The Book

“Lead the life now for which you want to be remembered.”

There is a moment in all of our lives when we experience a wake up call….a moment when the terrafirma underneath the normal ebb and flow of life is shaken or stirred. For some it may, G-d forbid, be a death in the family or a personal illness.

For some of us it may be an awakening due to the recent economic turmoil, a loss of a job, challenges at work or a downgrade in our financial portfolio. It also may be the life affirming moments of the birth of a child, grandchild or a wedding. We experience a brush with our own mortality and ask ourselves how do we lead a more fulfilling and meaningful life?

As Peter Lynch, the famed manager of Fidelity Magellan fund explained upon his abrupt retirement in 1992, “There is more to life than money and management.”

How do we maximize our potential? Every human being at some point in their lives will ask this question. Whether rich or poor, black or white, believer or not, the innate desire to lead a life of lasting influence resonates universally. It is not a Jewish question alone but a question for humanity.

As a Rabbi for over 20 years I have officiated at hundreds of funerals and I am always struck by the challenge to encapsulate someone’s existence into 20 or 30 minutes. In truth, we cannot summarize a life. We never will fully know the significance and influence of a person. However, eulogies, conversations with family and friends and with the person themselves in their final hours, offer a glimpse into eternity.

What if we could develop a strategy for living that would insure a life of influence and impact while simultaneously motivating us to live in the moment?

This is the mission of this book. I hope to share with you a way to reverse engineer your life. The term “reverse engineering” most often applies to the attempt to create a product by taking it apart and understanding the process for building one anew. In our context, “reverse engineering” challenges us to examine the ingredients of a full life and infuse this information into our daily routine. By extracting the wisdom distilled from the end of life and reformulating it as a navigational guide for each day through the seven principles of reverse engineering, we can truly live in two worlds. We will maximize the here and now in a way that memorializes every moment.

Contact Rabbi Cohen: Rabbicohen@whatwilltheysayaboutyou.com or
call (203) 252-8252