The Silent Power of Everyday Moments

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0:46This is The Ed Myeret Show Alright, welcome back to the show everybody So very excited to be with you today Thanks for being back And you know, a few weeks ago I did a show that went incredibly viral And we titled that show QTR which stood for quality time remaining. And it really got millions of you thinking about your life and how much time you have left in life. And so it's been a while now. It's been several weeks. And since that show came out, I've had this concept and this thought just resonating in my mind that I wanted to share with you. And I'm very excited. I have a feeling this episode is going to be shared even more than that one.

1:22And here's the thought that I have with you. As you know, I wrote a book. My second book was called The Power of One More. And that someday you're going to give something one more try and you're going to have one more conversation. And I thought about quality time remaining combined with the power of one more. And it got me to thinking about really fully being present. And I got something I really want to talk to you about today, something that might hit you right in the heart. And it's about being present, but probably not in the kind of buzzwordy kind of be mindful kind of way that you think.

1:53I mean, really be present and whether or not we are. And what if something was happening in your life for the last time? Not the first time, but the last time in your life. What if you knew it at the time? Would you treat that moment a little bit differently? Would you treat that conversation? Would you treat that experience differently? Because there's so many moments in our lives that are sacred, but they come across as ordinary, but they're beautiful moments. and we don't realize it until they're gone that that was the last time that something happened in our life. And by the time we figure it out, we've already missed the chance to really feel them, to really be present.

2:31Today, I want to kind of take you through a walk down, maybe memory lane a little bit, but I want to walk you through some of those last times in your life and just give yourself the gift of picturing some of these moments. You won't have experienced all of them, but I'm going to share some of them with you, take you back to your childhood a little bit and then beyond. But I want you to think about the innocence of when you were a child, just for a second. Like, do you remember the last time you waited for the ice cream truck in your neighborhood? If you had one, you know, the sound of that music echoing down the street, you could hear it.

3:07The ice cream truck is coming. You're scrambling to find some coins or whatever to get outside in time. You didn't know it, but at some point that was the last time ever in your life, you'd wait for the ice cream truck. You didn't even think about it. But probably when you were young, you were just present. You were fully there. You were joyful in the moment. But the fact of the matter is that never happened again in your life. I want you to think about in your life, how many things happened for the last time that are gone forever and how precious something that seems so simple, so mundane truly was in our lives.

3:45that last time for the ice cream truck. What about the last time you ever rode the swings at the park? Think about that. When you're a little boy or a little girl, you know, your stomach kind of flips when you're doing the swings. Think about that for a second. There was a last time in your precious life, the precious story of you that you sat on the swings for the last time. What about the last time you tried to make it home before the streetlights came on if you're my age That was a big rule in our neighborhood. You had to be home before the streetlights came on And some of you that are younger don't know what i'm talking about, but most of you do That last time you were running home before the streetlights came on You know, you didn't say goodbye to those things necessarily.

4:30They just faded You grew up and life got busy Think about this when was the last time if you were blessed to have it that your mom packed your lunch for school do you realize that there was a moment that was the last time your mom made lunch and packed it for you put it in your lunchbox or in my case this little brown bag i don't have a lunchbox that was the last time a precious sacred moment in your life it'll never come back again and there's a point that i'm leading up to with this and i think you can already feel it Just give yourself the gift of these moments of your life, running back home before the streetlights come on.

5:11You're in the other room and your mom's in there packing lunch for you or your dad. When was the last time, there was a last time that you sat at the dinner table with your whole family? All of you there when you're a little boy or a little girl, maybe you're a teenager. And maybe there hasn't been a last time yet, but there's going to be a last time. that you have dinner with your family. We don't mark those moments. There's no celebration. There's no warning. They just happen. And then they're over. I'll never again run home for the streetlights. I'll never again be a little boy on the swing set again.

5:49And you'll never be that little boy or little girl again either. And when you think about that now, about how we go through our adult lives, waiting for the next thing, rushing to the next one, rushing to check social media, finding out what happened in politics today, right? Comparing ourselves to other people when really we're living what will one day be someone else's good old days. And then the magic disappears. Think about the disappearing magic in your life. You know, there was a last time that you were excited that Santa was coming. There was a last Christmas where that happened. And then the next ones, they were wonderful, but they're never the same magic.

