Are you alive?
Before you answer that… read these words. They’re unedited, live, straight from me to you today.
Five years ago, as I write this, I was on a Southwest flight to Dallas.
When I landed, the TV’s at the gates showed video of the first twin tower in flames. I was on my way to a meeting at Nortel and rushed past the folks watching the live coverage to a cab. While in the cab, I heard the story unfold on the radio and called my friend and asked him to arrange a rental car for me. The news at the time was talking of airports being closed for a few hours, but I didn’t buy it… I knew if I wanted to get back to my wife and family in Austin I’d need a car.
By the time I got to Nortel, the folks I was meeting (top Worldcom execs, folks from Nortel, and a client), all were standing in the hallway outside the meeting room watching the second plane hit on a really big (70") LCD TV.
You know what we saw… words really can’t describe it.
As the news came in that at least one of the flights was on it’s way to LA, a woman in the meeting turned ashen white, her daughter was flying to LA, and she was not able to reach her by cell phone. Others at Worldcom were worried about folks who worked at the Twin Towers, and generally there was a sense of ‘things will never be the same’ as we watched the horrible events of that day unfold. As we watched one tower and then another collapse and heard of other flights crashing into the Pentagon and PA, we really began to wonder if full scale war was breaking out.
Thankfully, amid all the senseless loss of life on that day, the woman’s daughter turned up and many others were reached out of harms way.
I was lucky. Not only was I on a flight that landed safely, but I was able to get a rental and return home to my family that evening.
In a few moments of inexplicable horror, thousands of others were not so lucky… and I want to take a moment to acknowledge and remember them.
I’m sure that with all the commentary today on the 5th anniversary of 911 you’ve thought about where you were and what you were doing that day. Those responsible stole collectively thousands of years of life from those who died, ending the lives instantly of any future generations that would have come from those lost. In that sense, we’ve literally witnessed the extermination of generations of people all in one horrible day.
I avoid politics and world commentary on this blog… so I won’t get into all the controversy over the events of 911 or the wars that have followed. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is how divided the world is in the years that followed, though I never have known a time when the country or the world was a whole lot more united, either.
But I will say this… the response to 911 need not be to fear the times we live in. We are not, in my opinion, living in times any more dangerous than any previous generation. You need only look at the breathtaking loss of lives during World War II, World War I, Vietnam, Cambodia, the crusades, the black plague, and I could, sadly, go on and on.
For those of us who are alive today, we have, collectively, a choice to make. We can either live in fear of the next attack or disaster or epidemic, or we can choose to live our every day full of life and joy.
I choose to focus on hope, dreams, and the next step I will take toward living the life I want for myself, my family and my friends. Conspiracy theories, political movements, and all the other ways in which people get caught up in forces and events which are larger than their sphere of influence, holds no interest for me… whether they are right or wrong.
Ultimately, if we all focus on making the world immediately around us better, the world will be a better place, without the need to follow anyone’s flag or marching orders.
I say that from the relative safety of my home in Austin, Texas, and I realize if I lived in Lebanon or Iraq, my greatest responsibility would be to protect my family by any means necessary. I’m not preaching here. I know, in certain situations, I would not ‘turn the other cheek’, nor would I fail to defend my country if attacked. I’m no saint.
We owe a great debt to the men and women who have given their lives to defend us, as does everyone around the world who have a standing or volunteer military forces that form a line of defense against attack.
Then again, we have men and women in the police, hospitals, fire departments, and 911 call centers who all battle daily to rescue us and keep us as safe as possible.
For each of us, ulitmately, the battle will end one day, that is unavoidable. Our days will be over and the next generation will have their day to shape the world.
The question you must ask yourself is how you will live in the days that you have.
Is each day a precious gift, or will you hide in the shadows hoping to remain ’safe’.
Twice in the last month I was again ‘lucky’ in situations that could have potentially led to my ‘last day’.
On the flight back from Ottawa where I enjoyed nearly a week celebrating Michel and Sylvie Fortin’s wedding, my plane had to make an emergency landing minutes after take off. Why? The cockpit filled with smoke and we had some equipment failure. Everything worked out… but what if it hadn’t?
I think about that today.
Then, a week later, I was swimming across a small bay in Canyon Lake with my fourteen year old son when he suddenly became fatigued and could not swim the remaining 50 feet without help from me. In ‘towing’ him, I became fatigued and could almost not breath… and I realized that we very nearly drowned. Somehow, we made it and I swear the distance somehow shrunk… and suddenly there was the shore.
Today, my loved and cherished friend, Sylvie Fortin goes in for surgery in her own battle with breast cancer.
(Here is a beautiful moment… Michel and Sylvie cutting the cake at their wedding)
So you see, the battle rages on every day from every angle to live.
And again, the question is, how are you living your life?
Too many, I’m afraid, live each day saying they’ll pursue their dreams ‘tomorrow’, a day which often never comes. They die, one day, realizing that their time on this earth was not well spent and they surrendered too early and never really lived at all.
Now, that realization is perhaps the cruelest moment of all… when it’s too late to go back and play the game of life over again.
I know I’ve wasted far too many days ‘living for tomorrow’ while languishing through days filled with far too much of what I didn’t want… and I’ve done a lot. I’ve got hundreds of ’stories’ about my days so far… but I know there are many I squandered.
