Life is short ... and long enough!

The popular actress Sridevi died yesterday suddenly at the age of 54. She seemed to be healthy with no prior complications or issues. Everyone is shocked and sad that one person who seems to be hale and hearty can drop dead in a second. That is the shortness and fragility of life. We never know what might happen tomorrow. And all the things which we thought twice about, all the non sense we tolerate doesn't really make sense when seen through the fragility lens of life.

It is a stark reminder to live simply and life fully so that we are ready to leave any moment. That means living life as we want to do, without regrets. That means really doing what we want to do and saying what we want to say.  It means pushing ourselves and loved ones to reject hedonism and towards service. 

Counter intuitively life is also long enough for most of us... If we are reasonably healthy and take care of the basics ( good food, exercise, water, sleep ) , we also have enough time left. It is only that most of it goes into pockets which we can claim or use. If we are focused and resourceful, there is really very good chance that we can do anything we want.

So think about what you're doing, do it with complete focus. If you do things you have to do when you have to do it, you will get a chance to do things you want to do when you want to do it. Once you have reached a level of proficiency in your work, you can design your life around your values and goals. Be so good that they can't ignore you. I'm reminded of all the things that have inspired me and this might be a regurgitation of all that...

All the things you see and use are developed by people like us. All external expectations, the fear of embarrassment or failure, fall away in the face of death, leaving only the truly important. Remembering that life is short is a way to avoid the trap that you have something to lose. You're already naked there is no reason not to follow your heart. Stay hungry and stay foolish - Steve Jobs 

... I remember telling him I was excited to connect the Harvard community, but one day someone would connect the whole world.
The thing is, it never even occurred to me that someone might be us. We were just college kids. We didn’t know anything about that. There were all these big technology companies with resources. I just assumed one of them would do it. But this idea was so clear to us — that all people want to connect. So we just kept moving forward, day by day.
I know a lot of you will have your own stories just like this. A change in the world that seems so clear you’re sure someone else will do it. But they won’t. You will. - Mark Zuckerberg 

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people. - Randy Pausch 

So get inpsired, and keep grinding away at the dent you want to make in the world.