6:27There's a magic to it. And by the way, if you have children, they'll be the last time you make their lunch. That's a sacred thing. It seems mundane. It seems like a chore, but it's a blessing. They'll be the last time your child plays on the swings. They'll be a last time your child has that anticipation of Santa at Christmas time. And you probably didn't know it then, but that Christmas one year, it just felt different. And that was it. we spend so much time in our life waiting for the big moment, the thing that seems amazing. When these things that are mundane moments, sometimes are the most special.

7:06The ice cream truck came a lot where I grew up in our little hood neighborhood, right? The swings were at the park. They were free, but there was a last time that I got off those swings and walked away forever. There was a last time we had a million times as a family where we had dinner and we, you know, You're arguing with your sister or your brother or something's wrong at school and you got to go do your homework or whatever it is. Or you want to make a call to your boyfriend or your girlfriend. But you didn't know it. But at one time was the last time. And you don't know it, but there's things happening in your life right now that are the last time for you or your children or a friend.

7:45What if you began to view more moments of your life? How would I treat this if this was the last conversation with my child? How would I treat this if this was the last meeting I was going to give in my business? How would I treat this if this was the last ball game I watched? The last time my mom came over to the house for a visit? The last time my sister and I visited or my brother? And here's the thing. These aren't just memories. They're reminders, reminders that every ordinary moment you're living right now, one day you'll look back and realize that was the last time too. And it makes me wonder, what am I rushing through the day so much for that I'm going to miss tomorrow?

8:25What are we in such a hurry for to get to the next one when we may have missed the last one? What am I treating like it's disposable when it's really sacred? You know, there was a last time you walked out of school. There was a last time. I remember very vividly the last baseball game I played because I knew it was the last one. I had been injured and it was over and I knew it. And I remember the ball got popped up to our shortstop and he caught the ball. And I remember realizing in that moment, it all happened in slow motion as I ran off the field, like I had done thousands of other times. This was the last official baseball game of my life.

9:12All the ground balls I took in my life, all the batting practices, all the at-bats, all the times they announced my name, all the laps I ran, all the videos I watched, all the training I did, all the laughing in the dugout, all the putting my cleats on, all grabbing my glove, all looking at the ball, all running after a fly ball. Those would never happen again. I was blessed in the fact that in that moment, I knew it was the last one and it was emotional but I took it all in I have really clear sensory acuity I can smell the grass and I can see who was in the stands and my family and friends and I I know what I was wearing I know where the ball popped up I know who we were playing I took it all in so imagine it's midnight you're on the couch you're scrolling through this new website hitting the add to cart button and you decide to check out but you remember that your wallet or your credit card is in the other room and you don't want to get off the couch, that's okay, you don't need to because there's that big iconic purple shop button.

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11:54Too many moments in our lives. We don't realize it's the last one. moments are precious. When's the last time it was the last sleepover you had with friends? Laugh until your sides hurt, no one wanting to go to bed. The last sleepover when you're a little boy or a little girl. Kids don't even really do that stuff much anymore. But when I was a kid, it was a big deal to have a sleepover or go to a sleepover. There was a last one and then that innocence was gone forever. That moment's no different than something happening in your life right now. There might be a last time your parents really held you in their arms.

12:35That was the last time. Let that sink in for a second. It's not about getting sad or stuck in the past. It's about recognizing the weight and the preciousness of moments in our life. The problem isn't that things end. It's that we don't see them while they're happening. I mean, when was the last time you sat on a porch and just talked with someone and took it all in like it might be the last one? I call it the richness of the experience. We all have experiences of our lives, but if I have a regret in my life, it was robbing myself and others of the richness and the depth of the experience. It's one thing to know you have quality time remaining.

