The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

This week's A Conversation of Hope focused on the powerful lessons from The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware, encouraging listeners to live authentically, prioritize relationships over work, express their feelings, nurture friendships, and choose happiness today instead of waiting for "someday." Brett emphasized that life's greatest regrets usually stem from missed opportunities, not missed possessions, and challenged everyone to live with courage, gratitude, and purpose. He also shared two inspiring stories—one about a couple welcoming a baby after an 11-year fertility journey and another about a woman who set a record by rowing solo from California to Hawaii. The episode concluded with recommendations for podcasts by Jamie Kern Lima, Terri Savelle, and Lisa Nichols, all centered on overcoming worry, building motivation, and avoiding comparison. 

Lisa Nichols | Comparison is and Will Always Be the Thief of All Joy

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-quote-of-the-day-show-daily-motivational-talks/id1163094296?i=1000774656854

Terri Savelle | I Had No Motivation…Then I Did This (It Changed Everything)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/terri-savelle-foy-podcast/id274538089?i=1000774708663

Jamie Kern Lima | Strategies to Move Past Worry and Self Sabotage

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jamie-kern-lima-show/id1728723635?i=1000774791989

Daily Healthy Lifestyle https://drive.google.com/file/d/1coeDFfQP3wt1DX-nRvIi4Q0W9IJSB8Mr/view?usp=drive_link

