Had a brush with death lately? I’m glad to hear. You got your golden ticket …! Now make the most of your close encounter with death …

Had a brush with death lately? I’m glad to hear.  You got your golden ticket …!

Now make the most of your close encounter with death …

-          dr Gustav Gous

Had a brush with death lately? I’m glad to hear! Haven’t? I hope you have one soon!  Because it can be the best thing that happened to you ….

We all have our close encounter with death – those situations that we survive miraculouslyI had one this week – hence this blog. And it was not the first time in my life.  I was almost off the field, not being able to continue to play game of life. .  I would love to hear your story of your close-encounter with death story.  But even more I would like you hear what you made of it …

I hope you didn’t just brush it off?   Heaven forbid.  There is an embedded message and you must head the call. My one friend Barry always said: The small accidents help you to prevent the bigger ones – if you learn from them!

Bredan Burchard is known for his story where he survived a motor crash, and in a split second asked: Did I live, did I love, did I matter?  He realised he couldn’t answer this affirmatively and re-organised his life to be in a position to be able to answer these questions affirmatively. He also realized he got a golden ticket on that day – just like in the idols competitions. 

You golden ticket admits you to continue life.   It admits you to the next round. You are still on the stage. Now rewrite the story to stop playing a tragedy, of a victim story, but rewrite the stars and start playing a love store or a come-back-from-behind story.  

Brendon headed the wake-up call and re-organised his life  - and a man with 60 million hits on his YouTube videos, can now claim to make a difference. 

After your near hit, (yes, rather a near hit, than a near miss!) , you realise you are still on the field.  You can now  have the opportunity to change your game plan. You have a second chance, an second half.  Unfortunately not all people use it, but some do.  Bob Buford, when confronted with the harsh reality of death -  the death of his son -  called out half time and changed his game plan. This is also the titles of his two books: Half Time and Game Plan.

This week, after another close encounter with death in my own life, I was just so happy that I am still alive, and here is my few suggestions  how to make the most of your close brush with death:

What not to do:

-          - Don’t fall into the trap of survival guilt. Be grateful that you are still alive. Honour the dead by picking up the baton the people you loved dropped  and live passionately forward, also in their honour

-          - Resist a sorry that I exist attitude – you got the chance – the ticket. The fact that somebody else didn’t get it, is not to say that you must not use your golden ticket. 

-          - Don’t live in fear that it can happen again, this time with final consequences. Come to term with your mortality. All of us will die eventually. All cancer survivors and motor car crash survivors die eventually.  Decide to at least live fully, until that day.

What to do:

Ø  Use the opportunity, to redefine your values. Realize what is important, is important, and what is unimportant is unimportant. Those were the words of my dad after he survived cancer once.

Ø  See purpose in the fact that you survived. Press  the reset button, and find a new purpose in the new situation or chapter in your life

Ø  Reorganise your life to give structure and action to your new-found opportunity. The you will look back after a few more years and can say the you heeded the call, and is now better off after getting the wake-up call. Implement your new plans and show results

Ø  Enjoy every day alive- live intensely and intentionally. Live as if every day  is your last, and plan as if you are going to live for a very long time.

Ø  Share your story with other people – so that they can learn from your experience. Intelligent people learn from their own experience, wise people from the experience and stories of others. Not all will learn, but some will …

Use your  golden ticket! 

If you want more information on corporate interventions or how to make counselling/coaching appointments or book dr Gustav Gous for motivational talks, contact admin@gustavgous.co.za 

If you want  interventions for your team: Contact +27 12 3455931   0r  0845138312 (Speak to Karen) or email gustav@gustavgous.co.za to discuss possibilities. 

Disclaimer:    Important notice to you as the reader:  Although the life coach (dr Gustav Gous) provide certain recommendations, the sole and final responsibility for decision-making remains your own and that the life coach or anybody associated to him and his company Short Walk Seminars Pty Ltd cannot be held responsible for any of your choices and reactions. You, the reader, must take full responsibility for your life, reactions and choices.  

www.gustavgousonline.com 

Dr Gustav Gous  is an International Motivational Speaker and Executive Life Coach with experience on 5 continents. He 

was the in-house counselor for the petro-chemical company Sasol for 9 years. He is known for his Transformational leadership programmes on Robben Island, titled the “Short Walk to Freedom”. 

He is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and past President of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa and a member of the APSS (Asia Professional Speakers Singapore).  Currently he is heading up the Diversity Intelligence Institute, specializing in rolling out Diversity Intelligence interventions for 

international companies. His leadership caps does for leadership what De Bono's thinking hats did for creativity and problem solving. His Coaching programme on national Radio in South Africa RSG FM 100-104 "Fiks vir die lewe" touches the lives of many South Africans.  gustav@gustavgous.co.za    drgous@iafrica.com     www.gustavgous.co.za , www.diviin.com ,