13:18It's one thing to have the power of one more. But it's a little bit different to say, what if this was the last time? What if you began to treat more things that seem ordinary, that seem mundane, that seem repetitive as if they weren't? As if it was the last time. I ran home to beat the streetlights a bunch of times. I went to some sleepovers a bunch of times. But there was a last one, and I'll never have that again. I should have taken more of it in. It's not the big things in life. It's the simple things in life. I'll never run off the field again. those moments are filled with life with meaning and they're fleeting so what are we doing now we're rushing through dinner scrolling on our phones we're at the dinner but we're thinking about the meeting we got to check our social media we hurry up and tell our kids to hurry up or eat all your food and it's just another meal with our kids you know having kids now left my home and gone on to college and life i miss when they were there they took so many of those dinners for granted.

14:23So many times they just came back from school, hey honey, and I was back on with my day. I wish someone would have said, you know, someday she's not coming home from school anymore. Someday Max isn't going to tell you about his day. Someday they're not going to be in your house.

14:45There'll be a time, there'll be the last day I'm in the home I'm in. What I'm saying is, it's the richness that we're missing. It's the depth of the experience because we're in the hurry to get to the big one.

15:03I blew that in my life. You know what I think? So are you most of the time. These moments have meaning. Don't rush onto your phone. Are we skipping past real conversations to check email or cross off another to-do list item. We're in this culture of getting things done, getting things done, getting things done. And even when it comes to that, you probably have a business meeting every week that you run. It's the same one. But what if it was the last one? Would you treat it different? What if that sales call you have today or this week was the last one? Would you be a little bit more prepared, a little bit more focused, be a little bit more grateful, treat it a little bit less mundane and repetitive and boring.

15:46You know, I get really excited when I speak, but someday they'll be the last speech I give. I've done a pretty good job when I'm on stage of thinking, what if this was the last one? Take it all in. Give it everything. Prepare. We're so busy trying to be efficient that we're missing the essence of life. Here's what I want you to think about today. Right now, you're living in a moment that one day will not come again. There is a last time coming for the routines you take for granted. The last time your dog greets you at the door, we just lost my precious Pomeranian that many of you know from social media, Lily.

16:27Miss how she'd make me feel when I came through the door. There was a last time for that. I just had two of my horses we had to say goodbye to and put down, Lucky and Bell. So many times I went in, I was excited to see them, but I actually knew in their case that it was the last time. And I spent quite a long time with both of them. I took in the entire experience. I gave them a special meal. I brushed them both. I bathed them both. I kissed them both. I talked to them both. They loved on me. I loved back on them. I had a rich experience knowing it was the last one because I knew it was the last one But I could have given myself the gift of that at any time I didn't have to wait for the actual last one to treat it like the last one There'll be a last time if you have babies at home and kids that they're going to ask you to tuck them in There'll be a last time There'll be a last time one of your friends calls you just to chat So instead of waiting for someday to appreciate these things, what if we caught ourselves in the act of being alive right now?

17:43What if we notice, like really notice what it feels like to live? Being present doesn't mean perfection. It means being present. It means the absence of other thoughts. It means not trying to get to something better. It means valuing the person or the experience you're having, even if it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to so many people. Because I can tell you, there was a last lunch I had with my Grammy, my grandma. My Grammy and I would meet pretty regularly and she'd make, my grandmother just made like the best tuna fish sandwiches. And as I got out of college and older and went into business, I would just go over and visit with my grandmother.

18:23And we'd have lunch in her little kitchen and her little table. and we talked for a couple hours and there was a last time and I know when it was. I'm so grateful that for some reason, whether I took it all in and then I never had the blessing of doing that again. What if I was in a hurry to check my phone? What if I was in a hurry to see for many people lunch with Grammy wouldn't be that big of a deal, but she was my Grammy. So you have yours. I think we chase the things that are big deals to other people Instead of focusing on the things that are big deals to us Our children our family our friends our experiences And most of them are pretty small experiences Most of you wouldn't wait in line and reminisce about going to have lunch with my grandmother But do you know what I would do to have one more lunch with Grammy?