I guess what I’m saying is, there is no tomorrow.
We all secretly hope to live forever, but that is a false hope. We avoid thinking about death at nearly all costs.
Even if it turns out in your case that you do live forever, what a tragedy it would be to sit around and squander time and life, knowing that you had ‘plenty of it’.
There is wisdom in the philosophy that says to ‘live as though today were your last day.’
Take inspiration from Sylvie Fortin, who is more alive today as she defeats her breast cancer than most who have ‘perfect health’.
She’s got a blog at http://www.breastcancervictory.com where she’s telling the story of her fight, and ultimate victory. I think it is an inspiration, and a lesson of unimaginable importance to realize she is declaring victory now… today… where most would ‘wait and see how it turns out’ to decide if the battle was one or lost.
Leaders, winners, and those who succeed ALL at some level fight with the belief that they have already won.
Those who lose over and over go into the battle undecided, uncomitted, and afraid.
Whether you lead the charge in your life and are the first one shot dead on the battle field or if you live to a ripe old age… go into the battle declaring victory and you will be right.
Think about that for a moment… you create your own reality, so choose what you want to create.
You may well not control your destiny… but you can choose how you will fight the battle.
I’ll tell you this, in the year that I’ve known Sylvie I’ve realized that whether she lives one more day or a hundred and one, she’s already immortal because of HOW she lives. Full of life and love for the fight and brimming with excitement for what she’ll do next.
That can be true for us all… you can be immortal if you truly live today.
So… don’t lull yourself to sleep with the distractions of daily life.
Create your life… the one you really want to live.
Don’t fear the end, embrace it as the ulitmate deadline that you WILL meet, and enjoy the heck out of the journey there.
And don’t forget those who have lived and died before you because it is they who not only remind us of how precious life is, but often how and why we should live to our greatest ability today.
Like Cory Rudl, who practically invented Internet Marketing and lived ‘pedal to the metal’ until he died doing what he loved in a fiery blaze at over 100mph in a beautiful Porsche.
Like Steve Irwin, who CRICKEY! was killed doing what he loved by a harmless Stingray, not one of the Crocodiles he famously wrestled.
Like Isaac Asimov, who wrote nearly 500 books on all topics from science fiction to the Bible to science itself… and I’m positive he was writing the last day of his life.
Are you living ‘pedal to the metal’? Are you playing with the animals? Are you writing your words… or doing whatever it is YOU are passionate about?
I’m not asking if you WILL, I’m asking if you ARE… today!
The other day I realized it had been months since I sat down and had one of the fine home brewed beers with my neighbor… we’ve both been so busy that our families have not gotten together since the spring.
Don’t confuse being ‘busy’ with living.
If you’re too busy doing 1001 things that don’t ultimately matter, slow down.
Focus on what you would love to do.
Remember, death is the ultimate deadline (lol) that you WILL meet.
Trust me, if I could sell you a ticket out of it, I would… because I’d be the richest man on the planet.
Instead, let me sell you on living your life instead.
I think the purchase will be infinitely more valuable to you.
See, I was in St. Louis this week with Armand Morin and Alex Mandossian along with the other Platinum coaching members… and Alex had us do an exercise that rocked me to the core.
No, it wasn’t push ups… though I should be doing more of those 
The exercise was this: Write down how old you will be (in years) when you die. Then, essentially, list out what you will have done, felt, lived, learned by the time you die.
There was more to the exercise… but that is it in a nutshell.
Wow. I realized a lot of the things on my ‘list’ were far from being ‘real’ and it was time to re-evaluate how I live each day.
The pace of life today, if left unchecked, will drag you along too fast to allow you to live. Step off the ‘fast track’ and take each step deliberately instead.
In the fight for your life, you are an army of one.
You can’t rely on anyone else to safeguard your experience so you get and give the most joy and love, that is YOUR fight.
Remember when you were a kid at school… when it was time for recess?
Did you go out and play full tilt until the bell to go inside (even when it rained… did you splash in the puddles?)
Or, did you stand on the edge of the playground, watching other kids whoop it up, fearing to get in, too?
Don’t be hard on yourself… most of us have sat out on the sidelines to one degree or another. But there is true wisdom in children who play with every minute they are given.
That is how you can and should live every day of your life.
Nothing prevents you from living every day from now on ‘on the playground’ with a big grin on your face till the ‘teacher’ calls you in.
The way I’m looking at it now, it doesn’t matter if you believe in the after life, reincarnation, or that you’ll simply die and rot in the ground, lights out, game over.
Every day is judgement day… and only you need to judge here and now whether you are living the life you truly want as your head hits the pillow at night.
Ask yourself then, for you may not awaken again, whether you truly lived.
I’m not suggesting you ‘burn out in a ball of flame’, squandering your health with all the chocolate and junk food and alcohol you can stuff down, blowing all your money in an orgy of consumption… by all means, plan to live another day. But don’t live in fear of living NOW, hoping that you won’t be afraid tomorrow.
Be afraid today… and do what you dream anyway. That’s what I believe is the key.
Do what you fear and your dreams will come true.
About a year ago our 14 year old Sam came up with the expression, "Life is too good to be dead" and was simply tickled at the play on words.
