THE ANYTHING-EVERYTHING-ONE THING CONCEPT
On his death bed, a man was asked if he had any regrets-was there something he wanted to pass on to others and possibly leave a legacy.
This man had owned several businesses in his life..he had possessed and lost many levels of wealth. He had been married several times and had children from each of the marriages. Some of the children were in his life, others never really knew him.
He had been hospitalized many times for stress related issues, but concurrently, he had been celebrated many times for many different achievements.
A statue of Irony, and a rock of experience, he truly ran the gamut.
This is what he had to say:
"If I am to pass on one thing, let me pass on the concept of Anything-Everyting-One Thing."
You see, in life, people really don't do anything because they feel like they have to do everything, when in fact, they only have to do One Thing.
Put another way, people spend so much of their time thinking about what needs to be done, that they allow themselves to be "detoured" into procrastination and trivial matters that waste their time.
Of course, some people will spend their time trying to do everything but never really finish anything, because everything is too much to do for anyone.
And...he said with a slight smile, more of a smirk..."Even if you could do everything, the question still remains if you really did anything!"
He took a breath and continued...."The trick then, is to do One Thing. Ask yourself, IF today, this week, this month, this year, or even right now, I could do ONE THING that if I completed it will affect EVERYTHING that is truly important to me, what would that be?
Now, don't be fooled, there will always be more than one thing to do. But the question is, do you want to spend your time on everything, or invest it on the ONE THING at this time, that will affect everything in a positive way?
A moment passed....and the man continued...he said..."You know, I tell you this now, not because I have lived it all my life, but because in every moment of my life, I could have lived it...and it isn't too late for you....
I could have made each moment count that much more by recognizing the importance of a moment....by respecting the significance of investing myself in that ONE THING that would change who I was in my soul and through my life.
It doesn't have to be a lifetime of dedication...it can be a short time of intense connection. A moment that makes you feel alive....a time that wakes you up and tells you that life really can be unbelievably great. It tells you that there are things worth having and doing, even if it is for a short time. It only takes that moment to change your life or at least how you see it.
In fact, and I tell you this with great sincerity and seriousness..if the time you spend on something doesn't take your breath away, then the time you will waste on other things will take away your breath. Know the difference-because one adds greatly to your life and the other takes away from it.
People spend their lives or waste their time on things that don't change their destinies or alter their future. They give their time away to what seems right instead of what is best.
I can tell you this now with my last breaths and with great hope...IF you can live life in a manner that invests your moments one thing at a time, you will find you have lived a life that truly matters.
With his last words he turned and said...."Now remember....you don't need to remember everything I said...and with one last smile his completed thought ended with "just remember ONE THING and work on that."
The man passed and you are still here. You spent this moment with me hearing what he had to say. The question now is, how will you invest your time in your life now..what one thing can you do today that truly matters?
I hope this blog serves you well.
Best,
Dennis J. Giannetti, MS
The Next Level Coach
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