I have friends in town who are here on an exchange from Australia. It is so inspiring to watch them take full advantage of the year that they have here in Canada. Additionally my friends who are on the opposite end of the exchange – Canadians in Australia for a year – are doing much the same.

They know that they are in a country, far from their own, one they may not get back to anytime soon. They are doing and seeing everything North American! They landed in Toronto, drove to Cobourg and within days were off exploring. We joke that they do things that we haven’t even done… although it’s not really a joke, it’s true… I’ve yet to visit Washington or Sandbanks, curl in a bonspiel or skate on the Rideau Canal.

It made me realize that this is such an amazing way to live life. To have deadlines to get things done. Their deadline is a little more concrete as it involves a flight back home. I’m not suggesting that we all try to get everything done in a year. There are cost restraints, it’s probably not sustainable to do something as regularly as they are, however it is a good model, to take advantage of the time that we have.

I love Tim McGraw’s song – Live like you were dying. I mean, it makes me cry, but I’ve always loved the message:

I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying.
And he said: Some day, I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dying

Like tomorrow was a gift,
And you got eternity,
To think about what you’d do with it.
And what did you do with it?
And what can I do with it?
And what would I do with it? 

Don’t let years go by without seeing the places of your dreams or trying new activities. Plan it out. What EPIC adventures can you schedule this year? Next year? We may not have a flight home booked, but we also don’t have unlimited time. If you truly want to do things, make a plan and do them!

Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life ~ Robin Sharma