A story mostly unrelated to books but hopefully inspirational …

Last time I was at my mom's house, I was going through old boxes of things that had to either be thrown out or kept, depending on their worth to me after having been stored for 3 years. I ran across some surprising things, but none more so than my obituary.

At some point in my late 20s, early 30s, when I was a struggling single mom trying to figure out where my life was going, I wrote out my obituary to try and ‘design' who I would be when I died (hoping, of course, that I'd have plenty of time to get there.) I think it might have been part of a self-help book's exercises or just something I thought that would help me clarify my vision for myself.

Anyway, I was happily surprised upon reading it to find that at age 45, I have become that person I wanted to be back then. I could literally die today and that obituary being read wouldn't make anyone scratch their heads in confusion. I'm really proud of that.

And now I know in order to stave off the Fates from taking me earlier than I want to go, I must write another obit for the new and improved me!

What new heights shall I reach for this time? I know that continuing to help others while reaching for my own dreams shall be top on the list. I'm excited about the other prospects as well. Now that I know it is possible to design my own dream life and then live it, I realize: the sky's the only limit. And then, maybe it's not my limit. Maybe there's more.

Anyway, I highly recommend you take the time to write your obituary today. I strongly believe that you become what you think about most of the time, and also that you strive towards the goals and dreams you have for yourself even subconsciously, as long as those goals are clear.

Write 'em down, y'all. Make it happen.

Oh, and happy Monday.