Will You DIE TODAY?

That’s what the pilot said halfway through our flight to Utah.

Oh, shit.

Julia jumped up immediately. But by the time she reached the front of the plane, a doctor who had been seated closer was already working on a man laid out in the aisle.

Chest compressions.

For the next 45 minutes.

When we landed, we waited for a while and then exited down a set of stairs at the rear of the plane.

The ambulance was there on the tarmac.

Lights no longer flashing.

The urgency had passed.

The man had died.

My eyes watered thinking about his wife — helpless at 30,000 feet, watching her husband die.

I hope they had their affairs in order.

We’re in Utah now, staying in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I’m about to head over to Little Cottonwood to snowboard at Snowbird while the girls take the day off.

But that moment on the plane stuck with me.

Whenever someone dies suddenly, there are certain things we say.

It’s “tragic.”

It’s “unfortunate.”

And of course:

“Nobody saw this coming.”

But the truth is…

It’s coming for all of us.

None of us are getting out alive.

When something like that happens, I always wonder:

Was he living the life he chose?

Or the life that chose him?

Was he chasing his dreams?

Or just dreaming about them?

I often say today is the first day of the rest of your life.

That today is the day to start doing the things you want to do.

To start creating the life you actually want.

But the reason that’s true isn’t because today is the first day of the rest of your life.

It’s because today could be the last day of your life.

Think about that.

Then get after it.