9 Leadership Lessons from Almost Dying…A Few Times

Today marks my 11th year of being cancer free. Near-death experiences seem a regular occurrence since, and each time it teaches me profound honesty, candor, clarity, and peace. Here are nine lessons from the nine lives I’ve been living:

1. Live a life that brings you peace when you die. I was once cantilevered above a ditch after my client drove us back to our retreat space in ice and snow after dinner. As the car slid backward and there was nothing I could do, I surrendered. This was it, I thought. Surprisingly-I was stoic and calm. Not a peep came out. I quietly accepted my faith and was pleasantly at peace with how I’m living.
2. Live like you’re going to live. For the first 10 years after surviving cancer, I lived like I was going to die, every single day. I maximized the time spent with loved ones. I made all my dreams from my chemo bed come true. I packed my calendar as full as possible. It was exhausting. Now, in my 11th year, I’m centering more peace, ease, flow, and long-term thinking. Living like you’re going to die only gets you so far. Truly living into the knowledge that one day…we will die…and still choosing to peacefully and joyously live in the present anyway, that’s where the transformation begins.
3. Be clear about who you are, what you stand for, and what you live for.
   I wouldn’t wish cancer on…