As most of you know, I had open-heart surgery in 2022 and had a brief flirtation with death. Grateful it was only brief, but it could have been permanent. At that point, there wasn’t much i could do. The time before the surgery was a different story
I cannot assume that you have read my book, The Beat Goes On. That is the whole story of my surgery and life after death. Rather entertaining read if I say so myself. The time from when I was told I need surgery to the actual surgery itself was 2 months. That is a long time when it comes to anxiety, but a quite short time when it comes to accomplishing everything you want to do before you die.
Sitting next to this lovely lady in the movie theater, this became abundantly clear. What if I didn’t make it through surgery? What if, in these 2 months, I had to show her how much I care? How do you give someone a lifetime of love in 2 months? How do you celebrate your last Thanksgiving? Your last Christmas or ring in what could be your last New Year? You start to realize how fleeting life can be!
In a world of smart phones, watches and even rings, I think the device that best demonstrates what we are talking about here is the hourglass. The sand always goes from the top to the bottom. It slowly runs out, never going backwards. That is much like our life. It is constantly getting less and less. You will have less of it by the time you finish reading this post!
Now imagine you could not see how much sand is left in the top of the hourglass. You just new it was less and less by the second. Oh, you could guess based on the size of the hourglass, the thickness of the sand and other factors. What you would end up with us speculation at best. It could be a large hourglass with only a few grains of sand left. It could be a small hourglass packed with sand.
Our life is like that. We don’t know how much sand is left in our hourglass. All we know is that it is constantly running out. We can affect the rate to a certain degree by staying safe and healthy, but there are still factors beyond our control.
All of this to say is you don’t have time! Chase that dream now. Tell that person you love them now. As a person who had to stare down the possibility of death, and briefly experience it,let me assure you life is shorter than you think.
I ended my third book with this quote. It is an interesting truth. Mr. Einstein was one of the smartest people to grace our planet and I have to admit he came up with a good one here. Going through my surgery and brief flirtation with death did give me a new perception on things. Leading up to the surgery, I think was even more profound. I am going to share this with you in hopes that you will not have to be sawed in two like I was to be able to see everything like a miracle.
How do we begin to see everything as a miracle? We take this bit of advice from another wise soul, Dr. Wayne Dyer. Changing the way we look at things is such a valuable tool that many of us do not use often enough. Let us start with a big one – life. In my book, The Beat Goes On, I share a story about being at the movies with Margie 2 months before my surgery. As we were watching superheroes rid the world of a host of evil villains, it occurred to me that I could be dead a mere 60 days from now. That may sound morbid, and a bit scary, to some of you. It wasn’t to me at the time. What it did serve to do was give me a swift kick in the rear end. Time was ticking. The sand was falling through the hourglass. I looked at Margie and realized that every second ticking by was one less I would have with her. If I only had 2 months, what did I want to tell her? What did I want to do together? How did I want to make her feel? Life had never felt so precious to me. If you want to hear more of this story, I highly suggest checking out my book.
It should be pretty obvious, but just in case it is not, I made it through. It would be tricky to be writing this if I didn’t. What I was left with was not only a really cool scar on my chest, but that sense of urgency. What I realized is that every day, every second is still one less that we get to spend with each other. Not just Margie and I, but everyone in my life. We never know how much sand is in the top of the hourglass, or how much time we have left. All we know is it is less than it was before. When you lay down and night, realize one more day on the planet has ticked by for you. Did you use it well? Were there some things you could have done better? Think of what did go right and the fact that you made it through.Give thanks for that. Really feel that sense of gratitude that your ticket was not punched that day.
When you wake up tomorrow, give a big stretch and be grateful that you made it to another day. Then, realize that the sand is still flowing through the hourglass. How are you going to make the most of this day? Are you going to do something to build your legacy? Are you going to take some time to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature? You could explore the world of a new book. How about telling someone how much you truly love them? Time is ticking. Get every drop out of the juice of life. Live your life as if everything is a miracle, because it really is.
