If you don’t already know the incredible power of Last Wishes, via the Aaron Collins $500 Top for a Pizza Story, this is it in a nutshell: Young man Aaron Collins left a note with a couple of last wishes he’d like carried out in the event of his death. One wish was to leave a $500 tip for a pizza. How great! His family did that, and in the process received over $60,000 in donations from people who were inspired and wanted to help. Aaron’s brother wound up taking a road trip across the country leaving $500 tips for pizzas, and each time getting to tell the server about Aaron and this last wish he had. Forever more, the family could talk about Aaron with a smile on their faces, knowing all the good that had been done in his honor.
If you do already know that leaving good deeds for your survivors to carry out is an easy and amazing way to make a difference in the world, but have yet to actually take a step, here’s my advice:
Get out a piece of paper and a pen, and write down a good deed you’d like done in your honor. Tell someone where it is — or better, leave it with your funeral plans. (You do have your own [possibly fun] funeral planned, right?!)
It’s that simple.
The good deed could be buying flowers for your widowed neighbor once in awhile; it could be buying girl scout cookies from your granddaughter; it could be spending an afternoon at the food bank; reading with kids at the library, bringing homemade cookies to the local firehouse.
Those are random examples, of course. Your ideas would be unique to you. They would be personal, touching, and meaningful to either yourself, your people, or all of you!
Just pick one thing that brings a smile to your face. One person or organization or cause you want to benefit. For your first good deed, I would suggest something small, and then as you (inevitably) get other wonderful ideas, up the ante and make larger requests! They will be carried out — rest assured!
People will do things when someone has died that they wouldn’t do at any other time.
So let’s take advantage of that and put some awesome out into the world in your honor!
Don’t let your life’s end be for naught. Make sure there’s a good deed to be done. It’s fun for you to ponder, a privileged bonding for your people to carry out, and a welcome gift to the recipient.
Last Wishes. Let’s make it a thing.