“Die Young, as Late as Possible”
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

I saw the quote above in my chiropractor’s office. The full quote reads, “The idea is to die young, as late as possible.” Truth be told, he has only been my chiropractor for less than a week, but we have seen each other every morning for the last six days. I made one wrong move while putting two card tables in a friend’s car, and well, you can imagine what followed.

As a person of faith, I believe God has a reason for everything that comes into my life, and I have learned so much from my new doctor and recent experience. We shared thoughts and philosophies each day as he worked to get my lower back working again. The quote above was just one of our conversations and got me thinking about how we do that.

From my doctor’s perspective, the focus should be on healthy living if we want to keep our bodies young. This would include a healthy diet and appropriate exercise. Yes, I need to focus more on both of those. As someone who loves leadership, growth, and development, I saw many parallels to keeping our minds young and engaged. Here are just a few:

• Learn something new daily. Just watch a toddler. They are so curious about everything they see. As they get older and begin to talk, they start asking ‘why’ questions. They aren’t trying to be defiant; they are just so curious. For some reason, as we get older, our curiosity dies. Then, the next thing we know, we are sitting in front of a screen watching who knows what for hours on end. The solution is to get up, get moving, and learn something new. Learning something new has never been easier than today.
• Ask more questions. I know these next two may sound like a Progressive commercial but start engaging with people. Do you know people’s stories? Everyone has a story, and most people love telling it. Sadly, we spend so much time looking at our screens that we don’t look into people’s eyes and really get to know them. (As I write this, I have four screens in front of me. Physician, heal thyself.)
• Add value to people. When I think of people who really live until they die, they are always people who look to make a difference in the lives of others. They wake up every morning looking for opportunities to add value to others. They want to make a difference in the world around them.

My dad has often said, “People have a choice. They can wear out or rust out.” John Maxwell has said, “Too many people have died and just haven’t made it official.” Both of them and the quote in my chiropractor’s office all say the same thing: the idea is to die young, as late as possible. Be intentional in life. Take care of your body, mind, and soul. Focus on others, and everyone wins.