“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
– Matthew Levy, Motivational Speaker, Coach, Trainer and Author; Principal, Matthew Levy Enterprises, LLC
What do you do when doctors tell you that all you have is 90 days left to live? Cry, repent, do things that you always wanted but could never do, or simply accept and resign to your fate. In 2014, doctors told Matthew Levy exactly this. He had advanced stage IV Burkitt’s lymphoma and maximum three months of life left.
That came as a huge shock. Matt’s immediate thoughts were how badly he will miss his kids’ high school graduations, their college graduations, wedding days, and everything ahead.
Matt also felt regret for having lived a ‘safe’ life. He says, “I regretted not having the courage to pursue my dreams. I always took the safe route, never taking much of a risk.”
An ordinary soul might have called it quits, but Matt resolved to fight cancer with all he got. And that was a huge turning point in his life.
A Changed Person
After 90 days of grueling treatments, Matt hobbled as a changed person out of the hospital. He had proven the doctors wrong. Cancer succumbed to his willpower when per doctors it should have been the other way round. It was as if he had discovered a far more resilient him. He says, “Maybe it was like the process of dormant seed coatings dissolved by the intense heat of a wildfire.” Matthew adds, “I was ready to face my fears after successfully overcoming my worst nightmare.”
Matt is hugely inspired by Henry Ford’s quote, “The key to a successful life is figuring out your destiny and then doing it.”
“Who would have thought that being given 90 days to live would turn out to be the best gift I could have received,” he says. Surprisingly, those 90 days made him figure out what he really wanted to do.
Taking Life-Altering Decisions
Over the next two years, Matt made some very bold decisions, bordering on the edge of crazy. That included walking away on his own volition from his Fortune 100 job. He sums it up, “I was tired of being a drop of food coloring in the ocean; I was ready to be a drop of food coloring in a Dixie cup.”
A content man, Matt shares, “So here I am on the other side of that turning point. And loving life more now than ever before.”
About Matthew Levy
Matthew Levy is the principal of Matthew Levy Enterprises (MLE), which helps organizations increase employee engagement of their leaders and helps high achievers reach their goals.