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome to A Conversation of Hope with Brett. This podcast is all about you, the mission, to remind you that you are a masterpiece. To inspire you to dream again. To equip you with simple, actionable strategies for success. Strategies you can start using today to begin your journey with the incredible life you discussed. He wants to remind you of the trend you were going to do. No matter your past or firmly believe that you find it. It's grateful you're here and promises to give us all each week. Help you create the life you want to learn. So buckle up. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Welcome, welcome, welcome to a conversation of hope. I am so glad you tuned in for this very special episode. Right from the start, I want to remind you, yes, you, that you are enough. You have what it takes, and you are in fact a champion whose absolute best days are straight ahead. Today's episode is very, very, very special one that I am so excited to share with you. It's so easy in life to get distracted by and pursue things in life that really won't matter in the end. You often hear about people that chased success their whole life and ended up feeling totally empty. Many of them have said they realized too late that the ladder they were climbing in life was leaning on the wrong wall. Everything the world said would make them truly happy was all a facade. On the flip side, imagine what if you could talk to the 94-year-old version of yourself and ask what truly mattered in life? Well, all right, y'all, I came across a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. It was authored by Bronny Ware. Bronny spent years caring for the dying and recaps us on what their true top five regrets were. Alright, everybody, let's get right into it. Imagine sitting beside someone in the final weeks of their life. The things they talk about are rarely their bank account, their possessions, or how many hours they worked. Instead they reflect on what truly mattered and what they wish they had done differently. Branny Ware spent years caring for people who were nearing the end of life. During those intimate conversations, she noticed that the same regrets came up again and again. Her book shares these lessons so that we don't have to wait until our final days to start living with purpose. Let's look at each of the five regrets and discover how they can help us live a richer, happier, and more meaningful life. Woo! Alright, y'all, here we go. Regret number one. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life that others expected of me. This was the most common regret, everybody. Many people spend years trying to meet everyone else's expectations. They chase careers because someone told them they should. They stay quiet because their fear of criticism. They hide their dreams because they worry about failing. Before they know it, decades have passed. Literally everyone, they go by quick. One of the saddest realizations a person can have is recognizing that they live someone else's version of success instead of their own. Ask yourself, what dream have I been postponing? What gift has God placed inside me that I'm not using? If fear disappeared today, what would I begin? Life is far too precious to spend it seeking approval. Success is not becoming somebody else. Success is becoming the person that you were created to be. Alright, y'all. Regret number two. I wish I hadn't worked so hard. Many people admitted they sacrificed their marriages, relationships with their children, friendships, hobbies, and health in pursuit of more money or career advancement. Work is important. Providing for your family does matter. Excellence matters, but when work consumes your life, something priceless is lost. No one wishes they had spent one more week in answering emails. People wish they had watched one more sunset, taken one more vacation, played one more game with their kids, held their spouse's hand a little bit longer. The greatest wealth isn't found in your retirement account. It's found in the memories you create with the people that you love. Remember, you can always make more money. You cannot make more time. They've never told someone they loved them. They never apologized. They never forgave. They buried hurt, disappointment, anger, and sadness. Eventually these emotions became heavy burdens. Healthy relationships require honest conversations. Tell people you appreciate them. Say I'm sorry. Say I forgive you. Say I love you. Don't assume they'll always be there. Words left unsaid often become lifelong regrets. Regret number four, I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. As life became busier, friendship slowly faded, work took over, children grew up, schedules filled, and years passed. Then near the end of life, many realized they deeply missed the people who once brought them laughter and joy. Friendship isn't a luxury, it's one of life's greatest blessings. A simple phone call, a handwritten note, a coffee together, a weekend visit, these moments became priceless. Never underestimate the power of investing in relationships. The older we become, the less we remember the things we bought and the more we cherish the people who walked beside us. Regret number five. I wish I'd let myself be happier. This surprises many people. Many assumed happiness would come someday. Well, when I retire, I'll be happy, or when I get that promotion, when I lose the weight, when I have more money I could be happier. But happiness isn't simply something that happens. It's often a daily choice. Many people realize that they had spent years worrying, comparing themselves to others or clinging to old habits simply because they had become comfortable. They forgot how to laugh, how to play, how to enjoy ordinary moments. Joy often lives in simple things like a sunrise, a walk outside, a good conversation, serving someone else, laughing with family, being grateful for today. Don't postpone happiness waiting for the perfect future. There is beauty available right now. Man is that powerful, y'all. Happiness is not out there somewhere. I love that they said that. That's a great reminder for me as well. The bigger lesson When you look at all five regrets together, one powerful theme emerges. People rarely regret what they owned. They regret how they lived. They regret missed opportunities, missed relationships, missed adventures, missed words, missed courage. Life isn't measured by how busy we were, it's measured by how deeply we loved, how courageously we lived, and how faithfully we used the time we were given. Practical life lessons from the book here are ten ways to apply these lessons today. Number one, be true to your values even when it's difficult. Number two, protect time for your family and your closest relationships. Number three, tell people how much they mean to you. So powerful. A kind word unspoken, y'all, it doesn't mean anything to that person. Number four, forgive quickly and ask forgiveness when needed. Number five, reconnect with an old friend. Number six, chase meaningful