After an unexpected death of Luke Perry, people mourn in their own ways saying something along the lines of "life is too short." And it's true, the aged 52-year-old actor passed away after complications from a stroke - unexpectedly. And we can go on and on about what kind of man he was, how talented he might have been, and keep his memory alive as long as we can because, in this day and age, social media allows us to do so.
But if there's anything we can truly learn from this "life is too short" moment.
It's in the words of Luke Perry as he was quoted, "Life is experiential. You gotta get out there. You gotta try it. You gotta fail sometimes."
The words "life is too short" has lost its meaning over time. We can constantly be reminded in near-death experiences or close-to-home losses, but if nothing ever changes than what is the point?
Ladies and gents, we need to stop living as if life is too short and start living the experiential life. We "gotta get out there" as Luke Perry would say. And that doesn't mean we take unnecessary risks that result in no substantial personal growth like jumping out of airplanes or buying a motorcycle because we're experiencing some midlife crisis.
Getting out there means becoming a doer of your dreams even though there's a possibility it might not come true. It means taking risks on the things that matter.
I recently went through a time in my life where I got tired of hearing "no" when it came to pursuing something I was passionate about. So, instead, I started pursuing things I could care less about because then I wouldn't care what the answer was. I wasn't risking anything that mattered to me; therefore, I was going anywhere.
I was stuck.
And some of us live our lives with either the "gung-ho, do everything that makes us feel good" mentality behind the life is too short movement or we play it safe because again, life is too short to pursue constant failure.
My friends, if "life is too short," we owe it to ourselves to pursue our purpose, our passions, our dreams.
I love that in Luke Perry's words, there wasn't an "if you fail." It was a most definite, you are most likely going to fail.
That doesn't mean you stop trying. It doesn't mean you stop putting yourself out there.
Did you know that the beloved Beverly Hills, 90210 actors auditioned for over 250 jobs before he landed his first part?
He didn't give up. He lived by the words he spoke and kept working to get to where he wanted to be.
So what is it right now that you so desperately want to do, but you haven't yet taken the steps to do it?
If it's to go back to school, go back to school.
If it's to become a writer, then start writing again.
And if it's to start acting again, then hey, sign up for those 250 auditions and get started.
Embrace the failure that's sure to come, keep going for what you love, and risk hearing no for something that you actually care about.
"I'd rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed"
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