I started to think about livinga very long life. What would it require?
133 years old is the aspirational age I choseafterreading Dan Sullivan, and his ideas of how to extend our lives byfirst setting a goal. You are supposed to select a number beyond the currentlife expectancy that you want to live to, and then make a choice about how youwill spend those extra years.
Then I came across Dr. Jeffery Gladdens Apex Longevity clinic, which aimsto reverse engineer your health so that you can be the robust state of a33-year-old for all of those remaining years.
So I set about to get myself healthier in my new commitment toliving an extraordinarily long life.
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I stopped drinking entirely. With the exception of an annual bender with mywife and friends at New Orleans Jazz Fest.
And I started doing more yoga, eating more vegetables.
I even crawl on the floor with my trainer so that at somefuture date when my sons mature enough to have their own families, Ill be ableto crawl on the floor with my grandkids.
What Im trying to tell you is, I did very human things to offsetdeath. Things both normal and bizarre in order to make me feel hopeful ofliving until 133.
And the truth is I was pretty healthy until 8pm every singleday.
But at 8pm,I wanted crackers and cookies.
Dont we all? No?
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On a recent business trip to Dallas, I stopped in on Dr. Gladdensclinic and decided to do some testing.
And then, about 6 weeks ago, I got a call from one of the doctorsthat scared the shit out of me.
Let me just say this: when you invest in the act of going to alongevity clinic you automatically think youve got the system beat. Just byshowing up and charging the credit card youve received insurance against theinevitable.
So the lead doctor from the clinic after Ive come and gone andIm safely back in Columbus, Ohio calls me and says: Ive got your results,and its not good.
He might have even used the word crisis, but I instantly wentdeep inside to my daydreaming inner child. A very quiet place.
Its a technique I learned to use in fearful or uncomfortablesituations. I literally stop hearing the person, or anything else in the world,and yet, I can give all the head-nods, and uh-huhs necessary to get to theend.
After a very long pause in which I was far, far away, I finallywhispered unconsciously, What does that mean, not good?
To which he says, You need an echogram and a CAT scan, you arenot in immediate danger, but Id like it done in the next fewdays.
Which isit?!? The next few days or Im not in immediate danger?
Is thisbecause of the cookies?
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From daydreamer mode, I immediately went into my second mostfamiliar default: the catastrophic,Im-about-to-die mode.
I scheduled the CAT scan and started hugging my wife so much Imsure it was annoying. And I kissed my kids with a severity that probablyconfused them.
In those few short days between the call and the test, either atthe dinner table, or as I was drifting asleep, everything would turn cinematic,and I would think:
Is this it? Is this the last moment of my life?
Heart attack now?
What about now?
I would blink, surprised I was still alive. Without a singleflutter in my chest.
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Then, the test itself. Itself, a test of mortality. I went intothe bright white tube thinking I dont know what they are going to find. All ofthis just as Im getting my groove with life.
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I think you probably know where this is headed.
I did not go straight into surgery. In fact, there was zeroevidence that I was going to have a catastrophic ending.
I was going to live, in fact. They found pretty much nothing wrongwith me, a bit of plaque that if cookies and crackers continue to be thepreferred diet, Id likely have an issue about 20 years down the road.
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So what was this week-long experience about?
I determined that it was a nudge from the Universe.
How do you want to shift right now?
The Universe asked me. It could all be over tomorrow, but if its not, how do you want to live?
Well, in that case, I have a long-winded response back to theUniverse:
Share.
So Ive committed myself to shifting my work, to writing more,sharing myself more openly on this and other platforms, and to telling thetruth about how Im doing.
Service.
And I am opening up time in my schedule to work one-on-one withpeople. Many people have served as my transformational teacher/coach/guide, andto give back, Ive got to start doing this for others.
Go directly toward that which fills your soul.
Ive always gone the round about way to my greatest goals andpassions, instead of moving directly toward my desires. And so I ended up helpingpeople through building buildings, or satisfying my creative itch through thedesign ofthose buildings. Instead of just helping people and doingart.
Self-work.
Even helping others can be a bit of an escape from the real workwe are here to do.So I will continue to look at myself, embrace theresistance, see it as the way through the suffering to freedom. And recognizethat everything is so perfect and beautiful exactly as it is. The I amthat is my essence, the one aligned with my soul, let it shine.
Being good to my body.
The cookies and crackers have got to go. The running has to comeback. The bosu ball instead of the couch. Those things that keep both the mindand the body healthy.
The Ultimate Gift to My Health? Forgiveness.
I will live longer, but not just because of the 70 supplements Imnow taking daily, but because of the big giant ball of forgiveness and lovethat Ive embraced in my body. Deep in my body, so deep that it wants to loveall of the pieces of me and everyone around me.
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Going to the longevity clinic worked, btw. Not as insuranceagainst death, but it taught me to reconcile my goal with my reality. Living along life is what I was looking for, and the truth is, Ive since learned whatI need to do.
Ive mostly learned that living a long life is a nice idea, a goodgoal, but if you arent awake, free or loving enough to really enjoy it, whywould you aspire?
For me, I had to get scared enough in order to really understand how to extend my life. Whether it works or not, I had to get to a deeper why about what it means to be alive.
Go here to read the rest:
My Path to Being 33 Years Old Until Im 133 Years Old - Thrive Global