experiences, not just possessions. Number seven, stop waiting for someday to pursue your dreams. And number eight, practice gratitude every day. So powerful, y'all. Number nine, make time for rest, laughter, and joy. And number ten, live each day so that your future self has fewer regrets. Powerful thought. Imagine you're 95 years old looking back at your life and how you lived it. What would make you smile? It probably won't be the extra hours you spent in the office. It won't be the car you drove, it won't be the latest gadget you owned. You'll remember the people you love, the lives you touched, the risks you took, the prayers you prayed, the kindness you showed, the adventures you embraced, the difference you made. Every day is a blank page. Every morning is another opportunity to choose courage over comfort, purpose over fear, relationships over busyness, and gratitude over complaining. The greatest gift that the book offered was not a list of regrets, it's an invitation, an invitation to begin living today in a way that leaves little regret to tomorrow. So dream boldly, love generously, forgive quickly, laugh often, stay connected to those who matter most, and live each day with the confidence that when your life is complete, you will be able to say, I truly lived. Boy. So good stuff. Just such good wisdom. My goodness. Alright, y'all. Buckle up as we head straight into the laugh zone. If you're on a treadmill right now, I would encourage you, maybe step off. I don't want you to be laughing so hard you fall off your treadmill. Or if you're cruising down the road, make sure that you have two hands on the wheel. These are good ones. I even threw in a bonus joke, y'all. All right, here we go. A teacher asked, if I had seven oranges in one hand and eight oranges in the other hand, what would I have? A student replied quickly, really big hands. A monkey. My dad said my wife asked me to put ketchup on the list. Now I can't read anything. Oh. All right, everybody. Story time. Got some great stories lined out for you this week. Couple who started IVF last Christmas day welcomed a baby after an 11-year battle. Can you imagine that? You talk about courage and stuff. That couple tried for 11 years and did not give up to have a baby. What a blessing. A couple who started IVF last Christmas day has given birth to a baby boy after 11 years of trying to conceive. Helen was warned she may never be able to conceive naturally with her husband. But following a January surprise, they're getting to celebrate Christmas with little Noah, who's now 14 weeks old. The couple started trying for a baby soon after they got together in 2014, but Delger already had a complex medical history. She had undergone abdominal surgery to remove much of her bowel and been told she might never conceive naturally as a result. I was very unwell when Stefan and I first met. So he was aware of my issues and we thought we would just see where life took us. After a few years of trying, Delger underwent a surgery to try to remove some of the scar tissue from previous surgeries, which was believed to potentially block her fallopium tubes. They were referred to a little fertility clinic for help after the surgery failed to make a difference. After starting treatment on Christmas Day, she found out that she was pregnant in January. Wow. However, despite all the care that had gotten us to that point, I became quite ill and experienced heavy bleeding at the end of the third week of the pregnancy, which led us and the medical team to anticipate that I might have lost the baby, she said. My six week scan was therefore carried out with the greatest fear, mindful of our potential loss, and the radiologist was very sensitive, positioned the screen so the image was not in the line of our vision. But then with a huge smile, she turned it back and showed us Noah's tiny heartbeat. We broke down, and the team were crying as well. After that, it was a relatively uncomplicated pregnancy, and our beautiful boy was born at 37 weeks, weighing six pounds, 10 ounces. Woo! That is so awesome. The support from the clinic throughout the journey was incredible. We thank the whole team and wish them all a very Merry Christmas, they said. That is so awesome, y'all. And like I said, to continue to push and believe and have that belief that they can have a baby after 11 years of trying, what a power couple. That is absolutely fantastic. All right, here we go. Next one up woman rower breaks men's record for the fastest solo voyage from California to Hawaii. Wow. As America celebrated its 250th birthday, Kelsey celebrated her own significant milestone, becoming the first American women woman to row a boat from California to Hawaii alone. As she pulled into Ali Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu, she also set records for being the fastest to compete to solo row among either sex and youngest woman to do so. If any part of this made at least one person feel a little bit more powerful in their own skin, I couldn't have asked for anything else and I'm happy, she said. Wow. An eight-year Grand Canyon rafting guide and a leader of a four-member female rowing team that made the Monterey Hawaii trip in 2024, Kelsey was alone in the eastern Pacific for over a month. Something she admitted she loves. She spent some of day thirty seven grieving for the loss of this row, having then arrived within 500 miles of Oahu. Those vlog entries on her Instagram detailed her challenges throughout the marathon row, including harrowing ones like dealing with rough seas and huge currents, as well as the mundane ones keeping away from sunburn and cooking food. She shattered the previous woman's record of eighty-six days, ten hours and five minutes held by Leah Ditton, according to the Ocean Rowing Society International, but also broke the men's record of 52 days. Her forty-three day transit also came with in three days of being faster than her previous rowing crew afforded. Wow. Her record was almost better than four people rowing. Talk about upper body strength. She arrived on Oahu in time to celebrate her birthday, after which it's expected she will address the media, which she did not have after she heaved the 21-foot rowboat. Wow. Her trip also aimed to raise money for charity that supports the physical and mental care of Colorado River Rafting Guides. That is spectacular. What a winner. My goodness, that's awesome. All right, everyone, let's get into my top three podcast episodes of the week. I, like you, love to listen to podcasts, and I'm always trying to get better and better every day in every way. And I realize that my input will, in fact, determine my output. So I really do look forward to listening to podcasts and enjoy them. All right, number one up stop worrying and start living strategies to move past worry and self-sabotage by Jamie Kern Lima. She is an amazing woman, has phenomenal books out there if you want, and a great podcast. All right, Jamie asks, how much of your life has been stolen by things that never actually even happened? Most of us spend an incredible amount of emotional energy