But I believe he is truly on to something. Most people live in a way that they might as well be dead already, shuffling through one day after another as if all hope is gone and all that remains is to endure life’s injustices.
Don’t believe it. No one else is to blame, there is no injustice bigger than the one you do to yourself by not holding yourself accountable for your own happiness.
If only those who kill themselves could grasp this… what great writing did Ernest Hemingway NOT write because of his suicide? What song would Michael Hutchins of INXS have sung had he lived another year? How about Hunter S. Thompson, now dead voluntarily, but who blessed us with some of the most original thoughts and words of this century?
Hey, the game isn’t over until THEY take you out of the game… you never quit.
Too many have died at the hands of war and disease and terrorists as on 911 for anyone to dare to kill themselves.
There have times I’ve nearly been there, I say nearly because I’m still here… but the point is, I’ve had low points that felt so low I couldn’t go on. So glad I did… otherwise Hayden and Ethan would not be my sons today… and who knows what will come yet in the tomorrows I have left?
Perhaps my greatest deeds have yet to be done.
I sure hope so
And if you are waiting for perfection to take action… give it up.
There are days I feel like one of the top 100 most flawed people on the planet.
The quest and desire for perfection is cruel… for we are all inherently flawed. Just as there is night, there is day. Just as there is up there is down. Just as there is good, there is bad… and just as you succeed, you will also fail.
Here’s the secret… fail a lot and you will succeed. Try not never fail, and you will surely do just that: fail through inaction and fear.
Do your best, aim for the highest value and quality… yes. But don’t kick yourself for not having yet achieved perfection (no one else has either).
Success is about the process and the journey, nothing else… and those who succeed are different from those who have given up simply by continuing to fight on in the face of disappointment.
Success, quite simply, is not quitting.
Chart the best course you know how… seek the best counsel and correct as necessary. But NEVER GIVE UP.
And here’s where marketing fits into all this.
Everyone wants something they don’t have now… whether that is an experience, and emotion, a new car or a new skill… they’d be happier if they had it. They’ll give you money to help them get whatever that is… and you, through marketing, can connect them with what you have.
Marketing is, at its core, at its best, is all about selling people the hope of a better life through the value that you deliver.
So I applaud you for learning Internet Marketing because there is no more cost effective way to reach more people that I know of… and we’re just getting started here. The industry is still young and immature.
Learn to love the process of marketing because it is your voice with your marketplace, your means to connect with those who want and need what you offer.
It goes without saying that if you are selling something that has no value… or steals value… yesterday should be the last day you try to pursue that business.
Further… I urge you to find your purpose, follow your passion and market something truly great, something people really want and will love to buy from you. Today should be the first day you do that… if you haven’t started already.
Contrary to what many (too many) believe, selling isn’t bad. It is the means by which we introduce people to something new, something of value.
And contrary to what Michael Douglass’s character Gordon Gecko declared in the 80’s movie "Wall Street", greed is NOT good.
But selling is.
Selling is an honor, a necessary gift to get people to take action when it is easier to procrastinate and put things off until tomorrow (you know, that day that never comes).
So sell the heck out of what you have… and sell it today.
If it’s valuable, somebody needs it to live their dreams TODAY… why rob them of that opportunity with half hearted promotions, or worse, sitting in silence?
Learn your trade… selling, marketing, and learn to love it if you don’t already. Those who produce value need you to sell that value to those who will buy.
With out selling, quite literally, there is less less life. Think about that.
And as you can see, I’ve been selling you here, in this salesletter for life, on the very most important call to action: to live.
I don’t have a product or an affiliate recommendation… I don’t want your money (at least not now, lol).
I want you to ‘buy’ what I’m selling, though, and live your life.
This is my tribute to all who were lost on 911…
In some ways, the very essence of life is a war of survival, service and self-determination.
I’m selling you to be inspired to fight to ‘take the next hill’ in your own battle against all that blocks you from your dreams.
It’s not about violence, it’s about living on your own terms, it’s about creation even in the face of destruction.
So ‘Buy NOW’…
Buy NOW… or you’ll forget to do it… and you know that is true.
You, me, and just about everyone forgets how precious every breath is.
Buy your life back and ‘wake up’ to the beauty of that reality… the more you can do this, the more alive you will be.
There are no bonuses, other than the fact that you will truly be alive till the end… and most importantly, there are NO REFUNDS.
Sure, you can get your money back if you buy stuff… but LIFE itself is a take it or leave it deal.
There are no guarantees. The reward you get will be in proportion to what you risk…
This is it, a one time offer to end all one time offers.
To place your order, act now, don’t delay…
But wait, there’s more.
It’s never to late to buy. Even if you don’t know what path to follow right now, get going instead of sitting there in uncertainty.
Don’t wait for fear to go away… it never will.
But I promise you this: you have a gift to give. To yourself, and to the rest of us and future generations, too.
What is your gift? Have you discovered it yet? Will you even know what it is before you die?
I don’t know.
And it doesn’t matter… just live and you will be giving your gift.
My words here today… if they inspire, if they help you in any way, are my gift to you and yours.
These words are my gift to those who died 5 years ago today…
These words are my gift to Sylvie, who today will have my prayers as she goes through perhaps her longest day… having surgery in her fight against breast cancer.
