A life, well, lived

The fundamental difference lies in the comma.
One might live a life well. But is it really worth it if, it follows the same droll pattern of - here I'd like to quote a line from one of my favourite films, Yeh Jawaani hain Deewani - 

"Baaees tak padhai, pacchees pe naukri, chhabbees pe chhokri, tees pe bacche, saath pe retirement aur phir maut ka intezaar."

(Study till you're twenty-two, get a job at twenty-five, girl at twenty-six, kids at thirty, retire at sixty and await the end of your life)

There's very few movies that I actually bear to sit through, even fewer I'd watch again. This movie is one of the few that sort of just struck a chord with me. The wonderfully picturesque locations and aesthetically soothing lyrics in the music that was rather detached from the commonplace policy of having a stoned barbarian break guitars and scream for his "generation" to rise and demand their rights, helped make watching it a memorable experience. But I digress.

Most of us lead rather insignificant lives in the greater scheme of things. We hardly ever "live up to our potential", which is largely a result of our own misconceptions as to what we are capable of achieving. We have had misgivings plague the essence of our very existence right from the first remark in our books from school to appraisals from the boss. I speak for not only myself, I'd like to believe, when I say I've always wondered what it'd be like if I'd done things differently, avoided a few critical mistakes and ended up in a better place than I am right now. Well, too bad. Life is too short for pondering the past. We have very little time as it is, why waste it over could-have's and should-have's. I realize I'm perpetrating a cliche but the entire reason behind this is simple. I'm not doing this for anyone but me. I realize the importance of time. I've realized it is essentially the key to success at any level. Time.

Time Management is valued greatly as it happens to be, already. But the successful know that in spite of all that, it isn't given the respect it deserves. The reason behind it is very simple. It is one of those obscure talents that cannot be showcased on stage, will not be apparent to anyone you meet and yet will continue to affect your life in ways far beyond your comprehension. Man has conquered the Space, or is most certainly along the path to do so (read Elon Musk, SpaceX reusable rockets, Mars Colonization, NASA's second manned mission to the moon) but Time is the one concept elusive to man. Time is all a man needs to become God on this Earth. 

Our lives center around the fact that we need to do a lot but are given very little time. It is the direct or indirect reason behind every decision ever taken, every justification ever given, and every challenge ever completed. Time is the master of all and the master of none. All a man has ever done in order to be successful is to understand and thereby respect Time.And that, my dear friend, is all you need to do to turn a life, well, lived into a life well lived.