What My Friend's Mom's Cancer Can Teach You

No, I don't have cancer.

But my friend's mother does.

And when I found out about how severe it was, the only thing that came to my mind was, "Wow."

We don't have the time in our life that we think we have.

And I know this may be a bit depressing right now, but please bear with me. How many of you make excuses on a daily basis?

"I'm going to take that cruise when I'm ready."

"I'm going to go to Italy when I meet a man."

"I'm going to meet men when I lose weight."

It's always "I'm going to do this when..."

But you never know if "when" will ever come. All we have is today. You never know if you're going to go out and get hit by a bus. Or go to the doctor and find out you've got spots on your lung.

We take so much for granted all the time. We're constantly thinking that we have forever. But in reality, all we have is today -- that's it.

Make a list of all the things you want to do today. And start doing them. There's no time for procrastination when you consider how little time we have in the first place.

Now, I'm no philosopher, but I really appreciate how Buddhists monks approach this. They make sure to spend a little bit of time each day remembering the fact that they will die at some point. Doing this makes them value and appreciate the very moment they are in.

It might not be fun to meditate on death daily, but imagine what a powerful exercise that is. How would you approach life if today were your last day?

You might have heard that question before, but have you really thought about it?

Make another list of things that have been an "I'll do this when..." or "I want to get better at this..." and make an effort to move them forward -- even just a little bit -- each day.

Business gurus all around the world suggest doing this with your business, but doing this with your life is even more important.

Because this is the only life you have. You only get one shot at it. And you never know when this beautiful journey of life comes to an end.

Don't let it end with regrets.

I just wanted to share with you how I felt emotionally today.

It's ironic. Today I've thought about death, and I've been inspired to live.

For more by David Wygant, click here.

For more on mindfulness, click here.

For more on cancer, click here.