Microwins

CHAPTER 1Principle 1: Embrace Your Coffin

We are going to die.

This is the opening line to every keynote that I deliver, whether I’m standing in front of a crowd of investment bankers or schoolteachers. And every single time that I utter these words, there is an audible gasp in the room. I can feel the event organizer squirming in the back of the room with a look on her face that says, “Should I have hired this guy?” People turn to look at each other. Some of them mouth to their neighbors, “Did he just say that?”—to which I respond from the stage, “Damn right, I said it!”

When I was growing up in East Texas, I’d hear people ask my grandmother about her plans. Whether she hoped to go to the store, church, or bank, the coda to her itinerary was always the same: “That is …,” she’d say, “if the Lord says the same and the creek don’t rise.”¹ In short, she was saying this: “Here is my itinerary, but let’s see what the universe has to say about that.” She recognized that what she wanted and what would happen were two distinct realities.

Our first principle, Embrace Your Coffin, challenges us to acknowledge and honor our temporary status on this twisting sphere we call earth. Scientists estimate our planet has been in existence for 4.5 billion years, give or take a couple of million. The average American lifespan is 77.5 years. I know it’s been a while since many of you were in grade school, so I’m going to put the average lifespan in the numerator, the earth’s age in the denominator ...