[Average read time: 4 minutes]
I was flying back to Dallas last weekend from one of my trips to LA and was thinking how I want my life to play out in the next five years. This exercise is actually bullshit since we don’t know what’s going to happen next week, much less five years from now. With that said, I wasn’t focused so much on the goals I want to achieve, but more on the daily activities that really make MY life worth living.
7 Things I Value More Than Money and Success
g) Kids
Two years ago my life changed forever. It’s not better or worse, it’s just different now. I think almost EVERYONE knows I’m divorced by now. If this is news to you, surprise!
What I don’t typically share is that because of my divorce, I am now in a situation where I live in Dallas and my kids live in Los Angeles. I make the DFW to LA trip once per month. As I continue to build my ideal life under the current circumstances, going to LA twice per month will be at the center of that life.
Kids, family, create, experience.
f) Randomness
It’s the nuances in life that make it exciting. If nothing else, it makes for a nice change of pace.
e) Laughter
Kids laugh an average of 300 times per day. Adults laugh less than 20 times per day. This might explain why adults are always stressing out over shit that really doesn’t matter. I want to laugh more. I need to laugh more.
d) Experiences
This may come across as complete bullshit and cliché, but life is short. I turned 32 in October. An average life for a healthy dude is about 75-80 years. I’m almost halfway there. I want to spend as much time with my kids and family as possible. I want to create. I want to experience.
c) Kissing
It’s pretty simple. I’m sure there’s some fancy science that better explains the benefits, but there’s no need. I’m single and kissing is fun. Still single, but making progress 🙂 … I hope.
b) Creating
Creating my first book was a combination of a major life event (divorce) and a bucket list item (writing a book). Seeing an idea come to life through a blog post, book, or whatever vessel you choose to channel your creativity through is addicting. This may be a douschebag thing to do, but I occasionally google my name to see what shows up. I don’t do this to feel better about myself, but I am proud of what I’ve created and seeing the first two pages of Google with stuff I’ve created reinforces my desire to create more.
a) Legacy
“I heard you die twice, once when they bury you in the grave…And the second time is the last time that somebody mentions your name.” Glorious Lyrics, Macklemore
Dying used to scare me, but not anymore. What really scares me is being forgotten. Generally, it takes two generations for your impact, money, and name to be forgotten. Do you know the names of your 8 great-grandparents? Some people may be able to name one of two, but most people can’t name even one. That’s scary to me!
It may not mean anything to most people, but my small legacy which currently lives at edescoto.com will remain years after I’m gone. That’s assuming the internet still exists 100 years from now and I don’t forget to prepay the website hosting fees.
The thought of my future great-grandchildren in the year 2077 being able to see something I created in 2017 fills my heart with pride and joy.
Legacy is not the amount of money you leave behind; it’s the story of your life that gets passed through the generations.
Here’s A Story
There was a fisherman who wakes up early, fishes all day, cooks the fish, eats with his family, plays the guitar with his friends, and goes to sleep.
A Harvard MBA comes up to him and says, “you can have a great business here. We can expand and sell fish into all the different markets, franchise, and manage a huge business.”
The fisherman says, “Why would I want to do that?”
The Harvard MBA says, “In 20 years you can have an IPO.”
The fisherman says, “Why would I want to do that?”
The Harvard MBA says, “Then you would have millions of dollars. Imagine the things you could do with that money!”
The fisherman did imagine…
He imagined waking up early, he would fish all day, he would cook the fish for his family, and then he would play the guitar with his friends.
I imagine waking up (not too early), experience new things, eat with my loved ones, and play with my kids.
