0:02 I'm 73 years old [music] and I'm about
0:04 to tell you something that might upset
0:06 you. Everything you think you know about
0:08 getting older is completely wrong.
0:10 [music] And the worst part, the people
0:12 who should be telling you this, your
0:15 parents, your teachers, uh, society,
0:17 they're either lying to you or they
0:19 don't know themselves. [music] You see,
0:21 I spent the first 50 years of my life
0:24 believing the same lies you probably
0:26 believe right now. I thought I [music]
0:28 had it all figured out. I had the
0:31 career, the house, the respect [music]
0:34 of my peers. But at 52, something
0:36 happened that shattered everything I
0:39 thought I knew. And what I discovered in
0:42 the 21 years since then has completely
0:45 changed how I see life, death, and
0:48 everything in between. But before I tell
0:49 you what happened, I need you to
0:52 understand something. The reason I'm
0:53 making this video isn't to impress
0:56 [music] you or to make myself feel wise.
0:58 I'm making this because I'm running out
1:00 of time [music] and there are things you
1:03 need to hear before it's too late. Not
1:06 for me, [music] for you. At 52, I had
1:09 what doctors call a cardiac event.
1:12 [music] Um, that's a fancy way of saying
1:15 my heart tried to kill me. Um, I was in
1:18 a meeting discussing quarterly
1:19 projections [music]
1:23 when suddenly the room started spinning.
1:24 The next thing I remember is waking up
1:26 in a hospital bed with tubes coming out
1:29 of my arms [music] and my wife crying in
1:32 the corner. The doctor said I was lucky.
1:35 Lucky. I had just come face to face with
1:37 my own mortality. [music]
1:39 And they called it luck. But you know
1:42 what? They were right. Because lying in
1:44 that hospital [music] bed with nothing
1:47 to do but think, I realized something
1:50 terrifying. I had been living my entire
1:52 life on autopilot.
1:54 I wasn't really alive. I was just going
1:56 through the motions, [music] checking
1:59 boxes, trying to meet everyone else's
2:01 expectations. [music] And here's the
2:04 part that haunts me to this day. If I
2:07 had died that day, if my heart had
2:09 stopped permanently,
2:11 what would I have left behind? [music] A
2:14 nice house, a retirement account, a
2:16 collection of achievements that nobody
2:18 would remember in 5 years. Let me tell
2:20 you the biggest lie you're probably
2:22 telling yourself right now. [music]
2:26 I have time. I'll do that later. When
2:29 I'm older, I'll finally live the life I
2:32 want. I see young people in their 20s, 30s,
2:34 30s,
2:36 even 40s, [music] and they're all saying
2:39 the same thing. When I make more money,
2:41 then I'll be happy. When I get that
2:44 promotion, [music] then I'll relax. When
2:46 the kids are grown, then I'll travel.
2:48 When I retire, then I'll finally do what
2:52 I love. Let me save you 50 years of
2:55 regret with one simple truth. That day
2:57 never comes. You [music] know why? Cuz
3:00 the goalposts keep moving. You get the
3:02 promotion and suddenly you need the next
3:05 one. You make [music] more money and
3:07 suddenly you need more money. You're
3:09 always chasing [music] something just
3:12 out of reach. And before you know it,
3:14 you're 70 years old wondering where your
3:17 life went. I did this. I spent 30 years
3:20 climbing a ladder only to realize when I
3:21 got to the top that it was leaning
3:23 against the wrong wall. [music] And you
3:25 can't climb back down and start over.
3:28 Time doesn't work that way. Here's
3:29 something nobody tells you when you're
3:34 young. Success is a terrible goal. And I
3:36 say this as someone who achieved [music]
3:39 everything I set out to achieve. I made
3:41 partner at my firm. [music] I bought the
3:44 house. I had the respect of my
3:47 colleagues and you know what? None of it
3:50 mattered. You achieve your goal and for
3:54 about 48 hours you feel amazing. Then
3:56 the feeling fades. You're back to
3:59 baseline. Now you need a new goal, a
4:02 bigger achievement, more validation.
