There's living life. And then there's living life. Interestingly no matter how you do it, there's one constant truth.

I've had a pretty good life. I've been healthy. I've had several great partners and I have more near-lifetime friends than I can count on the fingers of one hand.  I've always had enough money to get by. I failed at school but succeeded at life by understanding that school has little to do with gaining essential education. And I've been blessed with having discovered a number of capabilities and talents that have been rewarding in every sense of the word. I've had, and I'm having, a great time.

But living life is relative; take for example the four members of the eighties country supergroup, The Highwaymen: Nelson, Jennings, Kristofferson, and Cash.

These guys have LIVED life. And two still are, almost in spite of their lifestyles. Good ol' boys. And bad boys.

So, still at it after all these years, Willie Nelson at 81 is living a life that seems - larger than life; just recently I watched The Judge and there, over the credits, is Willie doing a brilliant cover of the Coldplay song The Scientist. Check it out.

The other remaining star of The Highwaymen is Kris Kristofferson who says of Willie: "He's a carved-in-granite, samurai poet warrior Gypsy guitar-pickin' wild man with a heart as big as Texas and the greatest sense of humour in the west".

So when I am looking for a way to put my life in perspective I sometimes take Willie's advice by reading a few pages from his book: The Tao of Willie. Who would know more about squeezing something extra from life, right?

Willie offers some great advice:

And more great advice when he sings: "I live one day at a time, I dream one dream at a time, Yesterday's dead and tomorrow's blind, and I live one day at a time".

Some of the best advice I've ever had.

But even so I keep in mind another Willie gem: "Trying to be someone else is the hardest road there is."

Live in the moment. One day at a time. One dream at a time.

But let's each do it our way.

Toolkit:

The Highwaymen in action: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyO1eRtDRcs&list=FLIWvycylcRwgUiQPqGZ5-xw&index=2

Read the Tao of Willie:

http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Willie-Guide-Happiness-Heart-ebook/dp/B000PC0SDM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1418275349&sr=1-1&keywords=the+tao+of+willie