Video Synopsis: Ric Elias had a front-row seat on Flight 1549, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York in January 2009. What went through his mind as the doomed plane went down? At TED, he tells his story publicly for the first time.

I know we always talk about living life on purpose because we never really know how long we have to live. I enjoyed this video because this man almost tasted death and now gets to live with that experience. In the video, he said, “I was given the gift of getting to see into the future and come back and live differently.”

I know I haven’t had a similar experience, and frankly, I don’t want one. However, I would like to live with the same focus in life that he is now able to live with. Here are four questions Ric asks in the video. In light of knowing you are not going be here forever:

1.) How would you change?

2.) What would you get done that you’re waiting to get done because you think you’ll be here forever?

3.) How would you change your relationships?

4.) Are you being the best parent you can be?

I would just add one more to it, are you living for God and putting Him above everything else?

Life is short. We only get to do this once. Let’s live like it. Make your life count. Enjoy the journey. Go after your dreams. Cherish your relationships. Live life to the fullest.

Thoughts?

I love people! I love connecting with them! I am energized by being around them. I’ve been told one of my greatest strengths is my ability to connect with others. While I don’t claim to be an expert by any means, I thought I’d share some assumptions I make when I connect with people.

When connecting with people, I always assume:

Everybody Needs Encouragement – Encouragement really does change everything. Everyone needs encouraged to be their best, do their best, and encouraged to keep going. I try to encourage everyone I come in contact as often as I can.

Everyone Has a Dream in Their Heart – Everyone. Even if they have never gone after it. Even if they think it’s impossible. I try to find out what the dream of their heart is and find ways I can help them make it happen!

Everyone Wants to Talk About Themselves – This is key in conversations! Especially interviews. If you get people to talk about themselves, often you won’t have to contribute a lot to the conversation. I try to be a better listener than I am as a speaker.

Everybody longs to be Loved, Wanted, Liked, and Accepted – This is common sense, but the key is realizing that most people are willing to do anything to be loved and accepted. I try to love people, no matter what. I also try to make them feel accepted & wanted in whatever social setting we’re in.

Everybody Wants to be a Part of and Contribute to Something Big – Whether it’s a concert, a movement, a church, a organization, everyone wants to say they were a part of something big. If I’m a part of something, I want to bring as many people along for the journey as I can. I want them to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves!

Everybody has a Good Heart - I know this assumption can lead to some extreme negatives, and I wouldn’t recommend any girl thinking that every guy has a good heart! However, I generally try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt! I believe everyone, deep down, has a good heart and means well. As a result, I’ll love on everyone I meet and assume that they’ll a great person!

Everybody Has a Normal Life – I can’t say I never get star struck, but I can say when I meet successful people, once I get over their “success” and see them as a person, I always remind myself that as successful as these people are, they still come home and probably act goofy in front of their family, they still have problems, and they wanted to be treated like a normal person, not as a celebrity. My goal in these situations is always to get to a point in my relationship with them where we can treat each other like family!

Everyone is Good at Something and Passionate about Something – I always try to find the “key” to someone’s heart. What are they truly passionate about? What do they love to do? What are they good at? Once I find it, I try making that the subject of the conversation and try to find ways to put their gifts and passions to work!

These are just some assumptions I make when connecting with people.

What assumptions do you make?

I got inspired for this post by watching this video by John Maxwell:

Right now, I’m sitting in my hotel room in Bannf, Canada overlooking the Canadian Rocky Mountains. They are magnificent! I’ve been blessed to get to travel to some pretty cool places and see some pretty incredible things. I love traveling, I think I’ll always love it, and I have plenty of places on my travel bucket list left to hit up!

However, I didn’t always get to travel or see cool places. It was something I always dreamed of, but never thought would actually happen. Now that it has, I realize that traveling around the world is very similar to achieving success in life, having a lot of money, or buying your dream house.

Why? Because You could have millions in the bank, you could travel the world, you could buy everything you’ve ever wanted, but if you don’t have family and close friends to enjoy it all with, you’re one of the poorest people on the planet.

I’ve found that one of the biggest contributors to enjoying life is a direct result of making memories and enjoying life with the people you love the most.

If you get to do life with people that you love, then it doesn’t matter where you go, what you do, or what you have, you’ll be living the richest lives you can live.

Because of this, I consider myself a millionaire a thousand times over!

I’m a millionaire, are you?