Ric Elias almost died. He was sitting in row 1D when he heard an explosion. The plane filled with smoke and after two minutes, three things happened:

• The pilot lined the plane with the Hudson river.
• The pilot turned off the engines, and everything turned eerily quiet.
• The pilot uttered three words: “Brace for impact.”

This was Flight 1549, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York in January 2009.
Ric tells us what went through his mind when the doomed plane went down.

• “I learned that it all changes in an instant,” he says, and because of that, “I no longer want to postpone anything in life. And that urgency, that purpose, has really changed my life.”

• “I regretted the time I wasted on things that did not matter with people that matter.” Ric realized that it’s not important to be right, but just to be happy. “I’ve not had a fight with my wife in two years. It feels great.”

• “The only thing that matters in my life is being a great dad. Above all, the only goal I have in life is to be a good dad.”

One thing Ric said which surprised me is, “Dying is not scary. It’s almost like we’ve been preparing for it our whole lives.” But he admitted he felt very sad.” I didn’t want to go; I love my life.” He continued to say, “I only wish for one thing. I only wish I could see my kids grow up.”

Ric’s 3 important life lessons:

• Don’t postpone what you want to do in life.
• Don’t focus on being right, just focus on being happy.
• Be a great parent to your children. Put your ego and everything else aside.

So I’d like to ask you to reflect and answer Ric’s question:

What would you get done that you’re waiting to get done because you think you’ll be here forever?