Montay Lee  0:00  
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Have you ever taken the time to think about your mortality the fact the natural state of things that at some point that you don't know yet you're no longer gonna exist here on this earth in the form that you currently are in

a lot of people don't think about it. It can be scary. It can be something that is in the back of my, with all the things you have to do in your life, whether it's running errands, whether it is looking after loved ones, whether it is accomplishing things you want to accomplish. But at some point in time, everything that begins, will eventually end. And somewhere in throughout the middle of that time we live Why am I saying all of this? This is important. Because to truly live, memento mori to truly live, you have to remember that you will die. We are all flesh and bone. We are all living our lives going through the day to day things that we're doing. But every day that passes, you're closer to your eventual end. I don't say this in a way to frighten you to make you feel scary, scared about what's going to happen. This is actually something if you give me the time, which is going to be beneficial to you. Because what I've been studying when it comes to personal growth, development, focusing on the present, and not the external factors and the outside things that are happening in your life, stoicism they the stoics the Greek philosophers, they put a high priority on just what I'm talking about. Embracing your mortality. Because if you can embrace your most mortality, and you can no longer fear it. You can recognize and you can have gratitude and appreciate each day, each moment, each hour each minute each second that you live because you know today, you will never live today again. This is actually a gift that they realized in that they notice way back then. In life, you only can control what you are doing right now here in this moment. today that's what you can control until you have no more days. What are you going to be doing? To make sure that you make Most of that time that you seize the day, you grasp and you capture it. And you don't take your time for granted. That's what I'm learning. That's what I'm figuring out. And that's what I want you to use to not have any regrets. When it's all over. That's what the stoics knew. They knew that the key to having a fulfilled life. The key to truly not having any regrets when it comes to the end of life, is embracing their mortality. Having gratitude and appreciation for each day each moment. And when they're going through their life, seeking wisdom, seeking knowledge. And using all of that, to teach other people and to help other people

gain enlightenment, and fulfillment and contentment in their lives. That's what it's all about. Why is this on my mind? This is on my mind, because I've always been a deep thinker. I've always been somebody that is a free thinker. I've been observant my whole life. And for a while now, I've just kind of been thinking and wondering like, there has to be more to life than this. Life is more than your monotony. Life is more than the circumstances that you are going through right here in this moment. Life is more than the problems you have going on right here today. What are you going to do? And what's going to happen? When your time's up? When you're no longer here? Have you will you leave an impact beyond only what you want? When I start to think about things in that way, I start to feel some regret. I start to feel some regret. When I think about a lot of the desires and things that I've had in my life that have just simply solely been based on what I want to accomplish. What I'm feeling what I want to do with my life, where I want to go? Because you know what? When it's all said and done. And when my time has come, you know what's going to be one of the least important things. I'm starting to realize the problems and the things that I'm thinking about right here in this moment. How do I get beyond that? And you want to know what the answer to that is. Not thinking about myself leaving an impact and helping other people being gracious, having gratitude for each day that I have each moment that I have. And when you put things into perspective like that, you can have true joy in your life, fulfillment. And I'm saying all of this to say guard and protect your mind. Make sure that you are appreciate appreciative of your time. Because your time more so than anything is a resource that you can never, ever get back. And I think a lot of people don't recognize that A lot of people don't recognize that it's a privilege to be able to be alive. And once you embrace that you are mortal, that we are mortal and we're in this journey of life together. We can reach out and be appreciative of what we have in front of us, and try to leave the world better than we left it. My name is Montay Lee. I am the host of the Karat Juice Podcast. This is episode number 80. And at the Karat Juice Podcast, we observe society, we digest it. And through the nuance of it all, we attempt to progress forward. I don't claim to have all the answers. But it's my intention here in this episode, to give you some perspective, some insight and some lessons that I've been learning around why it's important to embrace your mortality to live to truly live if you're listening to

the podcast, audio format, do me a favor rate and review the podcast please. Five Star five star five star on Apple podcasts or Spotify. It really helps me out. And if you're on Facebook, YouTube, or any other platform that you're listening to this episode, do me a favor as it helps out engage with the content, write me a question if you have one, like the video, subscribe to the channel, hit the notification bell and select all so you get notified. Anytime I drop a piece of content. If I'm adding bout value to you, great if you dislike it, dislike the video, it's okay, I appreciate you taking the time. And I want to honor your time for you even taking the time to listen to this program.

