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The Choices You Make

Posted By: Randy GageOctober 30, 2011

Can I let you in on a little secret?  At some point, the switch is going to flip, and you’re going to be dead.  Sorry.  Not trying to be negative, just remind you of the obvious. 

And when that moment comes, your in-box is still going to have messages in it.  And there still will be stacks of papers on your desk, and more projects to do at work.

But there will be no more time to hug your kids, play with a puppy, skinny-dip in the ocean, right a wrong, call Grandma, do something epic, plant a tree, watch a sunset, marvel at the stars, sing bad Karaoke, pose for a funny photo, make love in the moonlight, adopt an orphan, pray for peace, or tell someone you love them.

Choose wisely.

-RG

26 comments on “The Choices You Make”

  1. This is why I tell myself everyday that life is a precious gift. Fortunately, I have had chronic illness, which forced me to look at life differently. There is a great gift in losing your health, if you are fortunate enough to get it back - you never look at life the same again. Goes for anyone who has faced death head on like yourself surviving a gunshot wound. Unfortunately, until you face a life altering crisis, you'll probably forget how precious life is and think you'll just live forever.

  2. How timely! I just finished reading, through a waterfall of tears, Steve Jobs' sister's eulogy. She said

    None of us knows for certain how long we’ll be here. On Steve’s better days, even in the last year, he embarked upon projects and elicited promises from his friends at Apple to finish them. Some boat builders in the Netherlands have a gorgeous stainless steel hull ready to be covered with the finishing wood. His three daughters remain unmarried, his two youngest still girls, and he’d wanted to walk them down the aisle as he’d walked me the day of my wedding.

    We all — in the end — die in medias res. In the middle of a story. Of many stories.

    It so mirrors what you just said. In the middle of our hustle and bustle, no matter how OCD or detailed oriented we are, we live stories unfinished. Yet, our loved ones will pick up and go on to finish them without us.
    I would like to think that I am raising my children in such a manner, that when I AM gone (be it tomorrow or in 60 years), my legacy to them is the character I've taught to them, the qualities I've poured into them. That they go on to be beautiful people and pass their light on to their children as well.

  3. Great post.Unfortunately we appreciate the little things who brings joy in our life when we can t do them.Thank you for the lesson.Have a great day!

  4. Within the last 3 years I was knocked down by a car, flung up in the air and landed hard on my side and had only a large bruise to show for it, lost control of my car on black ice in freezing conditions and my car slid down a slope and turned on its side and I could have been killed if another car /truck had lost control too and slammed into me but luckily the road was deserted and I was able to kick a window open and escape with a small scartch on my elbow, was wrongly diagnosed with coronary artery disease but luckily went for a 2 nd opinion and ot the all clear, was diagnosed with a condition that could have messed me up completely but luckily was picked up in time and now am completely cured. I do not worry much now that I do not have much money or that colleagues have moved so far ahead that I may need another 25 years to catch up financially, but instead celebrate the fact that I have a loving wife and 3 happy children and my health and enjoy each day as it comes. Life is indeed precious and its only when we are on the track and the locomotive stops just inches from us that we realise the importance of time..that we take for granted.

  5. Fantastic reminder Randy. Thank you.
    It seems Autumn has been so busy for a lot of folks almost like a whirlwind. Thanks for reminding us to get off that merry-go-round and use our time on what is really important.

  6. I am in Bali now RG. We left New Jersey 6 months ago. Spent 2 weeks in Bali in May. 1 month in Phuket. 2 months in Cambodia, travelling all around that beautiful country. 2 more months in Phuket, and now in Bali for 2 months. We chose to do it. Simple.

    Before this trip, I never stepped foot on a plane. I never left the country. The moral of the story? Seize each moment and do things you couldn't even dream yourself doing, by changing your choices each moment. Embrace the richness of it. Do all the things that make your heart sing, get the most out of each moment.

    My girlfriend and I have been on an amazing journey because we seize Now, and know choices made Now mold our destiny.

    RB

  7. I used to have a bad habit of taking on the urgency of each new request and prioritizing the assignment, task or "emergency" over these fleeting things - family, love, peace, quiet, sharing, connection, rest, and the "life" of life.

    I still stumble, but with all the little things I've missed over the years, I try now to be better at putting the love first, the work second - and finding more "work" that is almost indistinguishable from "love" so I can pull more double duty! 🙂

    Thank you, Randy, for the reminder.

  8. thats easy for u to say!! LOL!! Im going for wealth and if I miss a few hugs and upset grandma on the way so be it!!!

  9. Last night I completed Chapter 3 of my upcoming book entitled "where do we go from here", the gist of which is making time for what matters.
    Thankyou so much for always keeping us mindful.

  10. Hi Randy
    Very thought-provoking post. As I dive deeper into my personal development work, I am gaining a greater awareness of the choices I make in every moment and am learning what is truly important in life. Unfortunately, like many people, the message did not really, truly hit home until something bad happened to me, but I choose to view that experience as a necessary event in the course of my life to get me on purpose and make obtaining happiness a top priority.

  11. Thanks Randy, Love it!

    'Tell me not in mournful numbers
    Life is but an emply dream!
    For the soul is dead that slumbers
    And things are not what they seem

    Life is real: Life is earnest:
    And the gravel is not its goal
    Dust thou art, to dust thou returnest,
    Was not spoken of the soul!

