Do Everything As If You'll Be Remembered For Only That One Thing
I am currently reading and enjoying A User's Manual For The Human Experience by Michael W. Dean. It is an interesting book with some gold nuggets of advice in a variety of areas. One passage in particular made me stop for a moment and reflect on what he wrote. Here is that passage:
"DO EVERYTHING AS IF YOU'LL BE REMEMBERED FOR ONLY THAT ONE THING - I do everything I do with the idea that it might be the one thing I am remembered for, because it just might be. I give the same mindset to working on a year-long book that I spend answering a single respectful e-mail from a stranger. I take this same care with brushing my cat's fur, vacuuming the house (all that cat hair!) or eating my dinner. It's all part of a big equation, the long, beautiful science and math project that is my life, and it's all equally important."
Think about this for a moment. How much more would you accomplish if you lived by this simple rule? Would you stop squandering time and insist that every moment count? Do you really want to be remembered for being a couch potato? I'm not saying that sitting and watching television with a bag of chips is inherently evil, I've done it and will probably do it again. However, it is just a sometimes thing as a way to relax and I choose what I want to watch. (I am also usually doing small tasks that don't need a lot of attention at the same time)
Wouldn't you rather be remembered for positive accomplishments? Wouldn't you like to create something that helps the world? (or at least a small part of it) Don't you want to be remembered for something good? Something great?
We all know that we don't know how long we will be here. Every day we are reminded by the untimely passing of someone. It only makes sense to maximize the time we have. Accomplish more. Love more. Enjoy more. Help more. Treat every moment as special, because it is.
Dan Millman titled one of his books No Ordinary Moments, and that is exactly what Michael Dean referred to as he said it is all part of his life. We must treat each moment as special and ensure that everything we do is done as if we'll be remembered for that one thing, because we just might.
"DO EVERYTHING AS IF YOU'LL BE REMEMBERED FOR ONLY THAT ONE THING - I do everything I do with the idea that it might be the one thing I am remembered for, because it just might be. I give the same mindset to working on a year-long book that I spend answering a single respectful e-mail from a stranger. I take this same care with brushing my cat's fur, vacuuming the house (all that cat hair!) or eating my dinner. It's all part of a big equation, the long, beautiful science and math project that is my life, and it's all equally important."
Think about this for a moment. How much more would you accomplish if you lived by this simple rule? Would you stop squandering time and insist that every moment count? Do you really want to be remembered for being a couch potato? I'm not saying that sitting and watching television with a bag of chips is inherently evil, I've done it and will probably do it again. However, it is just a sometimes thing as a way to relax and I choose what I want to watch. (I am also usually doing small tasks that don't need a lot of attention at the same time)
Wouldn't you rather be remembered for positive accomplishments? Wouldn't you like to create something that helps the world? (or at least a small part of it) Don't you want to be remembered for something good? Something great?
We all know that we don't know how long we will be here. Every day we are reminded by the untimely passing of someone. It only makes sense to maximize the time we have. Accomplish more. Love more. Enjoy more. Help more. Treat every moment as special, because it is.
Dan Millman titled one of his books No Ordinary Moments, and that is exactly what Michael Dean referred to as he said it is all part of his life. We must treat each moment as special and ensure that everything we do is done as if we'll be remembered for that one thing, because we just might.
posted by Alain @ 9:21 AM
3 Comments:
At 11:09 AM,
ThornDaddy said…
I like that you picked that part about being remembered for one thing. What's your YouTube page? I'll let you see the video I made about it (privated for now, will be released in two weeks when I release it as a response to Alan's Emo video hitting one million views.)
Have you read Zen Guitar by Phil Sudo? Excellent book. Written by a martial artist / musician I admire. He influenced me a lot.
Here's an interview I did with him at his home in New York City, three weeks before he passed away from cancer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XeE2fE9bQM
Michael W. Dean
At 8:50 AM,
Marcy said…
Hello,
I'm often confused by contradictory messages. For example I'm told, "take care of yourself. Don't push yourself too hard. Listen to your body," and then I read, "when the leg muscles give under the strain...it is then that you must not hesitate." Or, another bit of advice from some self-help gurus is "when you are following the correct course, things will seem to happen effortlessly," while on the other hand you quote, ...the climb seems endless and suddenly nothing will go quite as you wish-it is then that you must not hesitate." What do you think of the opposing point of view? I feel silly getting caught up in these internal debates, but, nonetheless, it affects my performance, and makes me wonder if I'm on the right track, going in circles, or working myself into the ground. Thanks for the blog. I'm enjoying reading it.
At 1:11 PM,
Alain said…
Hi Marcy,
It does get confusing sometimes when there is opposing and contradicting advice on just about everything. A standby answer, that is not really a cop-out because it is so true, is "It Depends."
In self-defense seminars I'm often asked what the best response to "X" is. The answer is always, "It Depends." In fact, on a Self-Defense/Martial Art/Other Stuff list I am on, "It Depends" is a kind of motto.
When studying anything, success, performance, and productivity included, you will find contradictory statements. That does not necessarily mean one is wrong and the other is right, but they can be wrong or right for certain situations or times in a person's life. So "It Depends." You do need to take care of yourself. But at times you need to stretch yourself and go a bit farther than you believed you could. You don’t want to go beyond your limits to the point it has negative consequences, but if you never push past some pain, you may never reach your full potential.
Your other example is similar. Sometimes, when you are absorbed with your passion, things come easy and time flies past. Other times, you are working so hard at trying to fulfill your dreams and it seems all for naught, but then by pushing a little more a breakthrough happens. Sort of like the overnight success that was actually slaving at it for 20 years before the big break made the achievement seem overnight, but in reality would have never happened without the 20 years of hard work and the persistence to never give up.
I really think the various advice from different "gurus" depends on the stage, time, and place of a person's journey as to how relevant it will be. We must implement the lessons that will help us at our current place along the path, and realize that different, even opposing lessons, may be appropriate at different stages. When you come to a river along the trail, a boat is mighty handy to assist you, but that same boat does you no good if you come to a cliff you mist climb to continue along your way.
I hope this make some sense and helps you think about the lessons you read and listen to and clears some of the confusion.
Remember – Take Action and Make Things Happen!
Alain
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