A close look at DEATH from the eyes of a Billionaire

Mukesh Choraria (Professional Motivator) (853 Points)

06 February 2011  

 

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it 

was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, 

and since then, for the past 33 years, I've looked in the mirror every morning and 

asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am 

about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a 

row, I know I need to change something. 

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered 

to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything all external 

expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure these things just fall away 

in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are 

going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something 

to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. www.lifeofexcellence.com

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, 

and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas 

was.  The  doctors  told me  this was  almost  certainly  a  type  of  cancer  that  is  incurable, 

and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised 

me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for "prepare to die." 

It means to try and tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 

years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned 

up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. 

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck 

an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach into my intestines, put a needle 

into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who 

was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors 

started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is 

curable with surgery. I had the surgery and, thankfully, I'm fine now. 

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few 

more decades. Having lived through it, I  can now say this to  you with a bit more 

certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants 

to die. 

Even people who want  to  go  to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death 

is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, 

because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It's Life's change agent. 

It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday 

not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry 

to be so dramatic, but it's quite true. 

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by 

dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise 

of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. 

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They 

somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.