These words, however, are just words if we do not take them to heart and live by the lesson contained within them… a lesson I am grateful to be learning right along side you.
Well, today is the perfect day to reflect on what these words mean to you… both because it’s 9/11/2006, and because today is the first day of the rest of your life.
One thing you can count on… you’re alive because you’re reading these words.
What you do next is up to you and you alone (though whatever your beliefs… I know you are not alone, a higher power is with you every step of your journey. We don’t need to quibble about what to call that higher power…).
Here’s what I want you to do:
You fill out the order by deciding what it is that you want to receive.
Only YOU can know what that is and will be over the years.
Create your life beginning right now.
Write down everything you REALLY want, right now.
If you want to be rich… write down "I am rich".
If you want to be healthy and fit, write down "I am healthy and fit"
Describe what you want in vivid and passionate terms.
And then stop writing when you’ve exhausted your immediate inspiration. You can always add to your list.
Then… take action.
Do the next thing you need to do to start checking off as many of those items on your list as you can before your last breath… whether that is one more breath or infinity, enjoy every one as best as you can.
Here’s what you get:
Life. No promises. No guarantees. But you get to live your life to the fullest that you can.
That’s it… no more, no less. That’s what we all get.
One chance…. to live today.
Order NOW.
When will you get your order?
Instantly. It’s a ‘on demand’ in the truest sense of the term.
But here, today, I will share a secret with you. Perhaps the greatest secret. I didn’t invent it… but I learned it from a great friend and inspiration.
It’s the ultimate secret:
To life.
To getting all that you dream.
To living with NO regrets till your last breath… and
Tto serving yourself and those you touch to your highest ability.
To dying at peace knowing you truly lived when your time comes.
You get all that, and more the instant you…
This letter to you may in fact be a 911 call… an emergency of the highest order if you’ve been living in a stupor, depressed, lost, or without hope.
Today is the day.
- All the best,
Craig Perrine
P.S. If you haven’t already, go watch "The Secret", a movie that will challenge you, inspire you, and give you plenty of food for thought… http://www.thesecret.tv
Also… consider the following movies (in no particular order):
Elizabeth Town
Last Holiday
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Brian’s Song
Braveheart
Saving Private Ryan
Joe vs The Volcano
Shawshank Redemption
Lion King
Field of Dreams
Meet Joe Black
Aeon Flux
Glory Road
Miracle
Castaway
Mrs Doubtfire
Glory
Hoosiers
Rudy
October Sky
Dead Poet’s Society
Ray
… there are more, there may be better, but this list will get you thinking…
If you haven’t already…
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Amen, Craig.
Heed we should, the lessons others are trying to teach us.
Would you rather say – “I’m sorry I did…or…I wish I had” No regrets. Live
Love
Enjoy
Create memories (for yourself and those you love)
Work hard
Share
Support others
Meet life head on and say – I am ready!
Go Do It!
Follow Sylvie’s example.
Create adventures to remember.
Love others – asking nothing in return.
You will reap the return of love so gratifying it will rock you to the core. When you least expect it and need it most.
I know – I have received so much.
Amen, Craig.
Hi Craig,
Your moving post prompted me to go “public” with one of the most spiritual and inspirational experiences of my life. (Deep breath…)
I was on the east side of the Andes in the Peruvian “cloud rainforest,” having crested the mountain range at over 14,000 feet in a tour bus two days before. I was traveling with a group of twelve like-minded souls. We were traveling to sacred sites in Peru for the second time, this time to several locations new to most of us.
As part of our exploration of Peruvian shamanism (ancient wisdom passed down through generations for 20,000 years, differing mostly in “cultural clothing” from other shamanic traditions, but not in essence), we drank “ayuhuasca” as part of a sacred evening ritual. As I listened to the shaman (who is also a Ph.D in anthropology) chant and rattle, the bullfrogs of the jungle began to sing their evening song, along with other jungle creatures adding to the cacophy.
We were lying flat on thick blankets in an open air gazebo that had temporarily been wrapped with large cloths to give a bit of privacy. However, the feeling was definitely “out of doors.”
Around 11 PM, while still very much “with the plant,” (code speak for “still feeling the influence of the hallucinogenic compounds present in the ayuhusaca”), the shaman brought us back into present time and space. He told us to go back to our rooms and ponder two questions while the “wisdom of the plant” was still very available to us : 1) What is the essence of the Universe? and 2) What is your essence?
Because we were still unsteady, ending our formal session, called a “journey,” about three hours early, several of us linked arms into small groups and walked back the long 1,000 feet to our rooms. I shared my room with two others, who appeared to hit their beds and fall right asleep. I was not so fortunate. I began to work with the questions. (Sidebar: Certain shamanic traditions teach that the plants of the world hold great wisdom about life, having survived literally milliions of years. That is the wisdom we were tapping into.) The answers I received were profound but written down somewhere else and not available now.
However, I was given specific instructions (hints? advice?) about how to proceed with my life. I was to sell my house, end my romantic relationship, move back to Calfornia, then resurrent the gold mining project I had failed at twent-five years earlier. Then I heard, with exceptional clarity, the following:
“Byron, you don’t need to be afraid. Just do your part, in the right timing, without hesitation, and it will all be revealed to you.”
