This is The Song I Want Played at My Funeral and 41 Things I’ve Learned in 41 Years

It’s 4/15/2020.

Today is my birthday.

I woke up early.  Drank some coffee. Listened to Pearl Jam.  Lifted weights.  Then drank more coffee.

I worked from home calling patients.  Telehealth.  No major problems.  Just mostly good people doing the best they can while going through tough times.

Now I’m writing this.

My wife is making Chicken and Dumplings for dinner.

After that, I’ll probably drink a beer and play ping pong.

Simple.

Just how I like it.

Now, if you came here to find out what song I want played at my funeral, you can skip to the end.

But if you came here because you wanted to know just what I learned in the past 41 years, then here it is:

1) A good stoic philosophy can take you a long way in life.

2) There is evil and dark places in the world. You carry a candle and an axe.  Use both.

3) There is just as much space in this world for mysticism as there is for quantum physics.

4) Sometimes it feels like you’re just spinning your wheels, but that’s okay.  You’ll get there eventually.

5) Pain heals and chicks dig scars.

6) Your life is a story.  You don’t get to decide the setting, plot, or timeline.  You only get to pick if you’re the hero or not.

7) You are predestined to have free will.

8) It’s better to walk straight through life with a limp than to stand up straight and walk crooked.

9) The mind controls the arm.  The arm swings the axe.

10) It’s hard work living life in reverse.  Forgiveness is strength.

11) Having faith doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ask questions.

12) Everyone is anxious, scared, and a little depressed.  At least some of the time.

13) Here’s a video of me drawing and talking.  In it, I explain a simple technique to take complete control of your life.

14) A life full of love is better than a bank full of cash.

15) You can get a lot accomplished with early mornings and black coffee.

16) Goals are good, but a plan is better.  Success is a system, not an endpoint.

17) Fear keeps most people from doing anything. So, if you do something and completely screw it up, you’ve still accomplished more than 90% of the people in the world.

18) Perspective is reality, and I’m not as mean as I look.

19) Sometimes you just have to hover your feet over the road and see what happens.

20) You can bend reality to your will, but you can’t always bend reality to your will.  The law of attraction is about focus.  Not magnetism.

21) There’s no such thing as normal.

22) Kids need a place to call home.

23) I hate snakes but live in the woods.  I am an introvert but spend all day talking to people.  I am a minimalist but have a lot of stuff.  I am a walking contradiction.  (And I like it like that.)

24) Don’t worry about being the best at everything.  Just be persistent.

25) Mississippi is an underdog.  Everyone loves the underdog.

26) Sometimes you find hope in the strangest of places.

27) Heaven and Hell don’t start in the afterlife.  They start here and now with the choices you make.  You get out of Hell one step at a time.  The path to Heaven is a cross to bear.

28) Want to know your purpose in life?  Here it is: Fart around and do a little good before you die.

29) Never take advice from doctors on the internet.

30) Pure religion is universal.  And written on our souls.  It’s never wrong to do the right thing.

31) Good friends make life better.

32) Millions of people pray for miracles every day.  You are the answer to someone’s prayer.

33) Schizophrenic meth addicts need doctors too.

34) Our brains like reading lists.  Our brains also like sugar.

35) It’s best to start today if you want to make it to tomorrow.

36) There’s enough pretenders in the world.  Kill the impostor, not yourself.

37) I won the lottery when I was born because I had 2 parents that loved me.  I wish every kid had this.

38) My wife is AMAZING!  Even when she’s not perfect, she’s damn close.  (just kidding, she is perfect).  Just goes to show you that life isn’t fair.  Joke’s on her I guess. 😉

39) Our family has a motto and it’s this:  Be kind.  Be weird.  (Everything else will take care of itself)

40) Never listen to anyone that puts the things they “know” into list form.

41) And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for:  Here’s the song I’d like played at my funeral.  (I miss John Prine already)

p.s.

This is what I got for my birthday…

p.p.s.

If you’re looking for a great birthday present for someone, grab a copy of my book and throw it in the garbage and then get your friend a real gift.  You can grab your copy here. 

p.p.p.s.

This post had a lot of Easter eggs.  I hope you have fun following the links into a wormhole of joy.