Monday Mindset 🏆🚀
3/20/2023
The first time I stood over a dead body was in 2007.
I was a rookie cop in training. My patrol group was being trained on vehicle crash investigations and reconstruction of the scene.
As our Feild Training Officer (FTO) was up at the whiteboard working out the math on drag factor, his phone rang. It was a patrol supervisor on his way to a fatal car crash.
After a short conversation between our FTO and the patrol supervisor, our FTO hung up the phone and told us to go grab our patrol cars… He told us we were going to get some real-world on-the-job training.
When I arrived, I saw a PT Cruiser passenger car that was on its wheels but had clearly rolled multiple times before coming to rest upright. The car was empty.
That’s when I looked over about 30 feet from the car… there he was, the driver, lying on the ground, clearly deceased.
I will save you the graphic details, but it was evident that the crash was violent, and he likely was killed before being ejected from the car.
As I stood over his lifeless body, I heard a voice in my head say, “this guy had no idea that today was going to be his last.”
That was when the understanding of our mortality really hit me. On a much deeper level than just knowing that someday we will all die.
Over the course of a decade of police work, five of that being on the SWAT team, I lost count early on in my career of how many times I stood over a dead body and heard those words in my head… “They had no idea today would be their last”.
As a result of experiencing so much sudden and tragic death, I developed a real sense of living with intentionality and with urgency in all areas of my life.
And that is the focus of today’s mindset email.
Living with Intentionality and Urgency with the people you love.
You have one life to live, and you’re not guaranteed how much time you’ve got to live it. So don’t sweat the small shit.. Don’t argue with assholes.. Don’t hang out with people who think and play small.. Don’t let a great opportunity pass you by.. And stop negotiating yourself away from your dreams and goals.
Instead, let things go that really don’t matter and focus on the things that do.. Surround yourself with others who have big dreams, big goals, and big aspirations.. Put yourself in more rooms with more people who inspire you and help you achieve your aspirations.. And take action!
And if you’re married, make sure to make these moves with your spouse. You’re building a life together… You need to grow together as well.
Go forth and conquer!
Matt