What the hell are you talking about Trent!? I don’t even own any china!
A mate of mine recently lost his battle with brain cancer. He was a good friend, great husband and father of 2 children. He was always reminding me to live life to the fullest. He’d say things like “Use your long service leave, take your family on that holiday, buy tickets to that sporting event or concert, go for that promotion at work, don’t be afraid to speak your mind”.
He passed away in 2023…he was 54.
His death hit me harder than I expected. It impacted me more than family I’d lost in my lifetime…I felt strange. This man…someone still so young, with so much time left on this earth, so much more life to live with his wife and children, so much more to do, had left this life. It left a mark on me.
At his memorial titled ‘Celebration of Life’, his wife requested not gifts or money, but to visit the Mark Hughes Foundation website and make a donation to help fund research into improving brain cancer treatments and to one day find a cure. For those who don’t know, Mark Hughes is a former National Rugby League (NRL) player and was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013. After his diagnoses, he created the Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) and the fundraising campaign ‘Beanie for Brain Cancer’. To date, his foundation has sold over 1 million beanies and has raised over $30 million!
I visited his website and on the front page he stated to ‘Get out the good china’. I was confused at first, but what Mark was trying to say was that this life isn’t guaranteed! There is no guarantee that you will live a long, healthy, carefree life.
I continue to have scans regularly every 3-4 months and as at today there has been no regrowth of my tumour. I try to eat as much fresh greens and produce as I can along with some extra fruit and vegetable supplements. I exercise several times a week and try to meditate regularly. I’ve learnt a few things along the way…I don’t put things off anymore. If you want to do something, or achieve something do it now, don’t wait…get out the good china – today!
– Mark Hughes
Trent 2.0
So, I started doing just that. I first started off small. Every morning, whilst brushing my teeth, I used to stare at an expensive bottle of cologne, CK Free for Men by Calvin Klein to be exact, that my wife bought me as a birthday gift a few years prior. It would sit on our vanity and only get used for special occasions…going out, weddings and other special events. Whenever I got nice cologne, it would last forever, because I would rarely use it, always saving it for a special day.
Then I realised how stupid this was…everyday you wake up is a special day! I’m alive and I’m healthy…life is great! So, I started to use that ‘special’ cologne every single day. Now my wife walks past me all the time and says “Ohhh…someone smells nice!”.
I then began to apply this principle to all aspects of my life. I thought to myself…how can I live my life to the fullest? How can I make every day count? How can I be a better husband and father? How can I improve my career, health and wellbeing? How can I best serve my community? And the best way to improve areas of your life and others around you is to look inwards and improve yourself.
If I am blessed with his amazing life, this amazing body, then I want to make the most out of it! So, I joined a gym, started to eat better, stopped drinking so much, stopped wasting so many hours on Netflix and the PlayStation, started subscribing to motivational YouTube clips and podcasts, started reading more books, enrolled in a TAFE NSW course, joined a local basketball team, started being more present overall…and everything started to snowball…in a positive way!
Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient).
– Jordan B. Peterson
If my mate’s cancer diagnoses taught me anything, it’s that when you’re healthy you have 99 problems…when your health is challenged, you have 1 problem. My health is now my number 1 priority.
If someone offered you $100 million, would you accept it? I’m assuming you would. But what if there was a catch? The catch was that you could take the money, but you couldn’t wake up tomorrow…would you still except it? I’m assuming you wouldn’t.
So therefore, waking up tomorrow and breathing fresh air into your lungs is worth more than $100 million. Worth more than any amount of money that you could think of…
We only get one shot at life. One chance at this thing. So hit the gym hard, move more, eat clean, get outdoors, jump into that cold ocean, buy that expensive shirt that makes you look amazing, tell the people close to you that you love them, hug people a bit harder, catch up with mates, apply for that course, meditate, don’t worry what people think about you…and get out the good china!
To hear more about Mark’s story and to support a great cause, visit the Mark Hughes Foundation website.
By the way, on that day back in July 2023, I made a donation and bought an MHF beanie…and I kinda haven’t taken it off ever since. Miss ya Davo!
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