Live Your Life With The End In Mind (Part Two)

by Hero Jenkins
Here’s a third rule (and the last rule I will give you): Live your life with the end in mind.
If you asked someone to write their own eulogy what they typically write down is their intentions, not their accomplishments.

A typical mother’s eulogy for herself would go something like this:Here lies __________. She always did what she thought was best for her family because she loved them so much and all she ever wanted was for them to have the best and grow up to be happy and good people.
A typical father’s eulogy would be:Here lies ______. He worked hard, maybe sometimes too much, but all he ever wanted was to provide for his family and make sure they had all that they ever needed to survive.
You see, each side had different priorities and what one side thought was important was not quite as high on the other’s list.
I used this exercise many times with friends or family who found themselves doubting what they were doing with their lives. I told them to sit down and write their own eulogy. Try it. And if you are really bold get one of your parents or your best friend to write it for you. I know it sounds morbid and perhaps it is, but it works. And if you are honest and look at that eulogy and don’t like what you see then make some changes . . . now!
We all get a kick out of watching Ebenezer Scrooge look back on his unfulfilling life of greed during Christmas, but what if the tables were turned? What if your funeral was today? What would it look like?How many people do you think would attend? Who will get up and speak about your time on this earth? What will they say?
"Here lies . . .He was my dad, she was my mom. He was my husband, brother, grandpa. She was my wife, my cousin, my friend."

Now it’s time to write the rest - not with your pen, but with your actions and your deeds... for the rest of your life!#af-form-384748288 .af-body .af-textWrap{width:98%;display:block;float:none;} #af-form-384748288 .af-body .privacyPolicy{color:#2C4F7F;font-size:11px;font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;} #af-form-384748288 .af-body a{color:#2C4E7F;text-decoration:underline;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;} #af-form-384748288 .af-body input.text, #af-form-384748288 .af-body textarea{background-color:#FFFFFF;border-color:#2C4E7F;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;} #af-form-384748288 .af-body input.text:focus, #af-form-384748288 .af-body textarea:focus{background-color:#FFFAD6;border-color:#030303;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;} #af-form-384748288 .af-body label.previewLabel{display:block;float:none;text-align:left;width:auto;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;} #af-form-384748288 .af-body{padding-bottom:15px;padding-top:15px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:inherit;background-image:none;color:#2C4F7F;font-size:11px;font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;} #af-form-384748288 .af-footer{padding-bottom:15px;padding-top:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-left:15px;background-color:#2C4E7F;background-repeat:repeat-x;background-position:top;background-image:url("http://forms.aweber.com/images/forms/..., sans-serif;} #af-form-384748288 .af-header{padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:10px;padding-left:10px;background-color:#2C4E7F;background-repeat:repeat-x;background-position:bottom;background-image:url("http://forms.aweber.com/images/forms/..., sans-serif;} #af-form-384748288 .af-quirksMode .bodyText{padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;} #af-form-384748288 .af-quirksMode{padding-right:15px;padding-left:15px;} #af-form-384748288 .af-standards .af-element{padding-right:15px;padding-left:15px;} #af-form-384748288 .bodyText p{margin:1em 0;} #af-form-384748288 .buttonContainer input.submit{background-color:#2c4e7f;background-image:url("http://forms.aweber.com/images/forms/..., sans-serif;} #af-form-384748288 .buttonContainer input.submit{width:auto;} #af-form-384748288 .buttonContainer{text-align:right;} #af-form-384748288 body,#af-form-384748288 dl,#af-form-384748288 dt,#af-form-384748288 dd,#af-form-384748288 h1,#af-form-384748288 h2,#af-form-384748288 h3,#af-form-384748288 h4,#af-form-384748288 h5,#af-form-384748288 h6,#af-form-384748288 pre,#af-form-384748288 code,#af-form-384748288 fieldset,#af-form-384748288 legend,#af-form-384748288 blockquote,#af-form-384748288 th,#af-form-384748288 td{float:none;color:inherit;position:static;margin:0;padding:0;} #af-form-384748288 button,#af-form-384748288 input,#af-form-384748288 submit,#af-form-384748288 textarea,#af-form-384748288 select,#af-form-384748288 label,#af-form-384748288 optgroup,#af-form-384748288 option{float:none;position:static;margin:0;} #af-form-384748288 div{margin:0;} #af-form-384748288 fieldset{border:0;} #af-form-384748288 form,#af-form-384748288 textarea,.af-form-wrapper,.af-form-close-button,#af-form-384748288 img{float:none;color:inherit;position:static;background-color:none;border:none;margin:0;padding:0;} #af-form-384748288 input,#af-form-384748288 button,#af-form-384748288 textarea,#af-form-384748288 select{font-size:100%;} #af-form-384748288 p{color:inherit;} #af-form-384748288 select,#af-form-384748288 label,#af-form-384748288 optgroup,#af-form-384748288 option{padding:0;} #af-form-384748288 table{border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;} #af-form-384748288 ul,#af-form-384748288 ol{list-style-image:none;list-style-position:outside;list-style-type:disc;padding-left:40px;} #af-form-384748288,#af-form-384748288 .quirksMode{width:418px;} #af-form-384748288.af-quirksMode{overflow-x:hidden;} #af-form-384748288{background-color:#F0F0F0;border-color:#EEEEEE;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;} #af-form-384748288{display:block;} #af-form-384748288{overflow:hidden;} .af-body .af-textWrap{text-align:left;} .af-body input.image{border:none!important;} .af-body input.submit,.af-body input.image,.af-form .af-element input.button{float:none!important;} .af-body input.text{width:100%;float:none;padding:2px!important;} .af-body.af-standards input.submit{padding:4px 12px;} .af-clear{clear:both;} .af-element label{text-align:left;display:block;float:left;} .af-element{padding:5px 0;} .af-form-wrapper{text-indent:0;} .af-form{text-align:left;margin:auto;} .af-header,.af-footer{margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding:10px;} .af-quirksMode .af-element{padding-left:0!important;padding-right:0!important;} .lbl-right .af-element label{text-align:right;} body { }
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