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  • It's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.

  • Life is long enough, and it's been given to us in generous measure

  • for accomplishing the greatist things...

  • Alright, so Seneca was looking around and seeing

  • how everyone was complaining about how short life is,

  • and he said, "Look, life isn't short.

  • You're just wasting most of it." "You're always drunk and unconscious."

  • "You're willing to spend time with people that add no meaning to your life

  • and that you don't even like." "You come home and fight with your wife

  • until it's time to go to sleep." "You're willing to work as a slave for someone

  • until you're 60 and done with public duties." "And then when you're 60

  • and finally wake up, you look at life and say,

  • 'Where did it all go?'"

  • And I thought, "Wow!" I mean 2,000 years have passed and just look

  • around you. Nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing!

  • He says, "Look back at your life..."

  • Start adding up all the stupid things you spent your life on.

  • And let's make that relevant for today... Hanging out with people that you don't even

  • like, and then coming home and making sure that

  • you also don't miss out on their really important Facebook

  • status. Spending hours passed out drunk,

  • unconsciously watching TV, constanstly fighting with your spouse about

  • stupid little things, doing your little meaningless duties,

  • that you feel like you MUST do. You actually don't HAVE TO do

  • most of the things you think you have to do.

  • But now, add up all those hours, and it turns out you've had plenty of time!

  • All those hours are plenty of time for you to have lived a great life.

  • But you didn't, and instead,

  • you now complain about the shortness of life.

  • And this is really hard for people to understand. There's nothing I value more than my time.

  • I'm like really greedy with my time, and I get shit for it all the time.

  • But here's the thing... It's always a choice that you have to make,

  • and everything comes at a cost. Let's say I dedicate an hour to talking

  • to a friend of mine who wants to bitch about how he hates work...

  • Now, what am I giving up when I do that? Well, I could've dedicated that hour

  • to doing something that I think is meaningful or something that I actually enjoy.

  • I could have spent quality time with my girlfriend, or a friend who I'm going to learn from,

  • or who's going to add more happiness or meaning to my life.

  • Because when I'm dying, I'm not going to look back at my life and

  • say, "I'm so happy I gave my time

  • to every person who wanted to bitch and complain about something."

  • "And I'm so glad that I listened to some rumors that I really didn't give a shit about

  • but hey, at least I was really polite." No...

  • I'm going to say, "I'm happy I spent time doing what I thought

  • was meaningful and doing what I loved.

  • I'm glad I spent time with people who were actually important..."

  • Seneca says, "Do you just hand out your money to everyone?"

  • Probably not, right? If you had a friend who asked you for a $100

  • every other day, he probably wouldn't stay your friend for

  • too long, right? So why are you handing out your time to everyone

  • whenever they want to bitch about something, or when they're just wasting your time?

  • I mean it makes no sense! You can always make another $100,

  • but you can't make another two hours that you just wasted on something stupid.

  • So stop handing out your time to everyone, and start valuing your time.

  • Realize it's the most important thing you have.

  • And you know, I'm 22 years old right now. And I look at life, and I think,

  • "If I live to 60, that's like 40 more years." "That is so much time!"

  • That is so much time! You could do the most unbelievable things

  • in 40 years! But there's probably going to be some 60-year-old

  • guy watching this and saying,

  • "Heh, look at this naive little kid." "You have no idea how fast it flies by."

  • "There is no time to do anything..." And you know what,

  • I agree... Forty years isn't sufficient time

  • when you've spent 39 of those years being a slave for someone else from 9-5,

  • when you've given your time to everyone just because they asked for it,

  • when you've spent years unconscious in front of the TV,

  • and when you've spent entire nights fighting with your wife

  • about who should do the dishes.

It's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.

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