What Will Matter by Michael Josephson

Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to
some one else
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear
So to you, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away
It won't matter where you came from or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end
it won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant
So what will matter
how will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got but what you gave
What will matter is not your success but how hard you tried
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught
what will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example
what will matter is not your competence but your character
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident
It's not a matter of chance but of choice
Choose to live a life that matters