Dr. Myles and Ruth Munroe I was very sorrow to hear the news of the deaths of Dr. Myles Munroe and his wife Ruth from a plane crash this past weekend. 

Dr. Munroe was a prominent speaker and author who focused on leadership, potential, and vision. I personally have several of his books and on average listen to at least one of his audio teachings a week. I've learned a lot from him over the years, I quote him in some of my books and presentations, and I want to thank him and his wife for what they've given me personally and the world.

Dead at 60 years young...the question arises, "Why did such a bright star have his light extinguished so soon"?  It's a legitimate question, especially when you consider that he also was the executive pastor and founder of one of the largest ministries in the Bahamas -- why did God let him die like that?

I've asked myself the same question when one of my closest friends died of colon cancer at 32, when my brother-in-law died suddenly of meningitis at 47, or when my dad passed a few years ago.  You could probably add the names of people like John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., or Keith Green to the list of people who we feel died too soon.

First off, I don't think these people had their lights extinguished. Their lights shown, and we still sense the glow, which is why we're still talking about them.  I believe in each case these people accomplished what they were sent here to do. Had they been allowed to continue living, no doubt they would have added to their accomplishments, most likely in the same area. They finished their races. They ran their courses. They were done. And, if you consider that Jesus Christ died at 33, these people actually had rather long lives (comparitively speaking).  

For me, the more pressing question is, given the unpredictable state of life, how can I make sure that whenever my time to go comes, I can be sure that I'm actually finished doing what I was put on earth to do?

I address this in one of my books (Anchored in Light), in the chapter titled "Pace Yourself", let me summarize.

To "Pace Yourself" is to allow acts of serving others to be your daily metronome - serving selflessly to benefit someone else.  Pacing yourself is a matter of putting a priority on making strategic, determined contributions to situations that you find yourself in. It's about using your resources intentionally for the benefit of others -- doing things that may not directly benefit you, but that move a situation forward and move people in the direction of progress.

Obviously there will always be situations that you have nothing of or in yourself that can help the situation.  But there will be just as many in which you can make a difference.

So Pacing Yourself is about keeping your antenna up for those opportunities, and when they present themselves, you make a contribution to that situation that makes a difference.

A day in which you decline the opportunity to move someone else's life forward is a day wasted, in my opinion.  Partly because of what it does for others, but just as importantly, what it will do for you.  When we give away from ourselves we exercise muscles of benevolence and goodwill that return residual rewards to our spiritual, soulful, and physical nature.  In a culture in which we are encouraged to look out for ourselves first, the adage still holds true that the person who tries to hold on to his life will lose it, and the one who chooses to lose his life will actually find it.

Find yourself by losing yourself - what a strange way to approach preparing for the inevitable day of departure...but it works Do something today that helps someone be successful with no thought of personal reward.

Pace Yourself.

Rest in Peace Dr. & Mrs. Munroe.