Muhammed Ali said, “Don’t count the days, make the days count.”

But how do you make the days count instead of just going through the motions?

When inspiring folks in an audience at one of my speeches or coaching entrepreneurs, high performers and parents, I encourage them to live as their “true selves.” They then say, “how do I know who my true self is?”

Who is your true self?

Your true self is the person you are meant to be. How do you know? Because your true self has been calling to you since you were a kid. Your true self is that person that you see in your mind. Your true self is that inner voice that calls to you compelling you to do what are meant to do. It is those activities or actions that play over and over in your mind that you envision. It is that happy, fulfilled person you have glimpses of doing what you love. When you really think about it, you know who your true self is.

You know what the life of your dreams looks like. You may not pay attention to it, but it is there and always has been.

Once you find this person who you are meant to be, your life will have purpose, you will feel complete and you will live in happiness and bliss. How do I know? Because I was not living in happiness and bliss for most of my life until a complete awakening brought me to see the light and love within myself and everything else. Now, I live on purpose. The chaos of modern life swirls around me, while I live in serenity as my true self.

Mark Victor Hansen, best-selling co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which sold over 500 million copies, said,

“Graveyards are filled with books that were never written, songs that were never sung, words that were never spoken, things that were never done.”

The point is to stop going through the motions. Do what you are called to do now and do not put it off for tomorrow.

But how do you know what you are supposed to do? You know….

It has called to you since you were a kid. It is that still small voice inside that calls to you. You have heard it call to you for years. But you ignore it, you drown it out with weed, alcohol, binge watching, negative news, the phone and all those apps and social media. You feel like you are being productive or enjoying yourself, yet inside that voice cries out to you to take action. To live as your true self. To achieve the greatness you are meant to achieve. To have the impact on this world you are meant to have. Going through motions of modern life is not living as your true self.

Les Brown took this concept and made us see it vividly to keep us focused on bringing our dreams to life instead of letting them die with us.

"The ideal situation for a man or woman to die is to have family members praying with them as they cross over. But imagine if you will, being on your death bed and standing around your bed are the ghosts of the dreams, the ideas, the abilities and talents given to you by life and that you for whatever reason, you never went after that dream. You never acted on those ideas. You never used those talents. You never used those gifts. And there they are standing around your bed, looking at you with large angry eyes saying, “we came to you and only you could have given us life. And now we must die with you forever.”

Les Brown couldn’t have laid it out any more vividly. I saw a saying once that impacted me deeply and it reads,

“If you want to live well consider your mortality.”

We aren’t going to be here forever. It’s the same for all of us. Our days are finite, so we must make them count, not just go through the motions. Muhammad Ali also famously said,

“Live everyday as if it were your last because someday, you’re going to be right.”

What Les Brown lays out in this visualization is one of the most poignant ways I have ever heard of to consider what you should accomplish during this life. Your true self call to you, but you must give it life. You know what it is. You know those songs, words, jobs, experiences and actions that you are meant to accomplish. They play in your mind over and over and always have. You are meant to be the person you see and hear in your mind.

Henry David Thoreau is credited with saying

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

Don’t die with that song still in your head. Don’t dampen that voice.

Sing that song and let your voice be heard.

Do that thing you know you are meant to do.

Go get that dream job you know you are meant to have.

Climb that mountain you know you are meant to climb.

Phone apps, negative news, substance abuse all take us from being the person we are meant to become.

Put the damn phone down, turn off the news and throw away the bottle or bag holding you back!!!

The world needs us, the world needs you! Hasn’t the negative news convinced you that we need more light in the world. We need you now more than ever. We need all the light you can spare and more.

Even folks who feel good and drink or get high in moderation subdue their dreams. We don’t share them with the world because we are afraid to fail, we are afraid to be who we are meant to become. We hold back. We wait until the right moment, we muffle our voice. We scroll the news, text endlessly and take a drink to keep the voice quiet because its easier to be comfortable, because tomorrow is a better day to be who I am meant to be.

Don’t hold back,

Don’t wait until the right moment.

Now is the right moment to be true to yourself.

Now is the time to find your natural state.

Now is the time that the world needs you to:

sing your song,

write your book,

share your talent,

lead your team,

find your dream job,

start your company or

be the father, mother, wife, husband, daughter, son or grandparent you are meant to be.

Forgive yourself of any past missteps and move on.

Look yourself in the mirror and say “I love you” and then go be the person you are meant to be. Let your light shine now. See your light in the mirror and cast it out into the world. That is your natural state, loving yourself, loving others and loving what you do.

To do this, you have to listen to that still small voice within and have faith that it will take you to where you need to go. It is that faith in yourself and your higher power that compels you to live as your true self. Accessing that faith is the very essence of who we are and unites us together. It is this faith that helps you succeed and unlocks the door to a life of bliss and happiness.

Your future self is here waiting for you now, you just need to start living as that person today.

There is no need to wait for some future event to be happy and successful. As Dr. Benjamin Hardy says, “Be Your Future Self Now.” Each day you are given the gift of 24 hours to do with as you see fit. Do not squander today escaping your natural state. You only have today, so you may as well take bold action to live the life of your dreams. Today is the day to listen to that still small voice inside. Write down what it tells you and then take action today to live as your true self.

Visit benparvey.com to download our Habitually Inspired HabiTracker, get inspired and learn more ways to Thrive in 2025.

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