My mind and my consciousness has been changing at a rapid rate. And my journey when it comes to personal development really started to take off. When I faced adversity in my life. A lot of people have had all different types of things that they've went through in their lives. But when I was down on my luck, when I was laid off, when I didn't know when I was going to get my next meal, when I didn't know where my next check was gonna come from, or if I was gonna get evicted or not. That's when I had to think in the moment in the present. And it was one of the greatest gifts that I've ever experienced in my life. It showed me what my true character really is. And that I can withstand and deal with change and adversity and issues. And I think in society because of all the modern conveniences that we have. A lot of people never truly face real adversity. You're fortunate you got both your you got your family in the household. You got meals every day. You have money, you have an allowance to pay for the food that you want. Everything is cookie cutter and laid out for you to where you never face adversity. And to me if somebody is in that situation, that's an issue, but some people are in that situation. And you know what that is to them is seems like it's a great life. It seems like it's great things, but that actually is not a good foundation for somebody to be prepared for real life. You need to look at life like this. The obstacles that you have the adversity, the challenges that you have. You look at them as an opportunity. The adversity that you're facing, that you're facing right here in this moment is an opportunity For you to, to test yourself, to challenge yourself to grow as a person. If you have that mentality with whatever it is that you're going through, that's how you can become unbreakable. That's how nothing at all in this world can keep you down. I want you to be unbreakable. Because you have mental strength. And that all comes from stoicism focusing on what you can control, and not worrying about all the outside factors. My life has been changing, I want your life to change, I want you to get better outcomes out of life. And I know if this reaches one person who needs it. I've fulfilled and completed my purpose and my intention for this episode. The topic of this episode is centered around mortality. And I asked my audience if they feared death. And a lot of people said no. And some people say yes, they do. Both. I'll be honest with you before I really dove deep into the information that I've been studying when it comes to stoicism. I will say that, yes, I've had a deep fear of death. Because I want to accomplish things. I want to make an impact. I want to leave a legacy. And I think that's a natural feeling to have.

But the more I study stoicism the more I'm starting to realize that you should not fear death. Marcus Aurelius he said, You should not fear death, I want to get the quote exactly right. And not misquote him. Me get it pulled up. Great Roman emperor and great stoic philosopher. He said this, Marcus Aurelius.

He said, It is not death, that a man should fear. But he should fear never beginning to live that hit home with me. But because if you get caught up in worrying about things you can't control about when your demise is going to come or when you're going to no longer be on this earth as a mortal. You can get lost in that because you have no control, when you really think about it on when that's going to happen. And you could get lost in the worry, the doubt in the possible regrets. If you're not mindful that one day that's going to happen. And from the time that I have now leading up to when I go What am I going to do about it is what you need to think about because regret comes from not fulfilling or not doing what you can here in this moment until that date, the expiration date. That's where true regret comes from not doing what you could in the time that you've had. Because the Stoics believed that if you live a life where you build your Your character, you seek knowledge, you seek wisdom, you teach others and you live according to your code and your purpose. When you eventually go, you will have a good death, you will not leave anything on the table. No bullets in the chamber figuratively speaking, you let it all out there. You left it all out in the field for my sports fans. Leave it all out on the field. Ask yourself did I do everything that I can or I could have today to reach what I want to reach or do what I want to do. Let me rephrase that a little bit. You have to think about it like this

Marcus Aurelius he also had another quote that I'm very fond of, and he said this lead each thing you would do, say or intend, be like that of a dying person. Let each thing you would do, say or intend to be like that of a dying person. That puts things into perspective, at least for me. If you ask yourself, did the things I do to did the things that I did today? If it was my last day? Could I not wake up tomorrow? And be okay and content with that and reside my post? Ask yourself that question.

