By Michael Yardney April 15, 2024

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If you knew you would die in 10 years, what would you do today

Michael Yardney's Commentary
If you knew you would die in 10 years, what would you do today

Key takeaways

Considering a 10-year timeframe prompts deeper reflection compared to shorter-term scenarios. It allows for significant but manageable adjustments.

Spending time with loved ones becomes paramount, emphasizing meaningful connections and creating lasting memories.

Focus shifts towards honing skills, sharing knowledge, and leaving a positive impact. This includes refining expertise, mentoring others, and establishing legacies through writing, speaking, and philanthropy.

Engaging in postponed experiences, such as travel and learning new skills, enriches life. Each year presents opportunities for milestones and personal growth challenges.

If you knew you would die in 10 years, what would you do today?

When I read this question on the Internet a short while ago it made me think, because I recently turned 71 and it’s a realistic timeframe for me to consider.

Everyone has seen the shorter-term versions of this question, like what would you do if you found out that you have a month or a year or a day to live?

Now I don’t find questions like this impactful, as the answer usually involves dramatic changes.

I mean, if I knew I'd die tomorrow I certainly wouldn't be writing this article right now.

If I knew I'd die in a year, I'd probably be spending all my time with my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my family and friends.

That's not a particularly useful insight in terms of impacting my day-to-day actions.

But what if we stretched the time horizon to 10 years?

10 years is long enough that I still have a lot of time left but short enough that it's very quantifiable.

So let me ask you…

What changes would you make if you knew you wouldn't be around in 10 years time?

What big thing would you finally pursue?
What fears would melt away?
What new fears would appear?
Who would you remove from your life?
Who would you spend more time with?

Reflecting on the profound thought of a ten-year horizon sharpened my focus on what truly matters in life to me.

It isn't the daily grind or the ticking of boxes on a never-ending to-do list that will sing our song when we're gone.

It's the relationships we nurtured, the impact we made, and the legacy we leave behind that will echo through the ages.

“The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away.” David Viscot

David Viscott’s powerful words about discovering, developing, and gifting your unique talents set a framework for not just a life lived, but a life celebrated.

Embracing this, if I knew I had a decade left, I'd see it as a precious gift—a definitive period to shape, share, and savour the essence of who I am.

Discovering and honing your craft

In a ten-year window, time still allows for the luxury of exploration.

It's long enough to delve deeper into the caverns of one's passions and skills.

I'd continue to refine my expertise in property investment and the psychology of success but with a keener sense of urgency and focus.

Every piece of knowledge acquired would be with the intent to distil it into wisdom that could be passed on.

Developing a blueprint for impact

Ten years provide ample runway to build something monumental.

I aim to create a compendium of my experiences—a repository of insights—not just for the present generation but for the future ones.

This would involve intensifying my writing and speaking engagements, transforming every lesson learned into actionable strategies for others.

Gifting your legacy

The truest form of success is in enriching the lives of others.

Within ten years, I'd ramp up my efforts to mentor the next wave of leaders in my field.

The establishment of a foundation or a scholarship could ensure that my insights and teachings in wealth creation and success psychology endure beyond my time.

Life enrichment and relationships

Time with loved ones becomes non-negotiable.

Relationships would be the cornerstone of daily life, ensuring that moments are not just spent, but invested in creating memories that would outlast my years.

Intentional exclusions

Who would I cut out?

Anyone or anything that doesn't align with my mission of growth, contribution, and love.

Time is too precious to spend on relationships or endeavours that drain rather than enrich.

Embracing the full spectrum of life

Adding to my life would be experiences that I've postponed – even more travel to awe-inspiring places, learning new skills, and perhaps even writing another book or two.

Each year would have a milestone, a challenge to conquer, and a new terrain to explore.

In conclusion: the 10-year capsule

To encapsulate the essence of a life with a ten-year cap, I'd focus on creating a 10-year Capsule—a series of letters, recordings, and messages, each revealing a piece of wisdom or a story to be opened annually.

This would be my way of remaining a guiding voice for my loved ones and followers, even when I'm no longer physically present.

So, to you reading this, I pose the question again— knowing you have just ten years, how will you paint the canvas of your life?

Will it be a masterpiece of purpose, passion, and presence?

The clock is ticking, not to hasten your steps out of fear, but to embolden your strides toward significance.

Let's make every year count.

Here’s something you can do

If you really want to make the next 10 years count, you must plan out what you’re going to do and interestingly that’s the theme of Wealth Retreat which we’re holding on the Gold Coast at the end of April.

The theme is, "where will you be in five years’ time in all areas of your life, not just money or property or investments?"

Not only will you learn from our faculty, but you’ll have the opportunity to network with like-minded investors, business people and entrepreneurs while discovering how to build a true property investment business.

There’s nothing else like this in Australia for sophisticated investors with property investors, entrepreneurs or business owners.

If you’re committed to accelerating your ability to create wealth and get the most out of life Wealth Retreat 2024 is a must.

Our faculty will help you overcome the serious obstacles between you and lifetime wealth.

Click here and find out all about Wealth Retreat and register your interest.

We will get back to you and I’ll have a chat with you personally to ensure Wealth Retreat is for you, and if I believe it is and I invite you to join us, I’ll back you with my money-back guarantee.

About Michael Yardney Michael is the founder of Metropole Property Strategists who help their clients grow, protect and pass on their wealth through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He's once again been voted Australia's leading property investment adviser and one of Australia's 50 most influential Thought Leaders. His opinions are regularly featured in the media.

3 comments

Greg Chan 2024-03-26 23:42:38

2 replies

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Greg Chan March 26, 2024

Michael thank you for your insight. Sometimes life takes over and we pursue meaningless goals. Life is too short if you have only 10 years so first you need to try and cut out the undesirable elements in your life. Buddha said leaving your loved ones lead to unhappiness and suffering. Getting together with undesirables also lead to unhappiness and suffering. We still do this and wonder why we are so unhappy especially spending most of our day with toxic people at work. Simplifying your life is the most important thing with a 10 year time frame. This is hard when you have lived your life striving to achieve something as this has become an obsession or a strong habit. At age 20 you can drift for another 10 years but not when you are 60 or 70. I started writing a journal for my children around 10 years ago adding and refining the topics I was writing on. This has helped me more than them as they still haven’t seen it except for small extracts. There are many regrets as well especially self created ones such as not spending enough time with them while they were growing up. My father’s advice to me was to get a government job and work for 40 years and I have done 16 jobs in many different countries and have never worked for the government over 45 years. This has enriched my life so much even though I never planned it that way. This makes me very cautious about giving advice to younger people other than to point them away from disaster. I still look forward to the next 10 years with optimism. To the millennials and younger the biggest wealth transfer in history is around the corner. They will be the richest generation in history as trillions of dollars are about to be transferred. Baby boomers have laid the platform for them so do not complain too much.