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Well, my friends, this has been a tough week for me. 24 hours after landing from a flight from Asia, I went into a surgery center. I’ll spare you the details and get to the more important punch line that everything is all good for. In a way, the recovery has been a helpful reminder to move slower, take time to think and appreciate the little aspects of life we take for granted.
On a similar note, a good friend sent me a link to Jim Valvano’s famous ESPY speech, now 25 years old (more on this below). In the speech, Valvano claims that there are three things we need to do every day: “If you laugh, you think and you cry, that’s a full day…You do that seven days a week and you’re going to have something special.”
This, of course, is coming from a man on the verge of dying from cancer. You might be thinking that it’s easy for him to ponder these existential questions, as he knowingly gets closer to death. And I concede that point. But maybe we can all get there – and have a more fulfilling life in the process.
Think about it for a second. How many days you do all three of those things? Laugh – a laugh so hard that you spit out whatever you’re drinking. Think – not of stress or anxiety on the past & future, but on your goals, your vision, your purpose. Cry – for the good, the bad and everything the world has to offer.
I couldn’t name the last time I did all three in one day.
Valvano’s message isn’t to quit the hustle, give up on your dreams and spend your life riding a massive emotional roller coaster. Rather, if we can find some time to do those three things – laugh, think, cry – within our hectic lives, we’ll be better off for it.
(Taken from the Millennial Momentum Newsletter)