Die With Memories, Not Dreams

Book excerpt: When a painful change enters your life without warning, it throws your entire world into chaos. You're going through life thinking you've got it all figured out, but then something happens that knocks you off course. All of a sudden, you're heading in a direction that you don't want to be going. You reach a critical point in your life where you can continue down this path of suffering and misery and still not change the events of the past, or choose to accept what has happened, stop the pain and make the decision to save yourself. When contemplating this myself, I had a sudden realisation. If I continued down the path of suffering, I would be guaranteed a life of misery. But if I decided to change something, I would at least have a chance of making a better life for myself. It was a hugely liberating feeling because I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I decided to make a change. I had no idea how so I wrote a list of 100 things I wanted to do in a year. My thinking was that if I could achieve half of what was on my list, I'd be in a much different place by the end of the year. And I was right; I had the best year of my life. I completed my first triathlon, went scuba diving for the first time, started a business, and read over 50 self-development books to name a few things. I went to some fantastic places, and I made some great memories but more than all of that I learnt a lot of valuable life lessons along the way. This book includes all those lessons that have helped me turn my life around. We are all in pursuit of something. Some call it success, others happiness or fulfilment. Whatever you are looking for from life is unique to you, and your actions are ultimately an attempt to find this feeling and make it last. Whatever this feeling means to you, the core theme of this book is helping you get there. The book offers a mix of philosophy, science, mindset hacks and practical tools for daily use. Each lesson starts with a quote followed by my attempt to tell a story, provide context, ask a question, or put forward an exercise so you may find a deeper understanding of whatever it is you are looking for. I hope that by the end of the book, you have learnt how to take complete control over your path in life and how to become a stronger, happier, and more confident person in every area of your life that is important to you. The lessons have helped me turn my life around, and I know it can do the same for you.