Since last August, 2005 when I heard those words, I have done my best to live into the truth of that very clear admonishment. And it has all come true. I’ve done all the interim steps, having 1) sold the house; 2) ended the relationship; and 3) traveled to California for six weeks to lay groundwork for my re-generated gold mining project. Events have proven more “true” to that advice than I could have imagined, as follows:
1) I have a proposal in hand to do business, completely unexpected, which leaves me with 51% of a multii-million dollar project; 2) I’ve reconnected with my sweetheart on a new level of fulfillment, gratitude and compassion; 3) I will travelling to Salt Lake City (again!) on September 18 to finalize the proposal and meet a Director of an Australian public mining company (that is about to begin mining tin, sapphires and gold) who wants to invest in my project; and 4) return to California during early October to launch my project. This time I will be driving a 1-ton dually pickup and 5th-wheel trailer, kind of like Craig’s but with no steroids!
Much of this success I attribute to those words of jungle wisdom I heard that night. Much of the rest I attribute to the powerful, positive impact of “The Secret” that you, Craig, recommended. Watching and listening is almost like a drug-induced ecstacy of positive feelings, hope and satisfaction. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to manifest a more fulfilling, more satisfying existence while living through a physical body, and move quickly through fear, hesitancy and procrastination.
So thanks, Craig, for posting today. I hope my reply enhances the impact of your powerful words.
Best regards,
Byron Aldrich
thegoldguy@gmail.com
If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was written by a poet laureate. True words of compassion and wisdom have not been put so nobly by anyone on the internet in a long time Craig.
Most internet marketers are afraid to show their true insides. Or else they are mostly hype hype hype, no passion or compassion.
By bearing your soul to us, you came across as a real feeling person (we who only know you from your blog or emails, have never heard your voice person to person) who has a message of meaning without the marketing b.s. I get from most other blogs and emails.
Great job, Craig. I intend to take the first steps you suggest. I’ve heard this before, but this was a different way. And it’s necessary for all of us to hear it multiple times.
My late father, who passed away last year at the awesome age of 98, would have loved your philosophy, he embodied what you said. Hopefully his children are doing so too. At least this one is learning.
God bless.
Reece Franklin
Craig,
I enjoyed your presentation at Pat O’Bryan’s Unseminar, but this post today gives me a feeling of great respect for a kindred heart. Thank you for sharing and for turning tragedy remembered into inspiration for right now.
Best regards,
Buz McGuire
Craig, that was one of the most inspiring, perfectly timed messages I have ever read. I felt a sense of urgency building up inside me to go after my dreams and goals. The examples you draw on are real to me and make your message impact me that much more. Thank you for reminding me that every moment of my life is special and can never be replaced. I sometimes forget that.
Scott Lambert
Craig,
Thanks for a deeply moving reminder of what’s really important. None of us will lie on our death bed wishing we’d gotten our conversion rate up another 0.5%. I buried a friend last month and my regrets are that I didn’t take time with him when I could. My wife (who’s a Unity minister) and I are holding Sylvie in our prayers.
As an addition to your movie list, I recommend the current flick “Invincible”
Great true story about following your dreams and going for broke!
All the best,
Wes Hopper
Craig,
Thanks for the great sentiment. This is a great day to both remember our losses and be grateful for everything.
My prayers are added to yours for a healthy present and future for Sylvie. My mother and older sister are both breast cancer survivors and I am certain that Sylvie will be with them in this long battle of health.
Amen to the constant cry for all people to find and live their life’s passion and fulfill their purpose. As I have said to every person I have ever hired, “have fun by noon or quit, life’s too short for anything else.”
Go out and have fun as you keep your health and create more wealth.
I’d also like everyone to remember my friend Catherine who tragically perished in the Twin Towers because she was unfortunate to be at an event at Windows on the World on the wrong day. I know she was doing what she loved to do that day, marketing!
Peace all,
Irwin Glenn
http://www.navagility.com
Hi Craig,
I needed your pick me up more than ever today,and I am sure that it is helping thousands of more readers that are worse off than I am today! Every word not only came from your heart but from your sprit.
Anyone who has not read Craig’s My Salesletter for life should read it and then read it again,and be thankful for what you have ,and learn and realize all you can be.
I thank you Craig,
Leo
Dear Craig: Do I know you? Not really, but in all honesty, I probably don’t need to. Please that is not a negative statement, for the following reasons:
1. No, I’ve received a few e-mails from you, read them, with this response as proof. But you, are really, no one I know.
2. Or, you are everyone I wish to know, sweet, obviously compassionate, a parent, apparently, thoughtful, full of vim and vigour, patriotic, faithful, respectful, unbiased, honest,
3. Or, that man, running behind me saying “WAIT, you need this!!” Returning the small stuffed animal my young son dropped at the airport, on our first flight home after running away 17 years ago.
4. And, this is just a hope, The type of man I dream my sons will become when (and, somedays, hopefully) they become men.
I am a Canadian, I too watched the Horror, and your words, mean more than any that I might of heard had I turned on the TV today. I knew, beyond all hopes that that medium would be far more than I could deal with today. I don’t need the horrific pictures, the dramatic actions, the sadness, tears, hope fading, happiness welling reminders of those who lost, thought they lost and those who thankfully found they had NOT lost.
