"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln
How do you want to be remembered after you die? Is your life filled with goals and dreams but not the actions required to reach them? Or is it a tale of achievements and glory but not the time required to enjoy them? You only have one life, so be wise in how you choose to live it.
Every person is a unique story. When faced with decisions, ask yourself which direction will make you happiest in ten years when the full picture has come into focus. Live as if today is the final chapter in your biography.
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward."
Soren Kierkegaard
All decisions can be made better in hindsight. But time only ticks forward and mistakes in the past cannot be undone. Of what benefit is it to agonize over the missteps in your life? You cannot change the past. You cannot see the future. You can only change what is happening in the now.
You will make mistakes that you think can never be undone. It may seem easier to give up instead of trudging on through the storms of life, but it is only because your eyes cannot see beyond the murky horizon. When stranded in a desert, you cannot fall to your knees — you must stand and walk, and keep going until your very last breath. Though you cannot see over the hill ahead, it hides an ocean beyond its peak.
"It is a wise man who lives with money in the bank, it is a fool who dies that way."
French Proverb
The value of money does not end at a life's conclusion. Generosity gives a person eternal life in the memories of those they provided comfort. Is it better to die with a net worth of billions but few remaining friends, or to change the lives of thousands who will miss you when you're gone?
Death is the great reset. The richest and the poorest both pass through its door — carrying nothing ahead, leaving everything behind. Wealth means nothing to the bones that used to own it. At life's end, only memories remain.
When you have much, give generously to those who do not. A million means little to those with billions; a penny means a lot to those who have none.