Achievement
Second Chances At Life
By Dr. Mike Okouchi
Apr 18, 2008

I was fortunate enough to be mentored by Dr. Jeff Spencer (team chiropractor for the US Postal Cycling Team and Lance Armstrong). At a seminar Dr. Spencer shared a story about Lance and how he made it through his bout with cancer. Dr. Spencer asked Lance how he was able to overcome cancer and then go on to win 7 consecutive Tour de France? Lance said, “When you get a second chance at life you go all the way.” A simple answer with huge implications.

I thought about that statement and asked myself “am I going all the way?” Do I live everyday like it’s my last? At that moment in time, I wasn’t. Many people go through life living each day just getting by. I hear complaints that we’re in a recession, people are losing their homes and gas prices are too high. And I have to agree with those things on one level. But looking at it from the bigger picture, those things really don’t matter. If you knew that you only had one day left, what would you do? Would you do the things that you’re doing today? Would you have the same attitudes that you have today? (A good movie to watch is Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah)

Why is it that we as a human culture live our lives hoping for things to get better and then when it’s too late, wish we did the things that truly brought us happiness? It seems as if we search for happiness in external sources when true happiness comes from internal sources. During each leg of the Tour de France, Lance had only one competitor - himself. He knew that if he could out-do his own performance, he would be successful regardless of how the race turned out. I often catch myself comparing my accomplishments to others. But what I’ve learned from Lance and Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth” is that the reason for acting that way is due to EGO stepping in.

Why wait till you get a second chance at life to start living it? Live the life you have right now to the fullest - go all the way. What are your thoughts?