It’s embedded in every face I imagine, every child’s tear as Daddy or Mommy leaves, whether it be for a day at work or a time longer apart.
We all have good-byes, we all feel sorrow in parting, but unlike so many, those of us, not stricken by the filth of 9-11-2001, we don’t have to have those good-byes as a memory of never having said “Good-Bye”. We can put the fear behind us, we can lower our guards, reach out, forget past endevours, or failures and really, tell someone, with our heart, good-bye.
I cannot imagine not being able to somehow reach that one person, leaving my world, and say good-bye, be it friend, lover, parent, child, pet, enemy, whoever! Not to know that the last time you saw them would be just that! The last time. Lose all possibility of that, NOW. Take the time to say good-bye, write it, mail it, seal it in an envelope and burn it, just don’t lose that chance. Someday it will haunt you and you will suffer for it. Let your tears fall for those who didn’t know it was their last chance to say good-bye. But for yourself, don’t waste those tears on yourself if you miss your chance!!
TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN (2001-911)
Two thousand one, nine eleven
Three thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying, “Lets sit, lets chat”
They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
“I have a dream!” and once he did
The Newcomer said, “Your dream still lives.”
Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
“We’re from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine”
The Newcomer said, “You died not in vain.”
From a man on sticks one could hear
“The only thing we have to fear.
The Newcomer said, “We know the rest,
Trust us sir, we’ve passed that test.”
“Courage doesn’t hide in caves
You can’t bury freedom, in a grave,”
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores
A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus
that day
“Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we’re not”
The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, “Don’t talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me”
Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just ’cause they must
Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell, but not alone
“Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman
Side by side helping their fellow man!”
So said Martin, as he watched the scene
“Even from nightmares, can be born a dream.”
Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in ‘45
The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
“I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow — but I don’t see fear.”
“You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
Are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You’re not really gone.
All of those people, even those who’ve never met
you
All of their lives, they’ll never forget you
Don’t you see what has happened?
Don’t you see what you’ve done?
You’ve brought them together, together as one.
With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
“Take my hand,” and from there he led
Three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven
Author UNKNOWN (What a shame!)
I am completely responsible for the lack of peace in this world. Untill there is only peace in my heart and being there can be no peace in the world. JB
Craig,
I received an email from one of my subscriptions that referred me to this post. THANK YOU! I concure with the majority here, you have brought a new level of intense feelings for life through your writings.
So many of us are boggeddown by the day to day and need a pick me up. I plan on send an email tonight to all of my subscribers to rewad this post. I hope the ones that do will take action on your words.
I was with my fiancee yesterday out on the bay @ the port of Oakland we went to the power & sail boat show. s we embarked on a ride during the afternoon the feelings of peace we all around us. When we arrived home refelected on this past summer…
Here we are broke we lost our home to a financial hardship last year and 2 cars along with it. I have been out of work building a business and yet our summer has been quite eventful.
Here’s a list of our summer you’ll see where I’m going momentarily.
we moved to Lodi, CA. in April
attended a fundraiser and dinner, worked our booth at the trade show ’street faire”, visited friends often, went to an internet marketing seminar by Derek Gehl, experianced wine in wine country, saw some awesome superbike races, we attended the street fair, just came back from Las Vegas where we saw the final show for Faith Hill & Tim McGraw’s “Soul to Soul” tour, and as I mentioned yesterdays boat show.
Thjis is my point where there is a will there is a way and believe me life will always, and I do mean always find a way.
Live it to your fullest and never sell out for anyone elses dream.
Our lives have never been easy and we have not reached the pinnacle point of the internet markateer. We just know life goes on with or without you. Don’t let it pass you by.
s you have mentioned failure is a part of life the part that no one talks about. Do it with your best efforts and you shall never be left behind. It may take longer than you have planned; (believe me); but you will get to where you want to be.
Here’s to the best that life has to offer
It may be an ‘odd’ thought but ever since 9/11 I’ve had the feeling that: because that was such a shocking event, not just to the United States, but to the world, in the days after it occured we – the United States – lost a historic chance to bring the world together against terrorism – including those who had sponsored such events up until that time!
My thoughts go out to all peoples the world over, with the hope that we can bring an end to this insanity.
Take care all,
Bob
Hi Craig… Sometimes we tend to think of marketers as people trying to stop you closing your front door with their foot.
You’ve just confirmed my belief that I made the right choice to become an internet marketer 3 years ago when I sold my lucrative 5 practice optometry business to go and live on a beautiful tropical island in Thailand. After reading your words, I know I’m in good company and made the right decision for all the reasons you’ve just put into words.
I come from Steve Irwin country (Australia) and almost without exception people here are saying he was doing what he loved. We also lost in the same week another national hero Peter Brock who is a motor racing legend here. He died in a car rally doing what he loved.
If I can’t wake up in the morning and not look forward with enthusiasm to what I intend to do that day, then I know it’s time to change something about my life. I did it 3 years ago and still do it today. When tradegies happen I always find myself saying “those people didn’t know when they woke up that morning that they wouldn’t be coming home and going to bed that night”. Each morning you wake up, be aware of this and change whatever you can to make it a good day.
