DATED – 26th September 2016

Yesterday I was talking to my dear friend – Milind Mehta. One of his uncle suddenly passed away on Wednesday. He closed his shop on Friday after settling accounts and dropping the year-end financial statements at the CA office. His health deteriorated on Saturday; and before his family could do anything, he breathed his last on Wednesday morning. Even I had a couple of such incidents to narrate to Milind. At the end of the conversation, he said three words, which have coined something, which I thought was transformational. He said, “Amit, we must LIVE IT TODAY!”

What he said was so brilliant – LIVE IT TODAY. We keep postponing things because we think we will do it tomorrow. Everything has become so uncertain. The shelf life of human beings, products, money, friends, goodwill etc has decreased. We want to do everything tomorrow. What if tomorrow never comes? I wish to give you a few pointers to think on –

• Incase you are the earning member of the family, and something happens to you. Have you planned for the financial future of your loved ones?
• Is there a hobby that you wish to pursue, which you have been prolonging? Well, start today
• Do you want to take your family for a vacation, but not able to find time? You will never find time even in future. Take them now
• Is there something you appreciate about someone? Tell them now. What’s the point in appreciating people after cremation?
• As the head of family, you have bought land, given/ taken money to/ from people etc. Have you sat with your successors and updated them. When a family sits together on these important issues, it makes the bonding stronger
• Are you accumulating money right now so that you can have a great future? Make the most of the money you are making right now. Do not wait to spend that money later. Define the savings needed and feel free to spend the extra income
• Do you always feel that you have no savings left? From whatever you are earning, start putting aside some money. Whether you are a businessman/ salaried, how much ever you earn, you might never have savings if you don’t plan now
• If you have the finances to buy your dream car, buy it today. You will be able to enjoy it for more time
• You wish to go on a road trip with your friends, there can’t be a better time than now
• Don’t wait until eternity to spend more time with your kids. Start planning your day in such a way that you can invest time with them. Before you realize, they will have their own friends and schedules
• Never get angry on anyone for anything. Would you have behaved that way if you knew they had only 1 month to live? I bet NO.

The intention of this blog is nowhere to scare you or to make you feel negative. The point I am coming to is that our forefathers used to live in a time where there wasn’t enough surplus. There was ‘hand-to-mouth’ survival. But things are not the same in our times. It’s just that we keep postponing doing things, thinking we have a lifetime to do things. It just needs a change in thinking and you will realize that you can do so much more.

Vis-à-vis my life –

Even I used to be in this dream world where I will keep postponing doing things, thinking I will/ can do it later; what’s the hurry? But looking at a few incidents that happened near me, I felt the urgency. Out of that urgency, I realised that it is leading to a more fulfilled, satisfied and purposeful life. There is a new zest to live when I know I am doing things that must be done. It has made me stronger and more confident about anything I do.

The above pointers are just examples that came to my mind. I am sure you are a better judge of what all you need to do immediately. It will need a little thinking and creating a sense of urgency for yourself. Else, this blog will not make any sense to you. I can just hope and pray that you get the gist and importance of this. As I end, Milind words echo, – “LIVE IT TODAY!”