I am currently working on my fourth book, From Ruining Livers to Saving Souls, and learning a lot about both myself and life in general. As faithful readers of this blog, I am going to give you a bit of a preview. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a rock star. Really, who didn’t? My personification of what a cool leading man was Michael Hutchence from the band INXS. He seemed to have this sensual and yet mysterious aura about him. I managed to be in a few bands and have quite a bit of fun as you will be able to read in the upcoming book. Still, never quite a rock star.
Next up was being a bartender. The ringleader of the nightly circus. The star of the show. This I did for 23 years. I was pretty good, if I allow myself to say so. I flipped bottles. I learned the art of conversation to an insane degree. I mixed drinks. I was charming and friendly. I never realized the skill that made me a great bartender. It was the same skill that allowed me to excel working with the public during the day at the post office. I recall being on vacation in a different country and someone walking up to me saying, “You are the funny guy from the post office.” Crazy, but true.
During this time, I was also helping out at a meal program feeding under privileged individuals. I approached that with the same rock star/bartender personality that I had from my youth. I recall people switching lines to come to me at the meal program. They remembered something I had said to them the month prior. One gentleman told me, “You were the first person to call me ‘Sir’ in 5 years.” Before long, I had a little following at the meal program. It was good to see the smiles on the peoples faces. It was a lot like bartending, except for the fact I was serving beans and hot dogs instead of a rum and coke.
Fast forward to 2023. I went from being on the stage or behind the bar, to being behind the keyboard as both an author and a blog writer, and behind the microphone as a DJ and a host of the “Living the Dream with Neil Panosian” podcast. Highly recommend you check that out. When I was about to release my first book, a well-meaning customer explained to me that it would only sell about a dozen copies. The reason she gave for this prognostication, was that people don’t read anymore and that I didn’t have a major publisher behind me. That book has sold over 1000 copies and counting.
Why are we taking a brief trip through all of my occupations? I did skip hosting a radio and television show for a while. The former of which is the best job I have ever had. The reason why is that while writing about these and other life journeys I have had, I gained a most valuable truth. It is the secret for becoming a success in any endeavor you are engaged in. I unconsciously used the secret in every one of those professions I listed.
A lot of people say that when they become ‘rich and famous’ they will use that fame and fortune to help people. I have learned the best way to become a success at anything, and by doing so make a name for yourself, is to be of service. If you want to be important – be useful. As a bartender, I made sure to get to know my customers. What they drank. Their occupations, their family and anything else that would make them feel valuable. When I helped people at the post office, I would try to make the experience as fun as couldbe. My thinking was if I was stuck working there and they were stuck doing business there, why not make it the best and most entertaining 3 minutes of their day. As an author, my writing is dedicated to using my experiences in life and the lessons I learn, to benefit others. As a DJ, radio and television host, my goal is to have you walk away feeling better than when you arrived. In my podcast, we share many secrets to improve life and do it in a very entertaining way.
All of these examples are finding ways in which to serve the people I interact with. The more and better I was able to serve them, the more important and significant I became. Even at the meal program that I was fortune enough to help at, service was what set me apart. Everyone there was serving food and beverages, but I was the only one serving dignity and respect. These all became clear to me when I began to write about them for my upcoming book. If you wish to become someone of significance, become someone of service. People will always want to be around, and give their time, business and respect to someone who helps them or makes them feel good about themselves. If we all focused on the best way in which we can best serve each other, we will all be a success.
This past Friday, I celebrated the release of my third book, The Beat Goes On, which is also available on Amazon. I was fortunate enough to host this event at an amazing place called Urbal Tea. The owner, Nick, was kind enough to offer me the space. There was enough room for everyone in a very pleasant atmosphere. As you can see, I had all three of my books available and was able to share and meet many new friends.