4:04 It's a hamster [music] wheel. I had a
4:07 friend who died 3 years ago at 68.
4:11 Worked 70our weeks his entire life.
4:13 built a multi-million dollar business,
4:16 never took a real vacation, [music] kept
4:19 saying he'd slow down next year. Next
4:22 year came and he had a stroke. At his
4:25 funeral, his son said, "My father was a
4:28 successful man, but I barely knew him."
4:30 Is that the legacy you want? [music]
4:32 Your regrets won't be about the things
4:34 you did wrong. They'll be about the
4:36 things you didn't do at all. I don't lie
4:38 awake at night thinking about failed
4:40 business [music] deals. Those don't
4:43 matter. You know what keeps me up? The
4:45 trip to Japan I never took because I was
4:47 too busy. The relationship with my
4:50 brother that I let deteriorate. The book
4:52 I always wanted to write but never
4:54 started. [music] The time I didn't spend
4:57 with my kids because I was working late.
5:00 These things eat at [music] you. The
5:02 missed opportunities. The roads not
5:05 taken. The love you didn't express. The
5:07 risks [music] you didn't take because
5:10 you were afraid. The people you love,
5:13 your parents, [music] your siblings,
5:15 your close friends, you think you have
5:18 unlimited time with them. You don't. And
5:21 one day that time will run out. My
5:25 father died when I was 45. We had a
5:27 complicated relationship and I was
5:30 always too busy to really work on it. I
5:32 kept thinking we'd have time to talk
5:35 when I was less busy. We never got that
5:38 chance. Heart attack gone within hours.
5:41 And you know my biggest regret? All the
5:43 Sundays I didn't call him. All the times
5:45 I was too tired to drive over for
5:48 dinner. All the little moments I let
5:49 slip away. [music]
5:52 There won't always be more. After my
5:55 heart attack, I made big changes.
5:57 Stepped back from work. Started saying
6:00 no to things that didn't matter. Started
6:02 saying yes to things I had put off for
6:05 decades. [music] In these last 21 years,
6:08 I've learned more about life than I did
6:11 in the previous [music] 52. What matters
6:14 is embarrassingly simple. Time with
6:16 people you love. Work that feels
6:19 meaningful to you. [music] Experiencing
6:22 things, not owning things, creating
6:25 memories, being present. I know it
6:28 sounds simple. When I was your age, I
6:31 would have rolled my eyes. Sure, but I
6:33 have bills to pay. And yes, [music] you
6:36 do. I'm not saying quit your job. I'm
6:39 saying don't sacrifice what matters for
6:41 what [music] doesn't. Here's a question
6:43 I want you to ask yourself, and I want
6:46 you to answer it honestly. If you died
6:49 tomorrow, would you be satisfied with
6:52 the life you've lived so far? Not would
6:54 people be impressed by your eulogy, not
6:56 did you achieve enough, [music] just
6:59 would you be satisfied? If the answer is
7:02 no, then what are you waiting for? What
7:04 are you doing with your time that's
7:06 [music] so important that you're willing
7:10 to gamble your one precious life on it?
7:13 I'm 73 years old. [music] I've been
7:14 lucky enough to have good health since
7:17 that heart attack. But every morning
7:19 when I wake up, I'm aware that I'm on
7:23 borrowed time. We all are really. But
7:26 most young people don't realize this.
7:28 They think they're invincible. They
7:31 think they have forever. You don't. I
7:32 have grandchildren, [music]
7:35 three of them, and when I look at them,
7:37 I see the same patterns I see in most
7:39 young people [music] today. They're
7:42 stressed, they're anxious, they're
7:44 chasing things that won't make them
7:46 happy. They're making the same mistakes
7:49 I made. And I [music] try to tell them,
7:52 I try to share what I've learned, but
7:55 you know what? They don't really listen.
