Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Steve Jobs (1955-2011), Stanford commencement speech, June 2005
While I appreciate and value the sentiment, there's a part of me that wants to rebel against it. I don't believe that a knowledge of mortality is the only route to get there (and, flip side of the same coin, many people who are aware of their own mortality don't ever reach those conclusions).
I am all in favor of radical longevity, which isn't quite the same as immortality, but is kinda similar in many people's views. I believe it's possible to have radical longevity and still embrace those values, though that's perhaps a conversation for a different time.
