow turn into never.

Your first death may be unavoidable, but your second death is avoidable. With your first death, people may gather, say their piece, and move on with their lives. You, however, are now dead, so now what? Well, your second death is dependent on how you actually lived your life. If you lived a worthless life with no why and purpose, your second death could happen immediately after your first. The reason is that your second death is when someone speaks your name for the very last time. If you lived a worthy life full of purpose and pursuing your “why,” your name could very well be spoken for eons. Now don’t get it twisted, having people remember your name isn’t for clout, narcissism, or bragging rights. They will remember your name because of the type of person you were, how you treated others, or what you gave back to positively benefit someone else’s life.

You hold in your hands every single day the story of your life. Every choice you make…every relationship you affect…is writing your story for the tomorrow that may never come. Learn to relish in every sunrise, every laugh, every accomplishment, every sunset, every heartache, and every failure. You hold in your hands the destiny of your second death, create greatness daily in order to make it immortal.

Written by: Ian Strimbeck