“Don't you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you're not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you've lived nearly half the time you have to live already?” -Ernest Hemingway
"Now she got a photo, you already know though, you only live once, that's the motto... Y.O.L.O./ And we bout it every day... like we're sittin' on the bench... We don't really play." -Drake
... OK, despite how unoriginal, overused and lame that Drake line seems nowadays, it is still a very powerful statement.
The problem is that although we know that we only have one life to live, many of us claim to value life, yet we lack one very important quality: A sense of urgency.
Urgency is what makes us to things now rather than holding them off until later. It is rooted in a deep understanding of the value of time.
Now, I know that those reading this who know me personally probably find it ironic that I, of all people, would be the one to talk about urgency.
I haven't always been the most urgent guy... Long story short, I'm that friend that if we're going to a party at 8pm, you'd better tell me it starts at 7:45.
Yet, as I grow older, I increasingly see the importance of time and having a sense of urgency because I realize that we really don't have as much time as we think.
I realized this a few days ago when I was alone and I asked myself, "When the heck did I grow up so fast?"
These days I'm applying to jobs, trying to understand personal branding, marketing, finance, and countless other things.
Yet, it seems like just yesterday that I was 7 years old, and the toughest problem in my life that I was trying to figure out was how to beat the "Boulder Dash" level of the PlayStation game, Crash Bandicoot.
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| Remember this? |
What I'm realizing more and more is that time flies by and we have to live our lives accordingly.
One of my favorite examples of a person with a productive sense of urgency, is none other than this guy...
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| Tupac Shakur |
Tupac Shakur was one of the the most talented, passionate, profound hip-hop artists of his generation. Yet, for most of his career, Tupac felt that he wouldn't live very long.
This was because he was outspoken, had unconventional views, and made some powerful enemies in his rise to fame.
So what did Tupac do? Tupac would record multiple songs a day, he'd write raps whenever he got free time, when he'd go to the studio and everyone would be partying and drinking be the one to get everyone back on task.
Although Tupac died at the young age of 25, he did more in his life than some people who live to be 50.
He's had seven solo albums come out since his death, and subsequently cemented his legacy in not only hip-hop, but music in general.
"The only thing that can kill me is death, that's the only thing that can ever stop me... and even then my music will live forever." -Tupac Shakur
Now I'm not saying we all should plan for it to all be over and get ready to head to that "upper room" that Eddie Murphy hilariously referred to in the movie Life...
Warning: Explicit, yet hilarious language.
But we have to keep in mind is that if there's anything that it certain in life, it's that it doesn't last forever. Therefore we have to honor the time that we have here by using it efficiently and being urgent about the things that are important.
As the leader of the Rat Pack, "Chairman of the Board", and late, great vocalist Frank Sinatra once said,
"You only live once, and the way I live, once is enough."
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