In addition to all of the new friends that I met, there were plenty of familiar faces. I had friends, family and coworkers. Margie made cupcakes that were so delicious, I think a few people came just for them. I am hoping this new book will help people understand the importance of self-improvement. By reading it, you will be able to witness how it affected one of the scariest and intense moments of my life. In this book it shows the tools and strategies that I personally used and that worked for me. There are moments of laughter, drama, tears and triumph.
I can’t thank everyone who came to share this amazing evening with me enough. There was so much to be thankful for and I hope I did my part to serve those who attended. In a world that can so often seem crazy, it is great to have an evening like this to look back and be grateful for.
After months of work and hype, today is the day my third book, The Beat Goes On, is released to the masses. I will be hosting a book signing event locally at Urbal Tea if any of you would like to stop down. In addition to celebrating this fun moment in time, I would like to look back at how we got here, as well as look forward to what I hope to accomplish with this book.
Let us begin by looking at how we arrived at this book. I would like to remind everyone what my English teacher told me right before I graduated high school. She looked me in the eyes and said, “I hope to God you will never have a career in writing.” In her defense, I might have said the same thing at the time. I was not the best literary student. I still define myself as the author that keeps editors employed. This does, however, remind us that we should not allow others to define our paths in life. As well-meaning as they may be, nobody knows what is best for us except our own hearts and minds. If this memory would have occurred to me before I completed my first book, the self-doubt that comes with such a task may have overwhelmed me. I was also told by one of my customers at the post office that I should not hope to sell more than 12 copies. To date, that book has sold over 500 copies in several countries.
I would also like to talk about how this latest book is different. My first two books, which also includes Living the Dream, were sharing the secrets I have both learned and discovered in my 2 decades in the self-improvement field. They are instructional, and offer great tools and strategies to help all of us to live a more rewarding and positive life. As I was using those very strategies and improving my life, it was turned upside down. I underwent open-heart surgery and had a brief flirtation with death. This experience was both frightening and enlightening at the same time. It was suggested by the love of my life, Margie, that sharing this experience would not only help others, but do a great deal to keep my sanity during the months of anxiety leading up to the procedure, as well as the frustration of healing.
This latest book is not only the story of this portion of my life, but a reaffirming of what was taught in the first two books. If it were not for everything I had learned in the 46 years leading up to that moment, I would have never been able to make it through. I had a chance to not only share what I went through and calm the fears of those who may have to go through the same procedure, but to also share what tools and strategies I used and how. It is my hope this book will not only entertain you with the stories from the hospital and my life, but convey how important and all-encompassing working on yourself and your life can be. In my case, it actually saved my life. The same might be true for you. As I say in the book, and often in life, the time to learn how to swim is on the shore, not when the boat is sinking. Be prepared for when life throws you a challenge.
In closing, just remember to never let anyone define what you can or can’t do. I think Les Brown said it best when he offered, “Someone’s opinion of you does not have to be your reality.” Read that statement whenever you are experiencing doubt because of what some well-meaning person may have said. Also, remember that sharing your story will help both those who may go through the same thing as well as your own sanity as you make it through. Mostly, I want you to know the time to work on living an amazing life and becoming an amazing person is now. Life seldom, if ever, gives us a warning before it turns upside down. If you wait until then to strengthen your health, your relationships and your inner peace, it may be too late. You can find great secrets to do so in any of my books which are all available on Amazon. Just click the link below to be taken to my author page.
My third book is at the publisher! It has been roughly 6 months in the making. I tried something new and wrote everything by hand first. This created an extra step, but seemed to work for this story.
The writing cost me several summer afternoons that I would have rather spent relaxing in the sun. It included late nights, early mornings and many long days. In the end it was all worth it. I feel I created a book that will reach and help so many.
Now it is time to take a break and recharge before embarking on my next literary adventure. I’ll keep you posted when this book becomes available. Thank you to everyone who made this all possible!
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 