Before and Now: One Year Left / by Nick Bullock

IMG_3763 What would you do with only one year left to live? How would you live, what would you change? What are you meant to do with your life?

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz hadn't even started working for Starbucks till he was 29

Martha Stewart worked on Wall Street for five years before starting her brand.

At age 25 Mark Cuban was sleeping on a floor, sharing a three bedroom apartment, with five other guys.

John D Rockefeller made his billions early, but his life didn't really begin till he got deathly ill, was given a year to live, and decided he couldn't take his wealth with him to the grave. Philanthropy became his soul purpose in life, his true calling, and he lived for another 40 years giving his money away.

JK Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression, and was married, had a child, and got divorced all before she got the first Harry Potter book published.

At 29 Oprah Winfrey moved to Chicago to host a local morning radio talk show.

My point in all of this is that we are not always in control of where the universe brings us. We are not always where we need to be, and we sometimes don't get what we want in life. But time and time again, I have seen with my own eyes, that life puts us right where we are meant to be. Do you think that any of the above people knew that they would end up where they did? No. They might have dreamt, and visualized, and prayed, and worked their asses off, but there are no certainties in life.

When I was 15 I wanted to be a professional point guard in the NBA. Just ask my friends... i even once told a friends mom that I would buy her a new car when I got drafted... they still like to remind that I owe them... I was devastated when I didn't make the team. Later that year I picked up the guitar.

We might not always get what we want, but almost always we get absolutely the best thing for us, even if we don't recognize it at the time.

So, if you had one year left, what would you do with your time?