That hits home right? Because when you ask yourself that question, it makes you appreciate the time that you have having another quote here and something that's hit home to me that I got to listen to, and got to take in from somebody I admire Ali orbx doll. And he was speaking with Oliver Berkman, the author of 4000 weeks, and he said this, and it really struck a chord with me. 4000 weeks is in reference to everybody if you live a full life here on this earth has 4000 weeks to live 4000 weeks put that into perspective. Oliver Berkman says this. The harder you struggle to fit everything in. The more of your time, you will find yourself spending on the least meaningful things. The reason for this effect is straightforward. The more firmly you believe it ought to be possible to find time for everything. The less pressure you'll feel to ask whether any given activity is the best use for a portion of your tie. Whenever you encounter some potential new item for your to do list, or your social calendar, you will be strongly biased in favor of of accepting it. Because you'll assume you needn't sacrifice any other tests or opportunities in order to make a space for it. If you never stop to ask yourself, if the sacrifice is worth it, your days will automatically begin to feel not just with more things, but with more trivial or tedious things. Because they've never had to clear the hurdle of being judged more important than something else. Oliver Berkman.

I found that I found that important because I think what puts the fog over us. What blinds us in our day to day lies, lies lives, is the menial task. It's the monotony. It's the routine. It's going through your day to day, things that you do, whether it's commuting to work, completing tasks, speaking to people just kind of willy nilly and not really thinking about what you're saying. Small talk. What happens when you're doing all of that is you're not present, you're kind of just on autopilot. I know, I felt this. And I feel this in my life. Sometimes we're just on autopilot in our lives. And we're not really present. In the moment in our conversations. I felt this before. And when I feel like that there's a fog over my life, and I'm not really truly living. So I encourage you, throughout this week, with whatever you're doing in your life, try to be cognizant of where you are, mentally, and try to be more present in the conversations that you're having. Because you'll never live today. Again. Everybody in this world, if you live a full life, you have 4000 weeks to live. make today count, make this hour count. Make this minute count. Leave no regrets. Seize the day. It's yours. have gratitude and appreciate it. Because it's my position. It's my belief that embracing your mortality, recognizing that you have a finite amount of time here on this earth will help you to be more centered, more grounded, and eventually to appreciate and to live out your true purpose. Because I don't know if it's just me. But I know it's a lot of people were kind of meandering through life and we're trying to find purpose. And especially for men, a lot of us can go astray. A lot of us could get weak, a lot of us could get weary if we don't have purpose in our lives. You are here for a reason. You were meant to do something, the fact that you're here at all, is a miracle. The fact that you're here at all, is a miracle. Don't let nobody tell you otherwise. And I'll say this too. Please stop with the negative self talk. Don't put yourself down. Listen to me. Don't put yourself down. A wise Greek philosopher said this there are more things likely to frighten us than there are to crush us. We suffer more often in imagination than in reality. Lucia cineca Again, there are more things likely to frighten us than there are to crush us. We suffer more often in imagination. Then, in reality. Lucy is Seneca What does he mean by that? When you have negative self talk, when you're putting yourself down

