Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" In November of 2016, we introduced a new format that we are putting alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.
"Lessons for Hannah" are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I have learned which I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.
This week’s Lesson for Hannah
Hannah, I want to talk to you about perspective. It is very important to keep perspective in your life as you grow and as you find more success. It is even more important to keep perspective in the rough times. Do you know what the chances of you being alive in this world are? They are 10 to the 2,685, 000th power.
To put that in perspective (ha!), that is the same as if about 2.5 million people, or approximately the population of Chicago, all got together to play a game of dice with trillion-sided dice. And they each roll the dice — and they all come up the exact same number. It is an absolute miracle.
In fact, for you to be here, trillions probably never were. Now take it a step further. Think about what the chances are of mommy and I finding you and us becoming a family – it is almost unfathomable.
You, we and everybody listening to this episode are a miracle. No matter where you are in your life or what life has dealt you – cherish the gift that you have been given of this life.
Recently, a good friend of your mother and I’s, Adam, passed away. He was 39 years old. He left behind an amazing family with 4 beautiful kids (all under 10) and a devoted wife, Grace. It wasn’t a freak accident or anything like that. He was swimming. Simple swimming. He was doing the same swimming workout he regularly did on a Saturday morning and bam, a cardiac event took him.
As a fitness enthusiast and endurance athlete, this really hit home. Adam wasn’t in bad shape. He had a vibrant life. He was an MBA, entrepreneur, and professor at not one, but two colleges. He had a good life. And just like that, at 39 years old, it was over. This hit home with me because you just never know when it is your time. And as I heard about when this happened on that Saturday, I realized that it was at the exact same time that I was riding my bike in preparation for my next Ironman and was about 3 miles from home when I got smacked in the face with the biggest bug I had ever seen.
This caused me to immediately swerve and react taking my eyes off the road. I started to veer into the road, but at the last second pulled it back and ran off the road into a side yard. I was able to look up just in time to see I was about to smack a mailbox, at 20 miles an hour, and at the last second, I dropped down and let the bike skid out from under me with the side of my thigh hitting the mailbox. The bruise was there for about 3 weeks after and covered an area about the size of an iphone. I got myself up, dusted off, got back on the bike and headed home not really thinking anything of it. But, as I heard the news later that weekend about Adam, It quickly brought me back to that moment. Damn was I lucky. I mean, if there had been a car next to me at the time, what could have happened? If I didn’t see the mailbox at the last possible second and make the move I did, who knows.
The point is that you do never really know when it is your time. Adam was an amazing father, friend, and just a great person in this world. We all should. No, we all must - Strive to be the best we can be for ourselves and to the world and realize the amazing miracle that we are even alive – and cherish it because, it can be gone in the blink of an eye. To me that is perspective and it is a good thing to keep with you as you go through life.
Adam, you will be missed, my friend, and I know that your family will cherish the memories and all of the light you brought into their lives. You will always be with them. It was incredible to see the hundreds upon hundreds celebrate your life and realize your impact at your memorial. I can only hope that I am able to have one-hundredth of the impact you had. I love you, buddy. Rest in peace.
And Hannah, I hope that you can use this lesson to keep you going in good times and in bad and use it to remind yourself to always be your best no matter where you are in life or what happens to you. Always remember to keep your perspective and be thankful for and cherish your life.
I love you,
Daddy
Best Quote: “You, we and everybody listening to this episode are a miracle. No matter where you are in your life or what life has dealt you – cherish the gift that you have been given of this life."