{"id":50,"date":"2017-10-19T02:59:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T02:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.speakersinstitute.com\/death-changed-my-life\/"},"modified":"2017-10-19T02:59:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T02:59:27","slug":"death-changed-my-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.speakersinstitute.com\/online\/death-changed-my-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How My Death Changed Everything in My Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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exc-59f07e5585c5bd3a26a32a05<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few years ago, I was in a car accident. My car smashed into a semi-trailer truck in a 205 km-per-hour head-on collision .As I lay dying on the side of the road, my life flashed before my eyes.<\/p>\n

It was like an old video tape on fast-forward. Glimpses of my childhood played in grainy black and white. Snippets of important (and not so important) moments popped into my head and then quickly faded away.<\/p>\n

I was intensely aware of my entire life up to that point. I saw how one thing led to another. I saw how connected everything in my life was. I saw the chain of cause-and-effect.<\/p>\n

Then my heart stopped.<\/p>\n

The paramedics pronounced me dead and called the coroner. At that moment, I was alone \u2013 even though there was a crowd around me willing me to survive.<\/p>\n

The videotape in my mind froze\u2026 and three questions came into clear focus:<\/p>\n

Was I PASSIONATE?<\/p>\n

Was I PRODUCTIVE?<\/p>\n

Was I MAKING A DIFFERENCE?<\/p>\n

I felt compelled to answer these questions. My bruised and bleeding brain tossed them over and over. It struggled desperately clawing for an answer before it was too late.<\/p>\n

Was I PASSIONATE about life, about business, about my family, my job and work colleagues, and about the things I said mattered to me?<\/p>\n

Was I PRODUCTIVE in my life, toward my family, my parents, my team, my dreams, my social community and to others less fortunate than I was?<\/p>\n

Was I MAKING A DIFFERENCE to my family and friends, to my neighbourhood, to the wider community, and to humanity?<\/p>\n

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The answer to these questions was not what I hoped.<\/p>\n

You see, before the accident, I was always rushing from place to place. I enjoyed my life, but I knew I was failing in one important area.<\/p>\n

I remembered a night a few months earlier when I arrived home late, again. \u00a0I had been away most of the week. I had come home because a client was waiting for me in my home studio.<\/p>\n

As I rushed in the door, my daughter ran up to me and squealed, \u2018Daddy, Daddy, you are home!\u2019 I just brushed her off and walked straight into the study to talk to my client. It still upsets me to think about how I dismissed her like that.<\/p>\n

I did not realise it at the time, but I was coming face to face with my WHY.<\/p>\n

It was at that moment, the paramedics began to resuscitate me. My heart started to pump blood again. My organs started to function.<\/p>\n

As I came back to life, I realised I was not interested in scaling the corporate ladder, or buying a bigger house anymore.<\/p>\n

The most important thing in my life was my family.<\/p>\n

I wanted a life of meaning and experiences that put my family at the heart of my life, not the periphery. I wanted to spend my second life being passionate, caring and making a difference to others.<\/p>\n

My death experience was a game changer for me to realign the focus of my life into meaning and purpose.<\/p>\n

We all do not need to have a death experience to realise what is important and what really matters.<\/p>\n

These 3 questions \u2013 Am I PASSIONATE? Am I PRODUCTIVE? Am I MAKING A DIFFERENCE? \u2013 is a reminder to all of us about whether we are in our purpose and destiny, or if we are not.<\/p>\n

What is the most important thing in YOUR life? Do the words and actions you do everyday truly reflect this? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.<\/p>\n

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