Life Is About Experiences

Experiences over things

Most of us don’t have the means or the time to do everything we want to do. We must make choices. The idea of accumulating stuff offers diminishing returns. That bigger house at some point simply becomes a place you come to sleep. The exotic sports car, morphs into a means by which to get from place to place. The amazon orders that arrive on your doorstep may be nice for the first few minutes or hours, then the normalcy of life resumes.

Experiences are different than things. This weekend I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. I spent five hours witnessing my music idols receive awards and perform. It occurred to me that given their ages and declining health, I may never see some of these musicians perform again. As I was deciding on whether to attend, I struggled with the realization that my single seat ticket cost more than the very nice paddle board I bought for my family last week. And while I know I will use the paddle board for years to come, my experience of last night will remain with me for a lifetime. Upon reflection, I am grateful to have made the choice I did. The lesson here: life is about experiences.

Plan for your experiences

How can you ensure that you have great experiences? Make plans. When I see events I’d like to attend, I put them on my calendar. If I can arrange my schedule to attend the event, I do. I frequently travel for business. Once I know where I’m going to be, I look to see what sights or events interest me. If I can finish my work and do what I enjoy after hours, it turns a business trip into a pleasurable experience.

Find your crew

Look for people that do what you love to do. My wife and I both have an affinity for travel, physical activity, and the outdoors. She does not share my passion for live music. I have a group of friends all over the U.S. that love live music. When I hear of show that I want to attend, I reach out to the people in this group. Friday night I was eating dinner across from the concert venue. I met a group of wonderful people at the next table that were also going to the show. They were huge rock and roll fans. After dinner I ran into them on the street and again as we were walking into the arena. After the third meeting we decided to exchange contact information and attend a show together in the future: more great additions to the concert crew.

Don’t be confined by your location

If there is an experience that you want to have but it’s not local, why not make a pilgrimage? A friend of mine has two boys that love roller coasters. Last summer they rented a minivan and drove for 10 days visiting a different amusement park each day. If road trips aren’t your thing, air travel has become very competitive. If you plan trips in advance, chances are you can find a reasonable fare.

Push yourself to have new experiences

You never remember the day you slept in, the night you went back to your hotel, or the decision to stay at home. As a teenager I was fortunate to spend a summer with a group of kids my age travelling across Europe. I remember being so tired at one of our days in Rome that I was sleeping in the bus rather than joining that day’s excursion. One of our guides approached me and suggested that I might never have another opportunity to have this experience again, then added, “you will never remember the time you slept.” That advice stays with me to this day. It’s about having new experiences.

Tomorrow is never promised

If someone told you that you only have a certain number of days left, you would probably try to have as many amazing experiences as you could with the time you have. I’m here to tell you that you only have a certain number of days left. It could be one day or 20,000 days. Here’s the challenge: you will never know. Make the most of the time you have left. When that final day comes, you can leave this planet without regretting all the things you should have done. Life is about experiences.

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