My dad was 50 years old when he passed away.  I was expecting my second child when I found out that he was ill.  My mom kept prompting me to come by but being so busy with life, I kept putting it off.  What's worse is that they lived about 10 minutes from me, but I just didn't seem to have the "time".    When I finally saw him, he was a shell.  He had lost about 100 pounds, wasn't eating much, and no longer able to work... he was just there.  Soon after, I quit my job and went to see him daily.  I did whatever I could to help, including cook, clean, and sometimes just kept him company.  Once I realized that my time was limited with him, I wanted to spend all that I could with him.  Not even three months later he had passed away. 
 
Why am I sharing this with you? Because as I am getting older, my priorities are shifting and my experience with him is a primary motivation.  Those last three months of his life taught me the following life empowered activities:
 

1. Identify what's most important in life and reverence it like so.
2. Learn all you can from others, whether it's what to do or what not to do.
3. Don't take time for granted - once you use it up, it’s all gone.
4. Enjoy the journey as much as you enjoy the destination.  Sometimes it takes much longer to get "there" than you planned.  And only God knows how long you’re going to stay "there" so find the joy in your pursuit.
5. Learn to embrace life's losses/failures. 
6. Don’t just live life, but leave a legacy.