Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.
Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose.
Time is the ultimate currency of life. The implications of managing the short time we have on earth are like those of managing any scarce resource: you have to use it wisely—in a way that prioritizes what’s most important.
If you give any of the defaults command of your life, your ultimate destination is regret. Don’t live life by another person’s scoreboard.
Don’t let someone else choose your objectives in life. Take responsibility for where you are and where you are headed.
Real wisdom doesn’t come from chasing success but from building character. As Jim Collins wrote, “There is no effectiveness without discipline, and there is no discipline without character."