Starting next week, this weekly newsletter will be distributed on Tuesday mornings. Think of it as your reward for surviving Monday.

This is Weird

Billionaire Peter Thiel recently signed up to be frozen after death. He believes the potential of revival is worth experimenting with. That's weird in and of itself, but also because all I've ever heard was that getting old is rough. So why would you want to die and come back as an old, dying man? Pretty morbid. Pun intended. But what if there was something better than experimental freezing-dead-people technology that provided not just longevity, but enhanced quality of life?

This is Getting Old

"Getting old ain't easy," a co-worker of mine remarked recently. And suddenly everyone else his age began to chime in about their various ailments. Misery does love company, right? But this made me think: I wonder if, hidden underneath the complaining, there were some valuable lessons to be learned and applied? I can either make and learn from my own mistakes or I can learn from other people’s life-lessons.

Think about it, my co-workers are all complaining about basically the same things. I'm nobody special. Most likely, I will become just like them unless I make different decisions. By utilizing the information they're dispensing I can acquire a lifetime of experience and live the life they wish they could live. Learning vicariously could basically give me two lifetimes of living!

Ok, maybe I've been watching too may Elon Musk interviews… but hear me out.

Let's pretend there's this guy named Joe. Each time you hear Joe complaining, I mean, wishing he could go back and make different decisions, you have a chance to incorporate that knowledge into your life. Joe cannot go back and change his decisions. He must live with the consequences. But you, however, get to use that as a time-machine of sorts and make adjustments to your own lifestyle. Joe's decisions over time led to his current experience and conclusion. When he offers you his perspective, you are effectively receiving all the years of his living in that moment. You get to decide: take it or leave it?

How about: take it or REPEAT it? His pain, your gain.

He cannot reset his life, but you and I can. We still have a chance to change course and avoid becoming him in so many years. This is how you acquire "wisdom beyond your years". But you must apply it to your life if it is truly going to be useful.

Family, Friends and Food

Listen to any mature person above 50 years of age. What are they often talking about? They speak about retirement and spending time doing things they enjoy with people they enjoy. They are not concerned with cheap, temporary, high-energy thrills. They don't want to waste time. What they desire are meaningful, memorable moments. After having been around the block a few times, they are now fighting against the future and the past. Past decisions have them suffering various physical and/or mental ailments. And the future … well, let's face it, no one gets younger. Time is limited, and those who are blessed with experience try to make the most of however much they have left.

I can listen, disinterested, when "old people" complain, or I can look ahead with dread and fear at what awaits me. Or I can learn and live better NOW. I can continue measuring my life by how much "fun" I can afford, or I can invest in my relationships with my family and the friends I have around me. Instead of waiting until I'm 55 and then realizing what truly makes a person happy, I can start now. Imagine the wealth of happiness I'll have at that age? A fat 401(k) won't make me happy. It will be nice, don’t get me wrong, but based on my assessment of the mid to upper middle-class population, there are things more important and satisfying than money and retirement parties. Forget middle-class, even billionaires agree! And that is what I'm living for. Right now.

The other thing I've noticed is how focused the almost-elderly are on their health. Many of them are popping pills like candy and doing their best to say no to actual candy. But deep-rooted habits are hard to break. They are fighting with all their will power to change behaviors in order to increase the likelihood of their own longevity. Again, selfishly: their pain, my gain.

I will be them one day, so why not be them right now? Right now, gratefully instead of then, regretfully. If I make similar adjustment to my lifestyle and diet, I can enjoy the longevity and quality of life they are courageously battling for, just without the co-morbidities. Maybe that sounds harsh, but euphemisms do not make harsh realities any less painful.

I want to live a long, full, healthy and fulfilling life. And I want to do that right now. If others are brave enough to be honest about their experience, and kind enough to share with me, I would be a fool to ignore them. Shame on me if I repeat their pain as if it was inevitable for me. I can be different. I have the chance to exercise self-sovereignty, and that begins with taking responsibility for my choices. Peter Diamandis often says, “The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.”

Almost Done

Earlier, I mentioned the Elon Musk. He was recently asked about working on longevity and why he seemed to not be interested in it. His reply was fascinating. He said, "Most people don’t change their mind they just die." Why continue living if you're not growing and changing and becoming better? Why can't that start right now? I can effectively live dozens of lifetimes by applying someone else's life lessons to my own life and becoming that much better. Quite literally this is what it means to "live and learn."

Billionaires like Peter Thiel, Peter Diamandis, and Christian Angermayer are all into it studying longevity, and pharmaceutical companies are all into profiting from it, but curiously enough, the Christian faith has been implementing the solution for centuries. And it’s already paid for. The Bible talks not just about living longer, but eternal life. If you study it out, it shows that there were civilizations before us with people who lived for hundreds of years. Why don’t we study those civilizations? Why don’t we study their religion, philosophy and way of life in order to produce longer and more fulfilling lives? How about this:

Simply stated, the Christian faith has solved the problem of longevity.

TL,DR

Qualty of Life Year is one thing (QALY). But what about Quality of Life Eternally? What happens after we die (and our frozen remains are never revived)? I think we have a responsibility to consider that. To whom do we owe that responsibility? To ourselves.

So, what metrics will you use to measure the quality of your life? Decide that with the end of your life in mind. Will you live according to what social media, popular culture, or an employer says is meaningful? Or will you actually think, believe and behave in ways that produce long-term, enduring satisfaction? Will you live in such a manner that you enjoy the pleasure of relationship with your Creator?

Eternity is a long time. Start enjoying it now.