The masses think they will live forever. This makes them delay achieving their goals, and they end up living unfulfilling lives. This is the trait of the unwise – to think that one will live forever.

The trait of the wise, is, of course, the opposite – they are aware that death is breathing down their neck. We can never be sure when we die – it could be tomorrow, and this pushes the wise ones forward, gives them energy to achieve, and they end up living fulfilling lives.

This isn’t a negative mindset, it’s a mindset based on truth. All of us will have to die. All of us will age, and many of us will get ill with time. If you firmly know this, it will push you to achieve things without delay, and you will soon enjoy the fruits of such a mindset.

I was deeply aware that I could die at any time from a very early age. This definitely gave me energy and motivation to achieve the things that I have achieved.

Now, at the ripe age of 32, I can say that I have achieved all that I wanted to achieve – I traveled the world, lived where I wanted, started my own business, and did with my life as I pleased. These achievements would be half that or less, if I thought that I had all the time in the world.

That’s the reason the masses don’t achieve much. They think that they have plenty of time, so they delay realizing their goals. But when you truly know that you don’t have time, and that you might be dead or down with some dangerous disease tomorrow, this quickly pushes you to achieve things that you want to experience.

New Age encourages people to think only about positive things, but this can also make one live in the land of dreams, in reality achieving nothing that one is happy with. So facing harsh truths sometimes can motivate much more strongly than only surrounding yourself with imagination and avoiding looking at the facts that aren’t pleasing.

Thus, I encourage you not to turn away from the facts of life. All of us will age and die. Some of us will get ill and won’t be able to get cured. Rather than living in dreams and thinking that such stuff won’t happen, it’s very wise to know that death can come at any time. This will surely give you a push as well as energy to achieve what you want to experience.

I believe it’s important to fulfill your greatest desires in order to spiritually grow. Sometimes not achieving them will stand as a barrier to higher spiritual states. It’s usually those who have achieved their dreams who become great spiritual teachers, and not those who never found time or were too lazy to materialize them.

Firstly comes the enjoyment of matter, and when one sees it for what it is, they transcend it. But if one doesn’t experience the fulfillment of material desires, it’s likely that they will keep thinking about how wonderful it would be to enjoy them, rather than devoting time for things more important.

So if you still have unattained material desires, try to contemplate the fact that you could die at any time. And feel how this fills you with an urgent energy to act towards the fulfillment of your wishes.