Living Your Dreams

Last week, Wally Funk joined Jeff Bezos in space. There’s been a lot of press about how she was part of the Mercury 13; but there is so much more to her story.

At 17, she crushed two vertebrae in a skiing accident and was told she would never walk again. She didn’t consider that an option. During her recovery, a guidance counselor suggested she take aviation classes and she was hooked.

According to Wikipedia, Wally continued to push the odds and became: the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board; the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and the first female Federal Aviation Agency inspector. And, throughout her life, she continued to seek her place in space. In her words, “I was brought up that when things don’t work out, you go to your alternative.” And she did, while she continued to seek to join NASA in space.

This theme to step up to one’s “why” runs concurrently with the autobiography of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, The Wheel of Life: A Memoir of Living and Dying. Here is another inspiring example of someone who, despite the odds, raised the world’s consciousness about death and dying. At the core, her message was:

“Live so that you don’t look back and regret that you’ve wasted your life.
Live so you don’t regret the things you have done or wish that you had acted differently.
Live honestly and fully.
Live.”

In my lifetime, I’ve sat holding the hands of those who are dying and heard the joy and sadness of lives lived. What do you want your legacy to be? The time to start creating it is now.

This Week’s Challenge: This week, take a timeout. Write at the top of a piece of paper “A Life Well Lived”. This is about you. Start writing. When done, put the paper aside and let your thoughts percolate. Later in the week, continue writing. When done, consider what changes you might need to make to bring it into fruition…in both what you do and how you show up.