Are you caught up in the fast-paced whirlwind of life, overlooking the precious minutes that pass by? Have you ever taken things for granted, assuming they’ll always be there? We hear you. Life’s unexpected turns can shake us to the core, making us question our complacency and the value we place on every fleeting moment. Join us as we dive into personal stories that will resonate with your struggles, reminding you of the importance of intentionality and embracing each minute as if it were the last.
Humbling Moments that Put Life’s Fragility into Perspective
Today I want to talk about taking advantage of and understanding every minute is important. There have been times in my life that I’ve either been a part of or seen things, that really puts into perspective how quickly life can change. It’s easy to become complacent and to take things for granted, that the people will be there, that the things will be there, that your kids will be there, and it’s just not always true.
One of my clients experienced a jobsite fatality. That’s a call you just never want to get, right? Everything’s going fine, business is booming, money’s coming in, employees are happy, clients are happy. Boom, one mistake, and that company will never be the same, realistically.
If your familiar with my social media, I’m sure you’ve seen that I had a bit of a side-by-side accident a while back. We went out and we rode for four or five hours. We rode hard. We had fun. We were having a good time. And then towards the end of the day, Tiff and I were riding on one of the little dirt tracks that are there and went into one of the turns a little too quick and I rolled it. I rolled the side-by-side over and I, like most masculine men who are super cocky, was not wearing my seatbelt. I got thrown around a little bit. I walked away with some bumps and bruises, but I could have just as easily gotten thrown out of that and gotten really hurt or worse. It was a little overwhelming. It was one minute you’re fine, the next minute you’re flipping over. Lesson learned. But definitely going to be getting some harnesses installed.
One weekend, Tiff and I went out with the boys to do a little exploring. Tiff and I will take the boys, we call them our adventure weekends. We just go to do some cool shit somewhere, and we drove to Greenville. And Sunday morning we went to this really, really cool playground that was on the side right next to a smaller, more regional airport. And so you’re literally a hundred feet off the runway and you’re just… It’s a really cool playground. You’re watching planes, these smaller propeller planes, and small jets and stuff take off and land, which is really cool. But about halfway through the day we were there, this elderly woman mistakenly drove her car through the exterior gate, and she was 10 feet away from running a kid over. She came barreling through the gate, the fence. She just went to park in her parking spot, which is on the other side of the fence and just never stopped, just barreled right through the fence, went right into the playground area. I mean, luckily there was no one on that side of the playground when it happened, but there were people on that side all day. MJ and I were sitting at one of the picnic tables. I was helping him, we were playing Pokémon GO. Then, BOOM, car just barrels through the fence, could have hit somebody, right?
Embracing Caution and Intentionality: A Wake-Up Call for Appreciating Life’s Moments
These are all potentially life changing events. And those things happen all the time. You always hear like, “Oh, it happens, but it wouldn’t happen to me.” And I’m not saying I didn’t have an appreciation for the details and the importance of intentionality. I mean, I think most of you guys know I’m a pretty intentional person, but those three things happened in less than a one month period.
And I just want you guys to be cautious of that. Be cautious of taking things for granted. Be cautious of becoming complacent. Be cautious of wishing moments away. Be cautious of not being intentional with your time. Be cautious of how you talk to people. Be cautious of how you leave conversations. Be cautious of how you leave people in their emotional state. Tiff and I have a rule, we never go to bed angry. If it means we’re up all night talking because we got to work through some shit, we’re up all night talking, going through some shit. But we don’t go to sleep angry. It’s just a really bad thing to do. So with my kids, I’m trying really hard to be in intentional with my time with them. It’s not a quantity thing, it’s a quality thing. I don’t have a ton of time with the kids, but when I do, I try to be intentional with it. Taking the kids to school is a big thing for me. So for me, it’s very important.
The Urgency of Now: Embracing Intentionality for a Fulfilling Life
So from that perspective, look, I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, but I think there’s a lot of people out there that need a reminder that what you have right now, you may not have forever. The people, the things you’re doing, the places you go, the ability you have to come and go as you please, and to do all the things that you do, man, in a heartbeat, in literally a heartbeat, you go from just hanging out, chilling, everything’s fine, to boom, your life’s never the same again.
Be intentional. Be smart. Look out for yourself. Look out for those around you. Be a leader. Have intentionality and go be great this week. The only way you’re going to win fast and win often is if you are showing extreme intentionality in how you do what you do, where you do it, and who you do it with. Have zero doubt. You need zero doubt in yourself to know, and the only way to do that is to do everything you’re supposed to be doing anyway.
