One day, about a month ago, my son asked my wife and I the following question:
"So mom and dad, what's new good news today?"
We were both speechless. Where was this question coming from? The boy is only four and a half. Where does he come up with questions like this??
When my wife asked him to explain what he meant, he simply said: "I just want to know what the good news is today."
I thought about it for a minute, and realized that this was a golden opportunity to start initiating my son into The Power of Mortality™. So here was my answer:
"Well son... the good news is - you woke up today! And your sister woke up today! And mom woke up today! And dad woke up today!"
That answer seemed to satisfy him. The following day he asked me the same question and I gave him the same answer. And the same exchange happened on the third day. However, the next time that he asked me: "What's the good news today?" he wasn't happy with my answer. "Waking up isn't something special. That happens every day."
Well!
What followed was a very tactful discussion (with very carefully chosen words) about the fact that sometimes people don't wake up and that there will come a day where each one of us doesn't wake up. When I finished, I held my breath and waited for his response. He had a very thoughtful look on his face. He considered everything I said and then nodded his head. Then he said, "Dad? Do you know what the good news is today?" He answered his own question by saying:
"The good news is that I woke up today! And my sister woke up today! And mom woke up today! And you woke up today!"
And then he went one step further, adding:
"And that means that today is going to be a great day!"
You've got that right son!
(PS: March 18th is a special day for me. As of today, I've been waking up every day for 37 years! That's 13,514 great days!)
ENJOY NOW!
On Feb 28th, 2007 the Dr. Oz show on the Oprah & Friends channel of XM Satellite Radio devoted the entire hour to speaking with Patrick about the Power of Mortality™ and his book "What's Your Expiry Date? Embrace Your Mortality - Live With Vitality".
If you missed it live, you can read the show summary on Oprah's website.
- Are you interesting in having Patrick speak to your company, group or association?
- Are you interested in having him conduct a workshop?
- Are you interested in both?
Allan Todd is Patrick's business manager. Contact him today to discuss the options.
WELCOME!