worrying about tomorrow, replaying yesterday, or imagining worst case scenarios that never even become a reality. Worry promises protection, but usually delivers exhaustion. A power statement to always remember. Man, I thought this was really good, y'all. If it's not happening now, it's not happening. Think about that. So often our minds create suffering long before life ever does. We live through tomorrow's problems today, robbing ourselves of today's peace. Jamie reminds us that worry doesn't make us better prepared, it simply steals the joy of the present moments. So true. Fear convinces us that if we worry enough, we will somehow control the future. But the truth is worrying rarely changes outcomes. What it changes is us. It drains our energy, clouds our thinking, and keeps us from living fully. Jamie challenges us to move forward from worried to warrior. A warrior does not pretend life is easy. A warrior acknowledges fear and chooses courage anyway. Courage is not the absence of fear. It refuses to let fear make your decisions for you. Many people hold themselves back because they believe they are not good enough, they're not smart enough, or capable enough. These beliefs become invisible chains. The key is recognizing those lies and replacing them with the truth. Instead of expecting failure, begin expecting possibility. Stay present when your mind starts racing. Start and return to the moment. Focus on what you can control and can control today. Solve today's problems instead of tomorrow's. Link to the full episode is in the show notes. As always, yeah, all and Jamie Kernlima, phenomenal. Like I said, anything she does, says, puts out, she's an amazing, amazing person. All right, number two. I had no motivation. Then I did this and it changed everything. Terry Savell. Terry reminds us motivation isn't something you wait to feel. It's something you create through the habits you build and the vision you keep before you. She shares that if you're wanting to feel motivated before you take action, You may wait forever. The good news is one simple change can create momentum and completely change the direction of your life. Terry says there was a time in her life when she lacked direction, hope, and excitement about the future. Everything began to change when she made one decision. She intentionally changed what she allowed into her mind. Instead of filling her thoughts with negativity, she began listening to God's word, motivational teachings, and messages that strengthened her faith every single day. Little by little, her thinking changed, her expectations changed, and eventually her whole life changed. Terry says your input will determine your output. If you constantly feed your mind fear, discouragement, criticism, and bad news, you will naturally feel defeated. But if you constantly feed yourself hope, faith, encouragement, and wisdom, your motivation begins to grow from the inside out. That's the key, everyone, from the inside out. Terry really emphasizes the importance of having a compelling vision for your future. Without a dream that excites you, it's difficult to stay disciplined. But when your vision becomes bigger than your excuses, saying no to distraction becomes much easier. Consistency is far more powerful than occasional bursts of effort, feeding your faith every day, and motivation will follow. Let your purpose, not your feelings, determine your actions. Lasting transformation, she says, begins with one intentional step every day. Wow. Good stuff from Terry. Alright, everyone, last uh episode recap of the week. Number three. Lisa Nichols. Comparison is and always will be the thief of all joy. So true, Lisa. Lisa explains that comparison creates feeling of inadequacy. It convinces you that you are behind, you're not talented, you're not enough, or somehow less valuable. Yet you're usually comparing everyday reality to someone else's highlight reel. You don't see the years of struggle, sacrifice, and failure, and perseverance that produce their successes. Lisa encourages us to replace criticism with celebration. Instead of feeling threatened by others' accomplishments, let's be inspired by them. If another person can achieve greatness, it approves that greatness is possible. Their success is not evidence that there is less for you. It reminds us that abundance exists. A powerful theme Lisa reminds us of is self-talk. Lisa reminds us that the words following I am shape our identity. If you constantly say I am not enough, I am behind, I'm not as good as they are, your mind begins accepting those statements as truth. Instead, choose empowering declarations such as I am worthy, I am growing every day, I am enough, I am becoming the person I was created to be. She also explains how changing her inner dialogue helped pull her through one of the darkest seasons of her life. Transformation didn't begin when her circumstances changed. This is key, everybody. It changed when she changed the conversation she was having with herself. Lisa challenges us to release one thing that no longer serves us, likely old beliefs, limiting comparisons, fear and self-doubt. Those mental burdens keep you from becoming the person you've always known that you can be. I believe that. Stop looking sideways and start looking forward. Focus on becoming a better version of yourself. Growth, not comparison, is the true path to joy. Wow. Link to the full episode, as always, is in the show notes so you can listen to the whole thing. It's fantastic. Alright, everybody. Challenge of the week. Let's you and I really evaluate the things in our lives we are pursuing. Let's think about what the people that were dying believe to be the biggest priorities and what really mattered in life. Wow. Now we have the answers to the test, everybody. All right. Let's close this out the way we started. You are enough. You have in fact what it takes. You're a champion whose absolute best days are straight ahead. You are loved and you are appreciated in this community. I promise you that. Always better, never backwards. Never, ever, ever, ever stop dreaming and believing big. Let's walk out hope this week, helping one person every day. And always speak words of life over yourself, saying I am getting better and better every day and every way. And for the family as well, saying my family is getting better and better every day in every way. And believe it. All right, here we go. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a great part of our amazing community as we roll to one million. Have an epic day, an amazing week, and God bless.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

Thank you once again for listening to a conversation of hope with Brett. Brett wants to remind you that you are loved and appreciated. If you found value in this episode and know someone who could use a little hook of encouragement, please like, share, and comment. Be sure to check out the show notes for links to Brett's top three podcasts of the week. Until next time, wishing you and your family an incredible lead. And ultimately, a great life. Because you, you, you deserve it.