What Not To Do on Your Death Bed …
…. let your dreams go unfulfilled.
“Most people have had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.”
From Bonnie Ware’s blog Inspiration and Chai
I was very inspired after reading that article.
My passion is to travel and live in other countries. I can’t work in an office for 30 years and be free only to spend a week or two on vacation. I prefer to focus on vocation.
Working every day means that you miss seeing your family and friends due to your work schedule, but you can’t see much of the world – until you retire. But by then, you’ll be spending all of your hard-earned savings on an RV and health care.
Retire now! When you’re in the grave does it matter how much you worked or how much you accumulated? Stuff is stuff. We are so lucky to be able to experience life.
Happiness is about living right now. We are willingly imprisoned by our ‘shoulds’.
“It’s not that easy.” Yes, it is. It’s scary but much more rewarding to be laying on your death bed, muttering ‘I did’ versus ‘I wanted to, but…’
We have two choices: Do or Don’t
The reason there is so much pressure not to follow our wants is because most people aren’t, and we are living in the proverbial crab pot.
I heard a great quote once that basically said – people shrink their dreams to match their income, versus pursuing their dreams and reaching for the income needed to attain them.
It doesn’t have to be income-related but the point is don’t shrink your dreams because you think there are limitations. Don’t let the kid inside you down! The only limitations are the ones you put in place.
Sure, there are challenges, and you have to make extreme sacrifices. Are you willing to make those sacrifices so you’re not lying there, on your death bed, with tubes up your nose and a pocket full of regrets?
I made a decision that, since I was unable to afford just traveling as a lifestyle, that I would work as I traveled. While still in good health and being able to experience things and absorb languages and try new foods, I decided that I would travel and work simultaneously.
Instead of going to dinner in Seattle every night, I could be working from a cafe in Buenos Aires, enjoying a tango show, speaking Spanish, and having steak and wine for dinner – all while getting my work done that day. I could visit my family – not for a weekend but for 2 weeks – and not skipping a beat.
My goal is to travel the world and learn about other cultures/ places/ foods/ histories/ people/ languages, etc. I’ve been told by others that that means a lot of vacation time and a lot of money.
But on Anywhere Entrepreneur I blog about my journey and how it can be done, how you can live out your dreams – not always the way you expected, but with enough desire and guts, anything is possible.