19:21I'm so grateful for those lunches It was one of the few things in my life I took in completely. Because she was older, I knew there could potentially be a last one because of her age. I treated those conversations differently than I treated the ones with other people. Plus, I loved her so much and she made me feel so good about myself. It means looking someone in the eye and really hearing them. It doesn't mean being perfect. It means stopping to breathe in and smell your child's hair. remember what that's like because there'll be a time where you can't my dad had a very distinct cologne he wore and i remember as he was dying and getting sick i remember reminding myself this may be the last time i can remember that and now anywhere i am another man happens to be wearing and i know what it was old spice cologne he wore that it takes me back to dad.

20:28It means pausing before you move on to the next thing and just staying a little longer in the now, living with a little bit more awareness and gratitude. Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door, expertly cleaned and folded, so you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you, like tea time you, or this tea time you or even this tea time you or even tea time, tea time, tea time you So update on Dave. It's up to you. We'll take the laundry. Rinse. It's time to be great. I really want you to think about this. What if you started to look at more things as if it was the last time you got to do it?

21:16For you personally. Remember the last time, if you're my age, you went into a store to buy music. Remember that? We would go into a store to buy music. The last time you were in a phone booth, the last time you used a rotary phone, now I'm aging myself.

21:37The last time I listened to the Top 40 on radio. The last time I got up to change a channel on a TV.

21:48For those of you a little bit younger, there'll be a last time you use google there'll be a last time you use a cell phone someday you're going to look back and go we had mobile cell phones but more importantly there'll be a last time that you talk with a friend there'll be a last time you do everything in your life and for most of us we're going to breeze right through them onto the next thing looking for the bigger and the better and the next in a big old hurry and we'll have the experience but it won't be rich. It won't be deep. Ask yourself that. What's the richness of the experience of your life?

22:27The depth of the memory, the depth of the emotions, the depth of you, the depth of your connections. And could it be deeper? Could it be richer? Could it be more memorable? You know, every goodbye, every last moment, every fade to black, they're just not about what we lose. They're invitations to live more fully now. So today, maybe they'll hug someone a little longer. Just hold them a little longer. Take it all in. Tell someone you love them without rushing it. I love you. Look at them. I love you. And feel it. Don't be ashamed. Let them feel it, more importantly. Like it was the last time you told them.

23:24How much better would your relationship with your significant other be if every time you told them you loved them, you said it like it was the last time. Every dinner you went to, you treated it as if it was the last one, or at least most of them. More of the time with your friends or your children. You said, what if this was the last time? When I'm recording this, my kids are coming home for about a week and they're bringing their boyfriend and their girlfriend with them. Normally I'd be really busy when they get here. I'd spend time with them, but we would do stuff, but I'd be checking my phone.

23:59I'd be in a hurry. I'd leave to go do a lot of different things, meetings, and then come back to it. And I literally stopped myself this morning. They're coming in tomorrow. What if this was the last time they came to spend with me? Because by the way, it'll be the last time that they're this person. It'll be the last time they're this age. It'll be the last time. Man, I'm taking it in. I am not cheating myself out of being in a hurry, waiting for the bigger moment, trying to do something huge. I'm going to do everything I can to tree legs the last time. I hope it's not. I need to do that more often.

24:41I'm going to hug them a little longer. I'm going to listen a little deeper. I'm going to laugh a little louder.

24:50Maybe watch the sunset without trying to take a photo of it for once. Maybe like, don't take a photo. Take a photo with your heart and your spirit and your mind and not your phone. Make a memory that's not on your camera roll, just in your heart, just for you to keep forever. You're not going to look at that picture anyway. And when you do, it's just a picture. but when you look in your heart and you remember how it made you feel well you can keep that forever just like my lunch with grammy just like that last baseball game because the truth is you don't always know when you're living the last time but if you're paying attention you know when you're living something beautiful and that's what i hope you'll carry with you the power of being right here, right now, with your whole heart.

25:50I was with you, right here with you today, as best I could give you. I hope I treated it like it's the last time, even though I hope it's not the last time. It's what I wanted to share today. Maybe you'll share this with somebody else. God bless you. Max out. This is the Ed Myland Show. you