I was just thinking about Nickelback’s song “If Today Was Your Last Day” and it really struck a chord. He talks about the best advice that his friend gave him to live each day like it’s his last since “each day’s a gift and not a given right”. I agree that living on the edge is the only way to live and get lucky but you have to take that advice with a grain of salt.
You need to think about what if today is not my last day. How am I going to eat, pay rent or plan for the future? After all, most of us are optimists when it comes to staying alive. We would prefer not to think about our final day so we convince ourselves that it’s far away and we have plenty of time. Once we convince ourselves that we have all the time in the world, we get lazy and “push off today what can be done tomorrow”.
In previous articles, I mentioned that the way to success and luck is baby steps. It takes many small goals and could take six years to become an overnight success. That said, you can’t follow both sets of advice without going insane. Andy Dufresne summed up my advice in my favourite movie of all time, Shawshank Redemption. You should “hope for the best but prepare for the worst”.
By hoping for the best, you have plenty of time to live. When preparing for the worst, you might as well live each day like it’s your last. Use each day to the fullest to prepare to get lucky in the future but make sure to do something each day as if it was your last. The song gives several examples such as “call those friends you never see”, “reminisce old memories”, “forgive old enemies” and “find that one you’re dreaming of”. Go ahead and do something crazy each day to get your blood pumping. Take 30 minutes out of your TV watching schedule (all the good shows were cancelled anyway), get off the couch and live. “It’s never too late to shoot for the stars, regardless of who you are”.
Here’s a video of the song to enjoy.