The other day, Bernie Mac died. I found this really bizarre. I wasn’t a huge Bernie Mac fan – I thought he was great in a few movies like Ocean’s 11, 12, and 13, and he was a funny man. He had a great zest for life.
But, man, he was 50! It’s just awful.
This is something that I’ve written about before – I wrote about the movie The Bucket List – where we always think we have endless amounts of time left. We’re always waiting, just hanging out, and waiting, waiting, waiting.
We’re saving money to go to Italy when we’re old. We’re saving money for a rainy day. We’re going to buy that house that we really want – in ten years. We’re going to go on that vacation 14 years from now. We’re going to get that dog that we’ve always wanted in another four years.
We’re going to ask that woman out that we really like – next year. We’re going to lose those pounds next year. If you’re a woman, you’re going to feel better about men and start flirting with them – as soon as you lose those extra pounds. If you’re a guy, it’s the same thing: you’re going to lose some weight and then you’ll go meet people.
But let me tell you something: I wonder what Bernie Mac would say about all of that? Bernie Mac was just 50 and he died. 50 years old: that’s young.
Bernie Mac lived a great life. He had such a zest for life. I used to love watching him on interviews because he was always so full of life. He was so alive, so strong, and so vibrant. He took a lot of risks. He had a passion for life. He did a lot in his 50 years – but he had a lot of life left.
The real question here is: what are you waiting for?
What do you want to do right now? What are you waiting to do until you are older or have more money? Or until you have more things, or lose more weight – whatever it might be. What exactly are you waiting for?
You cannot wait. I’ve been looking to buy a house lately. I keep thinking, I’m going to buy this certain house, and I’ll buy the house I REALLY want in five years. No – I’m going to buy the house I really want right now! Why would I wait? I don’t know where I’m going to be in five years.
Now, I’m not telling you to go out there and spend your entire life savings and do something crazy, but there is something called balance. Most of us are out of whack in terms of balance. I don’t think we spend enough time doing the things we want because we keep waiting for something to happen. Or we will do it, but in the future.
Have you ever seen the movie Defending Your Life with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep? I suggest that you rent it. It’s a great movie. There is a great lesson in that film and it’s very interesting. It teaches you that you need to seize the moment.
So think about the bigger picture. Bernie Mac passed away at 50 years old. Think about the bigger picture.
What do you want to do? What do you want to accomplish? Who do you want to meet?
And why are you waiting?
If there’s anything I’ve learned from the bootcamp, its to take action outside of your comfort zone as much as possible. It’s the only way to make progress, when it comes down to it. Although im far from perfect, i try to not wait and take action as much as possible. Great blog, makes me want to push myself even more.
David, you are a great motivator.
Hell, that’s the question of my life – What do I want????
I know one thing.
I want to dance/rap to Vanilla Ice’s – Ice Ice Baby on my 100th birthday, but that’s far away…lol
The rest?? Have no clue now…
good blog! every time i read about things like this, it makes me wanna slap myself about all these times i didn’t talk to some girls because i was afraid, the last 19 years of my life have gone by so fast. i really don’t want to waste my time wondering, talking and day dreaming. it’s all about taking the right action. thanks for David, Khiem and Rich to keep me in check all these times when i wanna run away from taking actions, especially khiem : )
Bernie’s death was a shock to me! Whenever I saw him on tv he seemed so alive…
Just thinking about it makes me want to go out right now and LIVE!
Great stuff, David. Yeah, always waiting leads to always waiting. I saw Defending Your Life twice when it came out, but I need to rent it again.
David,
Defending Your Life has been one of my favorite movies since it came out … and I remember the first time you mentioned it, you were the only other person I met who had seen it
It does a great job of showing (in a really FUNNY movie
) how much less “life” you live when you conduct your life from a place of fear, instead of living life to the fullest every day.
Sadly, few people get this. Great post. I actually did meet Bernie a few times and will be posting something a little later involving him but in a different fashion.
Regarding this exact subject, I have a personal anecdote to share: My junior year I had a high school history teacher who died after school on the day that I had his class; I attended one of the last classes that he ever taught. It was in a small school, so his death really took everyone by surprise. He was 31, physically fit and very active…his family also had a history of heart problems.
I remember that he challenged us and demanded that we did our best and came into the class with such a passion, I imagine similarly to how Bernie Mac was. One time he brought into class an old World War II helmet, put machine gun fire onto the computer speakers and acted as though he were in the trenches. I can remember it so clearly. The point being, we don’t know how much time we have left on this earth, so we had better make the most of it. So, I echo David’s sentiments: what are you waiting for?
Hello Everyone!!
Not a fan but can’t believe he died such an early age.
Great post today!!
Carpe Diem
naaw, i don’t wanna die
even sader is that it takes someone full of life to die for one to realize that we shouldn’t take our lives for granted!!
Do you remember your 21st birthday? Was it really all that long ago? Remember when you got your first bike when you were about 5 years old? Were these events all that long ago? The transition from young to middle aged to old is hard to notice, because you are yourself, 24/7. There’s no hitting a fast forward or pause button, and seeing what you’re going to do in a couple of years when you have the money to do this, that, or whatever. The memories you have and the fun times you had are a result of taking action, in… that… moment!
I like this blog David, its quite philosophical in a way. Although I’m very sad Bernie Mac died. Regardless of wether or not you believe in reincarnation or any other sort of thing, your own life is your own, do nothing with it, or do everything with it.
Hey
i liked today’s post a lot. It’s true, we all get caught up in everyday routines and live only for a far-away “target” instead of enjoying the moment.
Rich, what you say is so true man. Getting out of your comfort boundaries is really the only way to make them bigger and wider – i begin to realize that even more every day. thumbs up!!
markus
Deep.