Fortunately with internet marketing I’ve found something to do with my day that I love and which allows me the freedom to live where I want to live and work when I want to work. I can’t wait to get up in the morning! Every single day when added together becomes your life and if you hate getting up in the morning and doing what you do, then effectively you hate your life.
Thanks for sharing this Craig. I’ll be passing this on to all the people I care about. Take care mate.
Rob Seiler
Australia
Craig,
the best sales letter you have ever written.
In fact, the best sales letter ever written.
CW
That was awsome Craig. You really got me thinking and looking where I have been and where I am going in the future. One of the things I have always believed is that life is fun but you have to help it along and one of the best ways to do that is to help others also enjoy the fun of being truly alive.
Thanks Craig
Tom Walsted
Excellent! I’m mid way through my 6th decade and doing my best to make the next 38 years productive. One thing for sure living in this great nation filled with wonderful folk for the most part and enjoying the protection of dedicated public servants, military and many just ministering angels who volunteer makes it easier. We can not say enough about all those who did so much on that horrible day and since then to make things easier for the survivors.
Great Job Craig from another Texan named Craig up in Bonham
Thank you Craig,
I have a deck of inspirational cards on my desk and I pick one or two every morning. Today mine says:
“I deserve only good in my life”
Three years ago I remet the other half of my heart through our high school reunion website. After 26 years.
I had slowly destroyed my life to the point where my first thought each and every morning was wondering if this would be the day I could die. I was pretty sad.
I no longer take life for granted in any way at all, and have embarked on my third career as a marketer and I love it. I love providing what may be someone’s hope and maybe the one something that may let them see how truly precious their lives are.
I am awed by your words and your thoughts. Thank you for sharing them.
I love my life. Here is what I say:
I am wealthier and wealthier everyday by providing excellent service through my marketing business.
I count wealth as not just money but in the amount of enjoyment I have in every part of my life.
Thank you again, Craig.
Amen, Craig.
Thank you for sharing in the post. It is very warming to read.
“The question you must ask yourself is how you will live in the days that you have.”
“Don’t fear the end, embrace it as the ulitmate deadline that you WILL meet, and enjoy the heck out of the journey there.”
We all have something we hope for, and I… too. I hope that these words will go out to everyone, and they will accept in kind.
Thanks, Craig, for reducing me to a sobbing mess… (lol)
I haven’t been so moved, so motivated or focused in a very long time.
THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart.
Warmest regards,
Lisa Preston
Canada
Hi Craig, Thank you so much for your touching words. I also want to thank Muhammad Shariq for sending out the link to Craig’s blog on such an emotional day.
I can acknowledge that there is great evil in the world, always has been and probably always will be. I CHOOSE to see the good in others and believe that there is no limit to the compassion and love we can share with one another each and every day of our lives.
On September 11, 2001, hudreds of brave men and women put their own personal safety aside to help others who could not help themselves. I think about these brave souls every time somebody cuts me off in traffic, and when I see a plane fly over my head (which happens often because I live close to a large airport). I think about these brave men and women when I see an EMT, fire truck or sheriff’s car drive past, or when I see a man or woman in a military uniform. I think of these courageous people every time I see a random act of kindness. Today is a celebration of life and a poignant reminder that we have the choice every single day to do what fills us up with joy, or to be miserable and complacent.
I have seen about 80% of the movies on Craig’s list and my favorite movie of all time is Field of Dreams. Recently, a business mentor told me about The Secret, so I watched the movie on their website and then bought the CD so my parents could watch it with me.
I live with my elderly parents. I know some people might say what is a 42 year old divorced woman doing living with her parents. You may think it is odd but I knew three years ago that one of the main purposes in my life was to help my parents, especially because they have been so wonderful to me. I try my best each day to make life a little easier for my mom. You see, my dad has Alzheimer’s and prostate cancer. Many people may think and some say to me, oh my, your dad has Alzheimer’s how awful. Yes, it is a tragic disease and I love my dad so much it hurts deeply to see how he has changed over the past 10 years.
I knew I was on the right path helping my parents as best as I could, but I felt so much anger inside about my dad’s ill health. Last year I could feel a shift in my anger which was just about the same time I decided to stop being so serious, and such a parent, with my dad. I decided to try and be as silly and giddy as he is almost every day. My dad has the happiest outlook on life and is silly just about every day. I didn’t realize it at the time but the more I released my anger the easier it became to be silly and enjoy each day with my mom and dad.
A few short months later I saw The Secret for the first time, and everything became clear. We are so blessed! I made a deal with my mom that we celebrate life each day. I work a home based business, and I push myself each day to learn as much as I can to build a successful company to support me and my family. We are so very blessed to have one other and since I embraced where I am in life things are truly opening up for me. Anyone who takes the time to read this must understand that I am not a special individual because I love and want to care for my parents. I am not doing an honorable thing that is expected of me, or because I have to, and it certainly isn’t because I am any stronger than the next person. I CHOOSE to be the best I can each day and some days I fall short of my goal…..but most days I just feel love.
