Living is a tricky thing.  We squander away much of your time on earth.  Sometimes a life event happens and a switch somewhere in our brain ends up flipping.  For many, it’s an event like getting married or becoming a parent.  For others it’s a death of a family member or somebody close to you.  Cancer, or a horrible disease like it, can trigger a life changing moment.

Since the death of my brother Michael, some 4 months ago, I have had a somewhat different perspective on things. I have always tried to take in “the moment” and embrace what life deals us with arms wide open.  Where others watch life events through the small screen of a cell phone, I try to keep the damn thing in my pocket and attempt to remember it the way it was intended.  Live.  No Instagram filter.  Not posting it only to wait for someone to like it.  Remembering it how I want to remember it.  

Think about how different history books would be if our forefathers had Facebook?  I bet it wouldn’t be as epic or exciting as what was relayed in history books or journals. Most battles would be boring in comparison to the romanticized version played out in Hollywood movies.  Social media and history books can also make people more noble and romances more beautiful then they probably really were.  One thing hasn’t changed is that we can still dictate truths (or our version of the truth).  Folklore years ago is equal to Facebook status updates.  Maybe? Think of the life stories or movies that are to come in the next generation and realize that the story lines will be written from this generations blogs and social media posts.  If your life story was told from what was posted on your Facebook page, what kind of message would it convey?  What would be your story? Would it be true?

Are we as important or as self absorbed in real life as we are on Facebook?  Think about it.  We certainly make ourselves out to be pretty big deals on social media.  Giving our opinions, sharing meme pictures in attempt to come across more knowledgable than everyone else or chiming in to feel included in the discussion.  Because I blog once a week about random things that traditionally fall under some sort of “motivational” umbrella; will future history say that I was an accomplished self help writer because a few thousand people have read my blog?  I hope not.  I’d rather that be the truth and not something that is exaggerated by others.  

When you die, which version of you will be told to future generations?  Will the folklore of your Facebook updates be as epic as the life you truly lived?  I am not saying you need to wake up tomorrow and start changing the world, I’m simply suggesting that if you live 2 lives, the one you really lead and the one you project to lead, which one will be the one to make it into the future history books? Which version will be made into a movie?  Which one will be true?

Stop hiding behind well thought out and calculated social media posts and start living the life you want.  Project who you want to be and then follow the lead.  Live the life that will be written about and have the legend of you be the truth.  Christopher Columbus gets credit for discovering America only because he had a better publicist than Leif Ericson and the potential thousands of people who beat him to it 100s of years prior.   

You don’t need a publicist or to pad your accomplishments.  Be interesting because you are interesting and not because you love some random band or once read something that was considered “cool”.  Dictate cool.  Don’t follow or chase cool.  Start working to be as bad ass as you want to be.  As bad ass as you can be.  

This way nobody has to make things up things to say at your funeral.