when you're there thinking that you're a loser, when you're getting down on yourself. If you continue to say that and you do that, and you are imagining that in your mind you it will be confirmed in your life. Whereas if you have a mentality where you can overcome your obstacles, that situation that you're in right here in this moment, where you don't know where your next meal is gonna come, where you're mentally fragile, where you're scared, and you're fear fearful, use that. Use those obstacles, use that situation as fuel. Because then when you're in the moment, you could put all your focus on what you need to do right now, to succeed and to get ahead. Stop the negative self talk. You suffer far more in your mind, than taking action towards something, taking action, action and moving, wherever, whatever it might be to you. If that's getting a job, whether that's starting to work and develop a skill, you're going to feel better about yourself in your life. If you take action today, to actually reach the goal that you want, trust me, trust me with this. This is very important. What I'm starting to realize and notice is mentality more so than anything, when it comes to life is what's going to help you succeed and get ahead. And it's not for monetary gain, it's not for status is not for any of that it's for you, you have to do it for you. Because living in the moment in the present and with your purpose is going to get you where you're eventually supposed to be no matter what the outcome is. This is important to me, because I want to make sure that I leave it all out on the field. I want to make sure that my words in this platform, and what I'm doing here is helping somebody. Because we all go through it. And we've all been through and I've been through some tough stuff in my life, where I didn't know where my next meal was gonna come. Where I didn't know always haven't been confident. That's something that you build up over time. I don't have all the answers I don't claim to. But what I'm learning what I'm discovering about myself is my mentality is strong. If I don't know something, I'm going to learn about it. If I learn something that I find interesting, I'm going to teach it because it helps me along with the person that I'm teaching it to. This is all lessons that I've learned from stoicism living in the moment in in the present. And Halloween is coming up. I know a lot of people are going to be going out and you know having good times with their friends and everything and eating candy. But this was on my mind when it comes to memento mori remembering that you will die. Because you see all the skulls. You see all of the festivities when it comes to Halloween. And when I was looking at that and observing that, and remembering memento mori. It made me think like all of these things in our lives are connected. We all have a part to play in the universe. But when you think about it on a scale of all the people that have lived before, and all the people that will live before us. Our time here on this earth is very minuscule. very miniscule. The problems that you have right now here today aren't going to mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. But you know what's going to matter? And what can stand the test of time. What you do for other people, the impact that you have

Are you actually effecting change, and doing something that's beyond yourself. That's what's driving me. What's driving me more so than anything as well, I've gotten feedback from somebody who, who listens to the podcast. And it warms my heart to hear that my words are helping somebody, in particular, helping a young man who said he was really in a bad way, not too long ago. He was facing addiction. He's currently without a home homeless. But he reached out to me. And he said, I appreciate you for what you do. Thank you for putting up the content. I'm sitting down here right now. at a fast food restaurant, watching your videos and what you're doing and saying here on this platform is helping me push through. That's all the confirmation that I need here. I've always said from the beginning, if I can help one person, increase and develop their mentality, then that's enough for me. And all I want to say is I appreciate you, you know who you are. Keep pushing, keep grinding. Take it one day at a time. And if you have that approach, you cannot fail. Remember, everybody has 4000 weeks to live when they live a full life. Don't waste your time. Don't squander it. Remember, we're all flesh and bone. We all will eventually meet our end. And that's not a bad thing. I choose to live in the present. I choose to seize the day. And I want you to have that same mentality when it comes to whatever you're doing in this life. Let's leave it all out in the field. Let's grind. Let's become the best version of ourselves. And I also want to make sure that I say this. Mental health is real. It's the fall season people are isolated. Reach out to your friends. Reach out to your people. Some people don't show it, don't say it but are going through some things. Reach out to your brothers. Reach out to your sisters. Reach out to your family, your friends. And make sure that you check on people and you don't just think about your own self interest. I am a victim of this and I could do a better job. But I just wanted to check in and be real with you guys. I'm leaning into life lessons mentality and so stoicism here on this channel. I hope you found value out of this information. I appreciate you. I appreciate anybody that's listening right now to the podcast episode. I appreciate you for taking the time so much of the precious time you have to listen to me speak on this topic and I hope it made a made it worthwhile for you. rate and review the podcast please as it helps me five star five star five star on Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you consume podcasts. And if you're watching on YouTube, Facebook or whatever platform like it, subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bill so you get notified anytime I drop a piece of content. Like I say every time on the Karat Juice Podcast, I want you to love someone. I want you to hug someone. Do something good for someone not expecting anything in return. And until we speak again. Peace we are gone.