We like numbers… especially when they work for us. Numbers allow us to plan. For example, by applying the “Rule of 72”, we know that if we are getting a 4% return on our money… it will take 18 years for our portfolio to double. Gee… that means at 9%, it will only take 8 years to double. Yes, I like that better.
Of course, at -3% it will take… yikes, sometimes we hate numbers!
But mostly… we like numbers. Numbers ground us… we can count on them. They allow us to evaluate where we are… in light of where we’ve been… and where we’re going. So, while our eyesight may not be 20/20… our hindsight had better be!
Here’s another one… we’ve all heard of the 20/80 rule, which states that 20% of anything is responsible for 80% of everything else. But are you familar with the 20/10 test?
Popularized by Jim Collins, here’s what it asks… if tomorrow morning you found out you inherited 20 MILLION DOLLARS, but also learned you had less than 10 years to live… what would you do differently next week… than you did last week?
I used to say I wouldn’t change a thing. But thankfully, with age… my hindsight is becoming 20/20.
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Nadine Stair was 85 years old when she was asked how she would live… if… she could do it all over again.
Among other things, she said “I’d make more mistakes next time. I’d relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been on this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I’d have fewer imaginary ones.
“You see, I’m one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I’ve had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I’d have more of them. In fact, I’d try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I’ve been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, and a raincoat. If I had to do it over again, I would travel lighter than I have.
“If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds, and pick more daisies.”
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I got a call from my sister tonight… she told me of a friend who was really living life right now. “When did she start living..?” I wondered.
The answer was one I have heard so often.
“Well, about six years ago she was diagnosed with a potentially life-altering medical situation. She beat the disease… and determined to never sit on the side-lines again (my paraphrase).”
“In fact, she had always been… so reserved… so… proper. Now, she’s taking the initiative… she remarried at sixty, is traveling and enjoyig life more than ever. She’s a completely different person… it’s changed everything.”
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There is no better time to do the things we’ve always wanted… to be sure, there is no guarantee that there will be ANY other time. So, the only questions become:
What are we waiting for?
And… why?
I look forward to hearing from you.
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