A couple of years ago a smart friend asked me, “How many good summers do we have left?”

Your definition of “good” (and “summer”) may vary but it forced me to take this perspective for a minute.

I realized how often I turn things down because they’re a hassle, or expensive or I feel like someone else should make the effort.

Each time I declined to visit a friend, call a relative, take a risk I reduced the opportunities I had left to do that in the future.

If you had to actually count, how many more times do you think your old friend group will get together? How many visits with a loved one? At what point will you no longer be able to physically do something?

In 2022 I worked hard to build the systems that will allow me to jump on these opportunities.

I turn 50 in 2023. I intend to make the most out of every opportunity, visit every friend I miss, call and see my family, take bigger risks, stop delaying the things I’ve put off forever.

After all, how many more summers will I have to do those things?