I was privileged enough to hold the hand of a dying man in recent months. He only had a few hours left to breathe. As I made sure he was comfortable, washed his face with a warm cloth, applied chapstick to his dry lips, I finally realized the "doing" was over and it was time to just sit--to just be with him in these last moments.

His breath was coming in waves. His eyes were closed and the weight of the moment was on my heart. I knew I was witness to a very sacred moment. I wondered about his life. Who was this elderly man? By the time I got to be in his life he was unable to communicate. I knew only a few details about his life. I knew he was man of faith and had been a father and a husband.

I began to hear this mantra I learned from a man who’s work I follow, Brendon Burchard.

Did I live?

Did I love?

Did I matter?

When we get to the end of our precious lives, will we have done what we were designed to do? When we meet our maker, will we hear, “well done, thy good and faithful servant”?

Are you doing your best?

Often our best is just getting up and out of bed. Your best can be redefined moment to moment. Take a moment and consider if you have been living intentionally.

I know that I have fallen off track with this concept on many moments.

Here's a true gift: it doesn't matter how many times you fall off track, you can get up and become new again. You can lay down your burdens and DECIDE to live from your best, make better choices and decide that the negative voice inside your head will not win today.

Have faith, dear one. You are not alone.

Life is but a moment. Life is but a breath. Life is such a gift.

We must live from this moment forward in Extreme Gratitude.(Read about this concept in Chapter 3 of my book. It's transformative.)

Can we find the sacred in each simple task?

Can we find joy in the hardest of places?

Sometimes life can be heavy. There are parts of our lives that can feel too big to carry. You are not alone.

I challenge you, TODAY, to search for joy in the hardest places, in the simple tasks, in the challenging moments. And to find a way to do your best in these moments.

Maybe it's time to begin a gratitude journal, or a gratitude practice, or dust off the one you used to use.

(This is not the time to beat yourself up for not being grateful-enough. This is the time to stand up and move. To be your best and to forge a new path ahead.)

Here are a few ideas for a gratitude practice that have added massive value to my life:

❤️ In the car and/or at bedtime, my son and I often list out our blessings.

❤️ At the table talk about your blessings. Get your family involved in a life of gratitude.

❤️ Make sure to acknowledge grocery cashiers and other workers wearing name tags by saying their names and asking them how they are doing. Say a simple, “thank you” and make eye contact while you do.

❤️ Take a gratitude walk. As you walk, really see your surroundings. No phone. No music. Just be in the walk.

Allow gratitude permeate to your soul.

Most of you are already grateful people or you wouldn't be following my work.

Ask yourself, how can you amp it up?

Can you Live in EXTREME Gratitude?

Watch your attitude change about so many things when you live this way.

Fear and gratitude cannot coexist.

Negativity and gratitude cannot coexist.

I am grateful for all of you! Thank you for reading my messages and following my work. I truly appreciate the privilege of your time in reading this.

If you see value in these messages, please send them to someone else who could benefit.

You are not alone. You matter. Your life matters.

So much love,

Rachel