3 Things You Must Do Before You Leave Planet Earth.

It doesn’t matter your age or condition. Don’t wait until you’re actually dying to live.

I’ve lived a lot of life in my twenty six years here: I endured terminal cancer; saved lives as an EMT and Nursing Student; Learned how to be truly attentive to people by working for companies such as In-N-Out Burger and Apple; Sent two humans to space via the Crew Dragon DM-2 Mission Capsule in my time at SpaceX; Got engaged to the love of my life; and currently I study the spirit and human behavior.

I believe my claim to be a factual one when I state:

I’ve lived a lot of lives in my one lifetime. And I’m just getting started.

The reason I tell you this is because in the time that I’ve done my living I’ve made an observation of the many people I encountered during my various adventures that I can’t quite seem to understand.

People wait until it’s too late to truly begin to live.

Now, of course, this is a generalization. There are individuals this doesn’t apply to. However, if you’ve made it this far I’m sure your willingness to read has turned from curiosity to genuine Seeking of Knowledge. This, friend, I can help you with.

1) Disconnect for a Minimum of 1 year.

Now when I say disconnect, I mean disconnect. Remove yourself from socials. Delete any applications of news sources. Go through your phone contact list and delete anybody that you haven’t spoken to in years. Or no longer wish to speak to in the first place.

I know this is all easier said than done and there are a million justifiers to maintain a relationship with those things mentioned above:

“But I use it to talk to family that live far away.”

“But I need to stay informed.”

“But it’s a requirement of my work, my income.”

“But what if I want to reach out again, later?”

I understand, and duplicate you completely. Believe me, it wasn’t easy for me to do what I am asking of you. But living, in my opinion, was never meant to be easy. It was meant to be worth it.

I disconnected myself for a full year. Did that mean I didn’t talk to anybody and was in isolation like a monk? Absolutely not.

However, without my phone as a consistent distraction it forced me to actually have conversations with those around me. Family, friends, and strangers.

I got to know my own parents and heard stories from their own childhood that gave me a new understanding and appreciation for who they were as people. No, they weren’t perfect and made plenty of mistakes, But hearing their stories humanized them. It showed me that while we are little and our parents are raising us, watching us grow up…we’re watching them grow up too.

Without the constant inundation of news from every corner of the internet people ceased to be republicans, democrats, political activists, what have you. They simply became people with passionate opinions. My judgement and critique of any group simply went away. This didn’t mean I suddenly agreed with everybody it factually gave me more understanding of my fellow man.

And my phone? Well, every time it buzzed or rang I was no longer in mystery. I always knew who was contacting me. I always knew who was wanting to talk to me. My phone ceased to become a source of emotional duress. My phone turned back into a communication device, and a legitimate source of entertainment.

2) Figure Out What Terrifies You. Then, Go Do That Thing.

Now this obviously has its limitations. If dying is a terror point for you then I am by no means condoning ending your life. Quite the opposite actually. If we are being honest with ourselves, however, we all have something that whenever mentioned or brought into context makes us either think or automatically respond with “There’s no way in hell I’m doing that.”

Well, I am telling you as an experienced human: It’s time to go do that thing.

Everybody has different things or situations that absolutely make them shake in terror merely thinking about it. I like to call these terror points.

Find your terror point and go do it. It’s as simple as that.

Afraid of heights? Skydive. Cliff dive. Rock climb.

Afraid of snakes or spiders? Go to your local zoo or animal center and ask for the expert on snakes and spiders. They’ll introduce you, in a safe environment, to your new best friends.

Afraid of public speaking? Go give a speech. Anywhere. To anybody.

Afraid of talking to strangers? Introvert perhaps? Go to the park, or coffee shop and introduce yourself to five strangers.

Afraid of Guns? Go shooting.

Afraid of the deep ocean? Sharks? Go scuba diving. Swim with the sharks.

You get the picture.

When you break through the self-made barrier of your terror points you will be absolutely stunned at what you’re capable of. Breaking through these points is what allows us to really start to scratch the surface of what we are truly capable of as Human Beings.

Start small, then move on up the scale through your terror points. You know what they are. Go break your barriers. You’re much more capable then you give yourself credit for. You just might find that you’re invincible.

My first one was heights. I did it shaking. I did it terrified. But when it was over I was a new person. I’ve broken many of my terror points since then. It’s truly allowed me to live. It’s made me feel invincibly infinite.

3) Tell Everyone How You Feel About Them

Listen carefully on this last one. I know out of context this can be turned into a weapon. But hear me out.

It is not news to anybody reading this that positivity goes a long way, and this output of positive energy is a major driver to what pushes human behavior for the better and not for the worst.

Spread positivity, and receive positivity. it may not always be from the same person. But it will always be returned, you will pull it in.

That being said when I say “Tell everyone how you feel about them.” I mean just that.

Your mother? Tell her you love her.

Your best friend? Tell them how you appreciated what they’ve done for you. Be specific.

That stranger that you’re having a nice chat with in the coffee shop? Tell him you really like his shirt, it’s something you would wear yourself.

To the people you absolutely hate and can’t stand to spend another second with? Tell them you don’t appreciate how they’re speaking to you. That you will speak to them later. And go get some fresh air before talking again.

Tell these people these things with zero expectation of reciprocation. We don’t say things of this nature for a reward or prize. We say these things because we truly mean them, and we want the other person to know that. This is what makes something genuine.

You see telling someone how you feel about them doesn’t have to be this sweeping declaration of love or a confessional of how they hurt you. You can always in the darkest of situations tell someone in a positive way how you feel about them. Right then and there. How you feel about them in the present moment. Because after all, the present moment is the only moment that genuinely exists right?

I know you know this to be true. If you’ve made it this far you’re aware of more than people give you credit for. It’s frustrating isn’t it?

Don’t let it be. You don’t have to. While you can hear their thoughts of judgement and invalidation you’ll be too busy living to even really hear what they have to say anymore. They will be white noise static in the background of your life. Soon they will cease to even exist.

Tell people how you feel. Be genuine in your communication. You’ll be surprised and delighted to find out how people respond to this. This action alone can greatly influence any type of relationship.

I wanted to end this article with a genuine Thank you. I appreciate you, friend, for making it this far and for truly taking the time to read and understand what I’ve had to say.

You know, my thoughts and convictions all come from the experiences I’ve been through. The adventures I’ve taken. The hardship I endured.

I tell you these things with honesty, and positivity in hopes that you take the 3 things that I’ve learned to be most helpful in playing this game we call “life” and truly playing it to win.

I appreciate you dearly, and I wish you a fruitful life in your time here on Earth.

With All Due Respect,

Richard Landeau