In his May commencement address at Seton Hall University, Matt Ullrich provides a beautiful reminder to great leaders of the importance of living life to its fullest and making the most of every precious moment.. He asked: ‘Do you really want to live a life that does not live up to your dreams?’ He then poignantly highlighted his question borrowing from Linda Ellis’ poem, The Dash.
Do you really want to live a life that does not live up to your dreams? To illustrate this point further, I would like to barrow from Linda Ellis’ poem entitled The Dash, and tell you to think about your tombstone. Don’t think about the words on the tombstone but the dates. The first date of course, is the date of our birth. The second date is one we don’t have to worry about as people in our young 20s because we know we are invincible. However, the most important part is that dash in the middle of the numbers. The dash represents everything we do between those two date. It is not important how much we own or what job you have, what is important is how you spend your dash. So think about what you want your dash to say about you.
Ullrich concluded asking: “Do you want to say you spent your time filled with a life you had to stick with or a life full of your dreams?” Great leaders choose to live life to its fullest. They bring daily urgency to their life remembering Steve Job‘s question: “If this were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today?” They remember also Jack Kornfield’s words: “In the end, just three things matter: how well we have lived; how well we have loved; and how well we have learned to let go.” Live the length of life with passion and gusto, and more… live its width with the same as well.
Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!
Great reading Mike! Thank you!