Death. That is the one constant that we all face in life. Some people have very short lives that are measured in hours or even minutes. Some people live well into their hundreds. Most of us will be somewhere in between that particular range. No matter how long we have, we are all headed for the same common denominator: death.
So if we all share the miracle of birth - and I am a firm believer that it is a miracle in every sense of the word - and we all share the same end, then what is it that makes us different from other folks? You already know that the answer is what's in between. The lives that we lead, whether they be lives of quiet desperation (Henry David Thoreau) or lives where we hold 1,093 patents (Edison), the lives we lead are the legacy that carries on after death.
I know I am guilty of complaining about having dreams that I can't accomplish for some reason or another. Most of us put roadblocks into our own path to sabotage our lives. That way when things don't work out as planned (and when do they ever, really?) we can blame it on something else. We like to blame something other than our own gumption, or know-how, or skills, or drive. Why don't we own our lives and do what we can with what we have?
My father-in-law, John, wrote an autobiography during the last couple of years of his life. He complained, more than once, that he had dyslexia and didn't like to read. He decided his story was more important than excuses and wrote a book anyway. Mother Teresa worked with the poor up to her death at 87. Mozart started composing at age 5. Diana Nyad just swam from Cuba to the U.S. at age 64. Age is not an excuse. Disabilities are not an excuse. And the full quote from Mr. Thoreau, since I'm betting most of you don't know it (I didn't), "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." That last part, the words most don't know, is the most important part, I think. Don't go to the grave with the song still in you. Find your passion. Dream your dream. Live your life to the fullest. Build your legacy.