"If the only thing that you're entitled to is that you will die..."

Insight and inspiration for flying higher in the difference only you can make from guests who have appeared on Creative on Purpose Live.

This week's wisdom comes with a twist. This insight from a conversation I had with Meridith Grundei and Joseph Bennett on their outstanding podcast, Are You Waiting for Permission? Tune into the entire conversation here.

[JOSEPH] "Memento mori, 'remember that you will die,' how does that play a part in us following our purpose in our daily life? Even if we're just washing the dishes, or cleaning up after the kids, how can that play a part in how we live our lives? "

[SCOTT] "Yeah, well that's it. It's the central question. You've just arrived at it."

"If the only thing that you're truly entitled to in this world once you enter it is that you will die, then the only meaning that your life has is the meaning that you forge in that journey from womb to tomb. And that means, you know, that that's the call. You know?"

"When you recognize that, it becomes your responsibility. Because, again, we're not gonna get a lot of help from most of our traditional institutions, educational and occupational."

"And so, I think it has a lot to do, Joseph, with paying attention. Because your time on earth is finite. You have a limited amount of time. You have a limited amount of attention. And you have a little limited amount of energy. And you are actually in control of that."

"You have agency over where you spend your time, who you spend your time with, how you spend your time, and what you spend your time on. And you have that same power over your attention and your energy."

"So why not cultivate more presence and mindfulness in your life around who you associate with and who you don't associate with, what you do do and what you don't do?"

"And again, bringing that purpose and passion into every single activity will help sharpen the focus and help you find your purpose."

"And I'll just throw in one other thing that we use at Creative on Purpose. Meridith has probably seen the Venn diagram, the process that we use to kind of fast track us to getting to a starting point."

"We work people through a values exercise because we think that who you really are is based on your core values, guiding principles, and your vision for the world that you want to co-create. What your core talents and skills are, hard skills and soft skills, and those things that you were born with a specific kind of an instinct and an intuition for. And then, where you belong. You belong with people who share your values and need your talents to enhance their lives."

"And if you dial in those three things and think of it as a three-piece Venn diagram, you're going to arrive at a place where you can start to really bring a level of intention and integrity to everything you do and that will help you cultivate more purpose in your life."

I just delivered a reminder that any meaning your life has must be forged within your journey from womb to tomb. How can your impending demise motivate you to make a bigger difference with the time you have left today?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

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