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Live Like You were Dying

Thomas Nelson

I care about you.

I've been longing to tell you something. And now is the perfect time. It's one of the secrets of life.

It's not how to get rich quick, but it will enrich your life. It isn't the fountain of youth, but it will keep you young at heart. It probably won't make your life longer, but it will make your life better.

FULLER, DEEPER, BROADER, BETTER.

It's simple. The best things always are. I hope it becomes your prayer, your motto, your mantra. I hope it becomes a part of you. Every day.

WE'RE ALL TERMINAL.
Some of us are just lucky enough to know it.

Life is a spiritual journey.
And sometimes all you have to do is show up
and have a little faith that something
completely amazing is possible any day.

And every now and then,
right when you least expect it,
something amazing does happen.

And you are no more in control
than a feather is of the wind.
All you know is that the force moving you is so strong
that you just hang on in wonder.

There is nothing but the moment
and the sense of dancing with angels.

So ALIVE ...

I know you have big, beautiful, dangerous, exhilarating, far-flung, impossible dreams that you keep tucked away. You think so many things stand in your way of finding those dreams, those hopes, those wishes ... of finding the YOU that you desire. You think it's too soon, it's too late, it's too hard, it's too crazy ...

But all of that is about to change. The greatest journeys begin with a single step. Sometimes that first step is the magical leap a dream takes from the dark, silent depths of your heart to the brilliant light and sound of the spoken word.

Some say that once spoken, a sound never dies. Like ripples on a pond from a tossed stone, it reverberates on and on, back and forth, forever. That sound vibrates, spreads out, touches, finds resonance and harmonies, sets events in motion.

Today, take the first step of the long journey and make your dreams known by giving them voice, substance, reality. After this, neither you nor your world will ever be the same again.

So take a few moments to prepare. Take a deep breath, slowly in, slowly out.

Pick up that smooth, cool stone that has been hidden in your soul for so long and prepare to shatter the still, glassy status quo forever. Now close your eyes and complete the most important sentence you may ever speak.

I am ...

Go! Just Go!
Right, left, wrong, right—Go!
No stopping and looking back. No what-ifs. Just Go!
This is something new.
There are no wrong moves—you'll learn from everything.
There are no mistakes except inaction. Go!
You're scared to do this?
I'm scared you won't do it.
Go, even if it's in the completely wrong direction at first.
Say your prayers and Go!

What are you waiting for? Get a move on!

ONE-WAY TICKETS

"What's the secret of your success?" I asked the old veteran music man. He had been in London with the Beatles, in Los Angeles with the Eagles. He had become rather wealthy and managed to make himself a living legend in the process of constructing an amazing career that spanned the decades and the globe.

"The secret to my success is a lot simpler than you would imagine," he said. "It's one-way tickets."

"What?" I asked.

"One-way tickets," he said. "I went everywhere knowing that I was going to have to make it wherever I landed and that there were no other options."

"You mean you flew off, even out of the country, without enough money to come home?" I asked.

He smiled and said, "Most of the time I didn't have enough for a decent room. But ..." As he lit an expensive cigar he smiled and said, "It worked out all right."

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Excerpted from Live Like You were Dying by Tim Nichols, Craig Wiseman. Copyright © 2004 Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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