7:57 Not because they're bad kids, but
8:00 because they can't. They're living in a
8:02 storm right now. They can't see the
8:05 patterns yet. They think their situation
8:08 is unique. [music] That the old rules
8:10 don't apply to them. That's why I'm
8:11 making this video. [music]
8:14 Because maybe, just maybe, if enough
8:17 people hear this message, someone will
8:19 actually listen. [music] Someone will
8:22 make different choices. Someone will
8:24 avoid the regrets that haunt people like
8:29 me. every single day. You're getting
8:32 closer to death. Nobody likes to think
8:36 about this. But you don't have unlimited [music]
8:36 [music]
8:41 time. Neither do the people you love.
8:43 Your parents, if they're still alive,
8:45 they're getting older every day. [music]
8:48 One day, probably sooner than you think,
8:51 they won't be here. Your friends, your
8:53 spouse, your children, none of these
8:55 relationships last forever. >> [music]
8:55 >> [music]
8:57 >> So, what are you going to do? Keep
8:58 putting off that phone call? Keep
9:01 postponing that trip? Keep telling
9:04 yourself you'll make time later? Or are
9:06 you going to wake up today and start
9:08 living like your time is limited?
9:11 Because it is. If I could go back and
9:14 talk to my 30-year-old self, here's what
9:16 I would say. Stop trying to impress
9:18 people who don't matter. Stop
9:21 sacrificing your health for your career.
9:23 Stop putting [music] off joy until
9:26 someday. Stop waiting for permission to
9:28 live the life [music] you want. Start
9:31 calling your parents more often. Start
9:33 taking the trips you dream about.
9:35 [music] Start doing the things that
9:37 scare you. Start saying no to
9:40 obligations [music] that drain you.
9:42 Start saying yes to experiences that
9:44 fulfill you. And most importantly,
9:48 [music] start now. Not next year. Not
9:51 after this project. Not when you have
9:53 more money or more time or more
9:56 whatever. now because I promise you the
9:58 perfect time will never come. [music]
10:00 Life will always be messy and
10:03 complicated and full of reasons to wait.
10:06 But if you wait, you'll wake up one day
10:08 and realize you waited your entire life
10:13 away. I'm 73. If I'm lucky, maybe 10 or
10:16 15 more years. Maybe 20 [music] if
10:20 blessed. Probably less. And I'm okay
10:22 with that because these [music] last 21
10:25 years have been the richest of my life.
10:27 Not because I've made more money.
10:28 [music] Because I've finally started
10:31 living intentionally, appreciating every
10:34 day, prioritizing what matters. I've
10:35 [music] traveled to places I always
10:38 wanted to see. Deepened relationships
10:40 with my children and grandchildren,
10:43 pursued hobbies I put off, forgiven
10:45 people I held grudges against, [music]
10:48 said I love you countless times. I'm
10:52 happier now at 73 [music] with less time
10:57 ahead than I was at 30 when I thought I
10:59 had all the time in the world. That's
11:02 the [music] irony. When you understand
11:04 time is limited, you start to actually
11:07 live. You stop wasting it. You stop
11:09 [music] postponing joy. You start
11:11 creating the right time. You have a
11:13 choice right now, [music]
11:16 today. Keep living the way you're
11:18 living. Chasing success, putting off
11:21 happiness, telling yourself you'll make
11:25 time later or wake up. Realize time is
11:27 running out faster than you think, and
11:29 the life you're waiting to live needs to
11:32 start now. I can't make this choice for
11:35 you, but I [music] can tell you, you
11:38 don't want to be 73
11:41 looking back wishing you made different
11:42 choices. [music]
11:46 Don't waste 52 years figuring this out.
11:49 Learn from my mistakes. Live intentionally.
11:50 intentionally.
11:53 Prioritize what matters. Stop waiting
11:57 for someday. Someday is today. [music]
12:00 It always has been. If this resonates,
12:03 share this video. Leave a comment. Tell
12:04 me what you're going to do differently.
12:06 [music] Subscribe because I have more
12:09 truths to share and not much time left.
12:12 The clock is ticking. What are you going