All I can see to anyone who reads this mess of a message is….LIVE LIFE ON PURPOSE! Respect the ones you love and treat them with the kindness and compassion they deserve. If you hate your job then find a new one, challenge yourself, do something that absolutely scares the bejeebers out of you. Remember most of all that we have a choice every day to be happy and loving no matter what is going on around us. What will you choose today?
Thank you Craig for inspiring all of your readers, including me!
Sincerely,
Diana McGraw
Tampa, Florida
It’s amazing that more and more of us are learning that the truth behind September 11, 2001 was not the horror of it all, but the living of life that goes on. This very day, I just sent out a similar message in my blog, (listed above) and it re-inforces in my mind that we have to help one another, when I read this blog.
Make it a great day!
Brother Paul
You know, I’m speechless (maybe I used up all my words earlier, lol).
I’ve read everyone’s comments and the emails, too, some several times. Thank you all for taking the time to put your reactions down in these comments… I, too, am inspired by you all… I think some of your comments were almost as long as the post itself… awesome.
What’s great is that this interaction we’ve had today not only honors 911 but it is itself validation of our lives, our time together.
By the way… Michel IM’d me and Sylvie’s surgery went amazingly… and she’s resting and recovering at home. Since I got so many prayers for Sylvie, I thought I’d follow up ASAP so you know she’s doing great…
It’s gratifying to me that my ’salesletter for life’ converted extremely well
Thank you!
- Craig
Hi Craig,
Well written. It echoes what is within my own heart.
I believe that peace begins within the heart of each individual and radiates outward to those around us.
And the step that takes us there, the step that so many people (myself included) more often than not forget along the way, is forgiveness.
See, forgiveness is not about the other person. No. Forgiveness is about yourself. For the only person you can truly change, the only person you can control, is you. You cannot control another or force your forgivness on them and yet when you forgive, it releases both you and them. Forgiveness is the miracle of all miracles.
And if we can all just take one moment to let go, to forgive, and honor the Divine in ALL living things, we will touch peace, one day making it a reality everywhere on Earth.
But just like success, just like wealth, just like living our dreams, we must take the next step – take action. And let our actions speak louder than words ever could.
Well said, Craig. Thank you!
A wonderful book about forgiveness is called Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibigiza. It’s about the 1994 Rwandan holocaust of which she is a survivor. I highly recommend it. We could all learn a lot from her example.
Blessings all ways,
Annie Anderson
An Unfinished Life (just adding to your list of movies that fit this post). Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Morgan Freeman.
Hi Craig, I am so happy for your friends Sylvie and Michel….excellent news! It just goes to show that the power of attraction works hand in hand with prayer. I had what some people might consider a “cancer scare” but I was not worried. I can tell you that I was a little concerned but I just knew everything was going to turn out fine. My health is actually better than ever since I started eating a more well balanced diet and taking better care of myself. God bless your friends Sylive and Michel….and I will continue to pray for their health.
Take care,
Diana McGraw
Hello Craig:
All I can say is FANTISTIC.
I hope that your wife gets better, and I know that her faith in God is stronger now than ever in her life, and that is whats going to make her stronger.
Your article reminded me of an old saying that made me stronger after I had my Quadrouple by pass, and was down in the dumps till I thought of it, and it pulled me up again, and I hope that anyone reading this, that it will help them also.
I CRIED AND FELT SORRY FOR MYSELLF BECAUSE i HAD NO SHOES, UNTILL I SAW A MAN THAT HAD NO FEET.
Regards and God bless you and your wife.
Dale
Ranger, Texas
Hi Craig,
I just finished reading your blog message and thought you deserved a kudo for expressing your thoughts so perfectly and so heartfelt in their
delivery. I publish an online ezine about Creating your own reality, called
Prosperity Prophet and wanted to tell you that your message is a grand wake up call that touched my heart deeply.
We all make decisions in our lives based too much on moving away from
something rather than moving towards what we truly desire and your blog
posting could not have said it much clearer. Living every day as a gift is
much more than joyfull, it is the actual purpose that unfolds in reaching
our goals, and taking those huge strides toward our individual, purposeful
path.
I just wanted you to realize that by writing that message you have let your
inner light shine and you should feel the joy that you have created in no
doubt, countless lives by opening up and sharing the way you did. Thank
you, Craig, for being real and being “you”.
I hope that in the future we may have the opportunity to meet and work on a project that transends these words and assists others in creating the reality that they have always dreamed of.
My mission is to spread the teachings that enable people to step out
of thier self imposed prisons and step into the lives that await them of
pure joy and pleasure as they “do what they truly love to do”, for this is
the key of passion that will set people free!
I thank you for your open communication and hope we have the chance to
someday get to kick back and speak more about these principles…
P.S. Joe’s book is awesome!
Namaste my friend.
Len Wright
Prosperity Prophet
http://www.InnerVibeMarketing.com
I request another url leading to the Secret. The link provided relates to an error…………………..Please advice.
Thank you for EVERYTHING!
Craig,
All I can say is WOW! I am so deeply moved that I am speechless.
Thanks Shariq for pointing me in this direction. I needed this in more ways than one.
Thanks Craig for inspiring me to live life to the fullest each and every second and to get started NOW on my dream of starting my own internet business(which I have put off for too long because of fear).
I am so grateful for life today.
Tammy
I like your blog. It’s full of useful information. Do you take donations via paypal?