Sometimes life stops you dead in its tracks. Tragedy forces us to stop and re-prioritize. Fear can be paralyzing or mobilizing.

This day, sixteen years ago, terrorism hit home in America. Our dear friends and colleagues lost loved one in the collapse of the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon.

My father had retired. The third plane hit where his office had been in the Pentagon. He was the architect behind the Pentagon’s renovation and he died 6 months after 9/11. The Vice President of Tramel Crowell spoke at his funeral and shared how his renovation had saved lives. The expanded fire walls prevented further damage and the fact that part of this section was still vacant.

This is day that many remember. I was working in my office in Rockville, Md when I received an instant message from my daughter Dana in college. “Mom, Do you know what’s happening? They are saying another plane is heading towards the Pentagon.” Her younger sister, Margo was in school not far from there. I jumped in the car and arrived at her Arlington school on autopilot, stuffed Margo and four friends in my two seater car and brought them home.

We react out of fear or we respond out of love. On September 11th, 2001, I did both.

I had stayed in a hotel with a bird’s eye view of the World Trade Center just the Tuesday before. My boss lost his brother in law, the Chief of the NY Fire Department when the second tower collapsed. My CTO at the time was David Beamer, his son Todd lost his life on the plane headed towards DC. His wife wrote the book, Let’s Roll of his heroism on the plane to stop the terrorists.

I’m currently reading a book called Living Forward, by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy. It’s a “how to” book on living a life of meaning, significance, joy, and satisfaction. One thing I know for sure is that we will all die someday.

So how do we live life today to it’s fullest? We learn to live life on purpose. We live and choose consciously out of love, not out of fear. We create our own roadmap. We determine our priorities.

We must prioritize ourselves, for our loved ones to make it happen.

Are you living the life of your dreams? Or are you just drifting? What adjustments do you need to make to get back on course?

Will you take time today to remember the truth of who you really are?

Carpe Diem,

With Love & Gratitude,

Lisa

About Lisa
Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker and a functional medicine coach with a mission to inspire others to feel and look their best at any age.