The Value of Every Day

I have a saying…”No one has a lifetime guaranteed no-cut contract, so be sure to enjoy each and every day.” It’s why at Karp Financial Strategies we make “a lifetime of enjoyment” a core mission for all of our clients. While I could use this first sentence as a launching point for a conversation about the value of life insurance in a balanced financial plan, I would like to talk about something much different.

Have you ever been in a conversation about “kids” and how they don’t worry about the future because they think they are going to live forever? Have you ever considered how you are looking at life, and asked yourself if you are letting days go by without making each day a little special?

At my local Rotary club meeting, a few weeks ago, our speaker shared his life story. I was so moved that I wanted to share it with all of you. His story reminds us how “unguaranteed” our life contract can be. I also believe that it reminds us to make the most of our time and our individual gifts to make a difference in other people’s lives. Some will be large, and some small, but they all count.

The short version of the story:
Almost 30 years ago, at a relatively young age, the speaker was diagnosed with a disease that basically was attacking his liver and immune system. While the degeneration was slow, at first, the affects accelerated with time. His mortality was put right in front of him, only it did not have a specific date. The only cure was a liver transplant, which also had no date attached. Needless to say, he cherished each experience he had, each of his children’s activities he attended, and each relationship he was a part of. His story has a happy ending–in November, 2009 doctor’s found a liver that could be transplanted into his body to replace his failing liver. At that time he had not years or months left, but only days. The surgery was done on his birthday, a day that he says he was born twice on.

His gift to our Rotary club, and my gift to you, is a reminder of what a bad day could be, and that despite the challenges of everyday life, how important it is to live every day to its fullest.

Do you have a life changing story to share? Please share it with us.

For more information on organ donating see www.lifesharecarolinas.org

Image via http://www.lifehack.org/