Making Your Dash COUNT

 Posted by ~ Sheldon Redditt on 01/06/2015

Dedicated to all those that HAVE made their dash COUNT

All of us are going to die or as I believe pass on to the next level of existence. I don't believe in death as an end all.  I believe that we simply pass on to another level of existence. I don't believe that God would create us to live for 70 or 80 years and that's it, but that's another post altogether.  When you pass on, marked on your tombstone, will be your birth date, a DASH and the date you left this world.  The most important thing on that tombstone is that DASH.  Now, the dash is the smallest thing on the tomb stone, but it is, by far, the most important.  You see, that DASH, tells your story; everything you were, everything you accomplished and all you meant to the world and the people in it.  It tells us what kind of person you were.  If you were a great spouse, a great father, mother or friend, it's written in that dash.  That DASH tells all about you.  I know and believe that we were all put here to make a impact on this Earth.  Albeit, some impacts will be greater than others but that is our purpose, to make that dash count.  When you pass on, what do you want your DASH to say about you?  When I pass on, I want my DASH to say that I was a great Husband and Father.  Did I make mistakes?  Of course I did, but when I leave I want to know that I finally got it right.  It's important to me that I was a great friend.  It's important to me that I tried to make a difference, NO, that I did make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate.  For me, "trying", is just a noble way of saying, "I failed".  I want to make so much of an impact while I'm here that when I do pass on, a big smile brightens someone's face, every time my name is mentioned. 

As I sit here writing, I received news that a former co-worker just passed on from a freak accident at work.  He was 25 years young, with a wife and a new born baby girl.  My wife and I are so saddened by this news.  I was telling my wife that this young man MADE HIS DASH COUNT!  He was doing the work that he loved to do.  He was making a difference in this world.  You see, what it made me realize, is this... It does not matter how long or short of a time you are here, it's what you do with your time on this Earth. In the 25 years he was on this Earth, he made more of an impact with the kids that he helped than some people do that have lived 100 years.  He had a wife that he adored and together they brought a beautiful little girl into this world.  He touched so many of his co-workers lives in so many ways.  And I'm sure that there a plethora of others lives, that I could never know the way he impacted them, but I have no doubt, he did.  But most of all, his dash counted because he was happy and he was living a life that he loved.

What are you doing to make your dash count?  Are you living or are you existing?  There is a big difference in the two.  To exist is to quote an old Jackson Browne song, "The Pretender".  "I've been aware of the time going by.  They say in the end it's the wink of an eye.  And when the morning light comes streaming in.  You'll get up and do it again.... I'm going to be a happy idiot.  And struggle for the legal tender."  To live, is to wake up each new day with a purpose; to do your purpose, what you are meant to do in this moment in time, with enthusiasm and happiness.  Living is surrounding yourself, with love and friendship, family and friends.  

I am so grateful that I have found my purpose.  I know why I am here.  I'm here to help people; to be of service.  There are many avenues that I have taken to do this and many more out there to explore.  I think motivational speaking is the next on my list of endeavors.  With each new endeavor, I find myself full of excitement, joy and filled with a new thought driven purpose.  Living at its finest!  I am determined to make my dash count.  That for me includes telling the real Sheldon Redditt story and it will blow you away.  I hope that each of you will begin to think about your dash and what you can do to set the world on fire.  I heard that the richest place on Earth is the local cemetery.  Rich with thoughts and ideas that were never shared or executed.  Please, don't add to that richness.  Make the world rich, above ground!  This is my truth!  What's yours?