Posted by Learn from the past
Live for today
And dream for tomorrow for life without dreams is merely an existence
That is a mantra that I wrote in 1982 while in college and have lived its strategy since that time.
Learn from the past – there are few reasons to make the same mistake twice. There is no reason to make the same mistake twice without first calculating and accepting the risk. Know the history before pushing for results hoping to get different results. Remember the quote miscredited to Einstein1 as “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
When we were first experiencing our world, someone had to be the first one to taste the poisonous berries. Do not be the second one to taste them after you already saw your friend die. For example, why would we push for socialism when countries that have adopted it have not flourished but rather count on others to take the risks and make the investments in advancing mankind. Countries that have embraced socialism – Cuba, Russia, China, and Venezuela – have not achieved their goal of equality with a high standard of living. Why do so many people push for something that has been tried many times but never achieved its objectives? Why is it that people are not risking everything to get into these countries but many risk everything to into the USA and Europe?
If you put your hand in the fire and get burned, would you do it again? If your friend ate a fish and died would you try it yourself? (Think about it, someone had to figure out that you can eat Fugu fish2 if it is cut properly but how many died trying to figure that out, did they try it by choice?)
By knowing history one can learn from the past and do what is necessary to avoid the same mistakes. This history can be as deep as the history of socialism or as short as the history of burning your hand in a hot oven. The principle remains the same – learn from the past and avoid making the same mistake twice.
Live for today – Life is short, nobody knows when the end will come for any one of us. Therefore, enjoy today, live for today, make the most of today. Putting things off until tomorrow opens you up to them never happening or you are never able to enjoy or benefit from them. Some say it is better to have memories than regrets and that it is better to regret what you did do rather than to regret what you did not do. This is not a license to do things that you will regret later but if you have a choice, and it makes you happy do it today because tomorrow never comes.
In our family we have a rule that if something is in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours it is free game for others to eat. Too many times when we get ready to eat the cupcake that was left over from the night before, it is gone as someone else ate it after the 24 hours were up. We then regret not having eaten it earlier. Life is often like the cupcake we must eat now because later it may be gone!
Do not let someone else eat your cupcake, if you weigh the cost/benefits of eating the cupcake and the calculation comes out in favor of eating it, then eat it today!
Many people save all their life for the “trip of a lifetime”, only to get sick or die before making that once in a lifetime trip. Others save all their money to someday own a sports car, only to let the opportunity pass due to some unforeseen circumstances.
In my family we have traveled the globe, and while we may be poor in retirement, we have no regrets about seeing what we could of the world when we were young enough to enjoy it! I have traveled to about 80 countries, and my family about 25 countries. Not to brag but to make a point I can tell you that we have seen the lights of Paris, seen the midnight sun, the Northern Lights, the Southern Cross, the Inca ruins, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, sailed Bora Bora, the Great Barrier Reef, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. But I have not seen the Grand Canyon, or Alaska (despite living in Seattle.) I figure that when I am too old for adventure travel in foreign lands, I can get on a cruise ship and see Alaska or drive my camper through the Grand Canyon.
Dream for tomorrow for life without dreams is merely an existence
Too many people just go through the motions of life. Without a vision they fail to make a difference in the world that will beyond their generation and beyond their time here on earth.
By living your life with a dream, you will have a plan on where you are going. If you do not know where you are going any road will get you there. By having dreams, you have a roadmap, or at least a direction to go and by doing that you are more likely to get where you want to be than those who have no dreams and no plans.
Inspirational educator Lou Tice of the Pacific Institute with their global headquarters in Seattle and operations around the world teaches students that they cannot have two conflicting ideas in their mind at the same time. Therefore, if you picture yourself as a success you will do what is necessary to achieve success. Likewise, if you picture yourself as a failure you will do what is necessary to achieve failure.
I agree with this principle and have applied it to my life since learning of it in the early 1980’s. Therefore, I work have a vision of myself achieving success and it works. I am not along as The Pacific Institute efforts have been taught to thousands of organizations and millions of students. While Lou Tice passed away in 2012 his lessons go on through the Pacific Institute and successful students and prophets including NFL and college coach Pete Carol, Nick Sabin, College football coach, and General Colin Powel.
Do not just have an existence, have a vision of your life that has you achieving success, live a good life, and make a difference. As Macklemore’s song says – “you die twice, once when they bury you in the grave And the second time is the last time that somebody mentions your name.” Think about it, there are about 7 billion people alive today. 100 years from now how many of their names will be remembered? Not many people make an impact beyond their own lifetimes. It is estimated that anywhere from 45 billion to 125 billion people have lived on earth. Despite this many people having lived there is only a handful of people who have ever lived whose name is remembered beyond the next generation.
I am not saying that if we are not remembered long after we die your life was not well lived, I am saying that to get the most out of your life…
Learn from the past
Live for today
And dream for tomorrow
Do not just dream at night, open your mind, open the doors to achieving your dreams and dream during the day, work to build a plan, execute your plan and work to achieve your dreams. This will make you different from others and this will help you make a difference in your life and the lives of others.
