Earlier this year I went to go see a movie called, The Bucket List. It didn’t get rave reviews but I loved it for its premise: do the things you want to do before it’s too late.

Now there’s a golden rule we should all live by.

I recently found out that a client of ours passed away unexpectedly.

He was only forty years old.

Dave Mason lived in Canada, he was a business coach, author, speaker, and father of two. He was full of energy, excitement, enthusiasm, and ready for whatever life was going to throw his way. I remember speaking to him on his fortieth birthday, he said to me: “Penny, I’m excited, I can’t wait to see what the next forty years will bring.” How could anyone have known he wouldn’t live to see forty-one?

The idea of creating a “bucket list” might seem morbid to some, but for me it makes total sense. While we all aspire to live long, happy, healthy lives, how many of us really know what will come around the bend? The idea, in my opinion, is to enjoy the journey more. Incorporating pieces of your bucket list into your entire life, never letting a day go by when you’re not aspiring to do something you’ve always wanted to do, or setting the wheels in motion to do it is not a bad way to live in my opinion. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do one thing each day that scares you.” Many of the things we aspire to do are put off because of fear. Do what you fear most, that’s how we know we’re alive.

Years ago when I first speaking at writers conferences, I used to end my presentations with a few PowerPoint shots, set to music. It was an excerpted John Denver song. I didn’t use the song because I was a huge Denver fan, although I did love his music. I used it to express a point. As writers, we all sort of live for tomorrow…tomorrow I’ll finish my book, tomorrow I’ll get published, tomorrow I’ll finally be able to do what I love…

John Denver died during a flight of an experimental aircraft. He loved flying and especially this type of plane. It was a tragic accident. Did he die too young? You bet he did. But my point was that while a tragic loss, he died doing what he loved. We should all be so lucky.

So dust off that manuscript, and polish that bucket list. Here’s to a long, healthy, and prosperous life to all of us and here’s to checking all those great things off your list. To be able to come here and finish what you started is in the end, what it’s all about.

Goodbye Dave, we’ll miss you.

Dave Mason’s Website: http://www.masonperformancedevelopment.com/

Information on making a donation for his children’s college fund: http://www.jonesfuneralhome.ca/obituaries/36404