    From A Psalm of Life - Longfellow

  12. That's why now I do things that I love! I do things that are fun. I no longer hold back for my passion or consider all those limiting conditions. I just do it, enjoy the process.

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  • 26 comments on “The Choices You Make”

    1. This is why I tell myself everyday that life is a precious gift. Fortunately, I have had chronic illness, which forced me to look at life differently. There is a great gift in losing your health, if you are fortunate enough to get it back - you never look at life the same again. Goes for anyone who has faced death head on like yourself surviving a gunshot wound. Unfortunately, until you face a life altering crisis, you'll probably forget how precious life is and think you'll just live forever.

    2. How timely! I just finished reading, through a waterfall of tears, Steve Jobs' sister's eulogy. She said

      None of us knows for certain how long we’ll be here. On Steve’s better days, even in the last year, he embarked upon projects and elicited promises from his friends at Apple to finish them. Some boat builders in the Netherlands have a gorgeous stainless steel hull ready to be covered with the finishing wood. His three daughters remain unmarried, his two youngest still girls, and he’d wanted to walk them down the aisle as he’d walked me the day of my wedding.

      We all — in the end — die in medias res. In the middle of a story. Of many stories.

      It so mirrors what you just said. In the middle of our hustle and bustle, no matter how OCD or detailed oriented we are, we live stories unfinished. Yet, our loved ones will pick up and go on to finish them without us.
      I would like to think that I am raising my children in such a manner, that when I AM gone (be it tomorrow or in 60 years), my legacy to them is the character I've taught to them, the qualities I've poured into them. That they go on to be beautiful people and pass their light on to their children as well.

    3. Great post.Unfortunately we appreciate the little things who brings joy in our life when we can t do them.Thank you for the lesson.Have a great day!

    4. Within the last 3 years I was knocked down by a car, flung up in the air and landed hard on my side and had only a large bruise to show for it, lost control of my car on black ice in freezing conditions and my car slid down a slope and turned on its side and I could have been killed if another car /truck had lost control too and slammed into me but luckily the road was deserted and I was able to kick a window open and escape with a small scartch on my elbow, was wrongly diagnosed with coronary artery disease but luckily went for a 2 nd opinion and ot the all clear, was diagnosed with a condition that could have messed me up completely but luckily was picked up in time and now am completely cured. I do not worry much now that I do not have much money or that colleagues have moved so far ahead that I may need another 25 years to catch up financially, but instead celebrate the fact that I have a loving wife and 3 happy children and my health and enjoy each day as it comes. Life is indeed precious and its only when we are on the track and the locomotive stops just inches from us that we realise the importance of time..that we take for granted.

    5. Fantastic reminder Randy. Thank you.
      It seems Autumn has been so busy for a lot of folks almost like a whirlwind. Thanks for reminding us to get off that merry-go-round and use our time on what is really important.

    6. I am in Bali now RG. We left New Jersey 6 months ago. Spent 2 weeks in Bali in May. 1 month in Phuket. 2 months in Cambodia, travelling all around that beautiful country. 2 more months in Phuket, and now in Bali for 2 months. We chose to do it. Simple.

      Before this trip, I never stepped foot on a plane. I never left the country. The moral of the story? Seize each moment and do things you couldn't even dream yourself doing, by changing your choices each moment. Embrace the richness of it. Do all the things that make your heart sing, get the most out of each moment.

      My girlfriend and I have been on an amazing journey because we seize Now, and know choices made Now mold our destiny.

      RB

    7. I used to have a bad habit of taking on the urgency of each new request and prioritizing the assignment, task or "emergency" over these fleeting things - family, love, peace, quiet, sharing, connection, rest, and the "life" of life.

      I still stumble, but with all the little things I've missed over the years, I try now to be better at putting the love first, the work second - and finding more "work" that is almost indistinguishable from "love" so I can pull more double duty! 🙂

      Thank you, Randy, for the reminder.

    8. thats easy for u to say!! LOL!! Im going for wealth and if I miss a few hugs and upset grandma on the way so be it!!!

    9. Last night I completed Chapter 3 of my upcoming book entitled "where do we go from here", the gist of which is making time for what matters.
      Thankyou so much for always keeping us mindful.

    10. Hi Randy
      Very thought-provoking post. As I dive deeper into my personal development work, I am gaining a greater awareness of the choices I make in every moment and am learning what is truly important in life. Unfortunately, like many people, the message did not really, truly hit home until something bad happened to me, but I choose to view that experience as a necessary event in the course of my life to get me on purpose and make obtaining happiness a top priority.

    11. Thanks Randy, Love it!

      'Tell me not in mournful numbers
      Life is but an emply dream!
      For the soul is dead that slumbers
      And things are not what they seem

      Life is real: Life is earnest:
      And the gravel is not its goal
      Dust thou art, to dust thou returnest,
      Was not spoken of the soul!

      From A Psalm of Life - Longfellow

    12. That's why now I do things that I love! I do things that are fun. I no longer hold back for my passion or consider all those limiting conditions. I just do it, enjoy the process.

    Leave a Reply to kelli cooper Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


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