Would you be satisfied with what you’ve done so far? I know most people don’t live day-to-day constantly wondering whether they’ll die or not. Unless mentally disabled or deluded, everyone knows we all do: it’s just a question of when and how.

We could debate how each of us will die, but it’s probably a waste of time because most will never know in advance.

A long while back, a news article showed up in my social media feed detailing a disaster in which a family man died bungee jumping because the vendor miscalculated the length of the cord. “Tragic”, “unfortunate”, and “sad” are a few things that come to mind.

Also, “really fucking stupid.”

Imagine having lived a wonderful life — fulfilling job, loving family, bright prospects — only to meet your early demise because someone couldn’t figure out that a bungee cord stretches.

I’m actually really angry on behalf of that man and his family. If you’re a bungee jumping vendor, you have one fucking job. At least do it right.

It leaves an awful taste in your mouth — think acid reflux. It’s like the endings of How I Met Your Mother and Dexter. It’s like asking for a vegan salad and receiving a plate of raw tomatoes and onions.

Dying a death not equal in magnitude to the life lived is like an injustice — a thought for sore souls. The only word I think accurately describes it is “anticlimactic”.

So, I’ve got a question for you:

What kind of death would befit you?

Will you exit in a blaze of glory, leaving behind happiness, rainbows, and dancing unicorns? Or will you shrivel up and wither away in the middle of nowhere, forgotten by everyone except your landlord who pitied you?

It might seem like a brutal question, but I find myself pondering it often.

Have I done anything great with my life? If I was to suddenly disappear tomorrow, would I be satisfied? Could I honestly picture leaving any meaningful impact?

And the answer I always arrive at for each question is, “No.”

So, I imagine my death would be an insignificant one. Few people would know, and perhaps few would even care. I would die quietly in the suburbs of America, unbeknownst to basically 100% of the world minus my family and a few close friends.

And while this might be enough for some people out there, the thought of it makes me cry.

Sometimes we get so into what we’re currently facing we lose sight of the big picture.

Today’s problems seem like the biggest problems in the world, and today’s goals can be held off because we expect tomorrow to come.

But you have no idea what’s going to happen. You could be shot at a concert unsuspectingly. Or if not you, someone you care about: a lover, a friend, a family member.

Of all the things in the world, there are few as absolute as time and death. You will not regain seconds you’ve wasted, and you will not come back after you’ve died.

So in the grand scheme of things, the only “best” time to do anything is now. Stop waiting. Don’t hesitate. You can either do it now, or you can risk never doing it. Ever.

Despite being more technologically advanced than ever before and living in the most peaceful time in human history, there are still far too many people who die with regrets.

They are people whose ambitions will forever remain abstract — feelings and desires never given a concrete form or cemented into the reality before us.

Does that sit well with you? Are you okay with “become a millionaire” forever remaining a pipedream? Are you happy with never attaining the respect of people you admire or never finding a love which satisfies your soul?

Not me.

I am not a genius or a prodigy. But I believe I have the propensity to change the world. We all do. And I cannot let these feelings — these ambitions and desires I have for myself and the world — die with me and forever remain unreal.

This shall not stand.

And so I write. I read. I make apps. I orchestrate cloud infrastructure. I design. I play music. I run. I cook. I make weird noises when happy. I crack inappropriate jokes sometimes.

I live.

Each day, I take steps to inch closer to my goals, no matter how small. And I am doing everything in my power so maybe one day my feelings will be felt, my words will be heard.

Join me. Do something you’ve always wanted to do. Do it so that we may all live together and die only after having achieved our wildest dreams.

Maybe then, each of us can truly declare, “I lived.”