The Biggest 24^TM

By Andrew Doan, MD, PhD with Marie Hunt

What is “the biggest 24”? Twenty-four, of course, is the twenty-four hour day. The biggest twenty-four is the most impactful, most meaningful twenty-four hours a person can live. Every twenty-four hours is twenty-four units of potential. What would your life look like if you lived every day as the biggest twenty-four of your life? In essence, what if you lived your life like it was the last twenty-four?

In this book we will talk about how you can use time-proven tools in addition to the latest in technology to maximize your twenty-four hour day. Whether we like it or not, technology is now on the list of must-haves for success. It’s the world we live in, but don’t let it scare you. I promise I will show you ways that even you can use technology to optimize your time. It’s easier than you think, but it will take some boldness on your part if you’re ready for a life of success and wealth.

Now, here are some more words I feel the need to explain. The words “success” and “wealth” bring up different images for different people. Perhaps you picture a man sipping champagne in a hot tub full of cash while his private jet roars to life in the middle distance. Success and wealth as I mean them are personalized to you. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom pouring her life-blood into raising her children or a high-powered CEO and entrepreneur, a successful life is one that takes advantage of every hour of every day. That means that whatever goal you set before you is absolutely within reach, if you know how you’re spending your time.

If you are a human being, you need relationships. A successful life includes a successful family. And wealth is the ability to pay your bills without worry. Success and wealth together are the legacy you leave behind you. What is the impact you made on the lives you touched? What are you leaving behind for your children, both monetarily and emotionally? If what you wish the answers to those questions were is not matching up with what they might actually be, don’t worry. There’s hope. Don’t ever think it’s too late for you.

My roommate in medical school was diagnosed very young with a horrific disease. We both had ambitions in the medical field, and though it seemed that the knowledge of his all-too-short life expectancy should have held him back, he became the epitome of The Biggest 24. He lived every hour of every day to its fullest, not only becoming incredibly successful in his field but maintaining remarkably healthy relationships with his wife, family and friends. My friend lived out a life to be admired, a life of both success and wealth.

My roommate in medical school was a kind, compassionate, intelligent young man named Adam Ross. While I pursued the field of ophthalmology, he was pursuing the field of plastic surgery as a head and neck surgeon. His dream was to help heal those who had suffered a disfiguring trauma to the face and diseases and cancers of the face and neck. In 1997, the final year of medical school, with his goals within reach, Adam was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. The life expectancy after this diagnosis is grim. Only fourteen percent make it to ten years, years that would be filled with grueling treatments leading to a steady decline.

Adam was already a man who took advantage of the life given to him. He played every sport he could get his hands on. He was not only an excellent student, but also took time to enjoy the wild beauty of the outdoors and spent time with his family. What does a man like that do when he finds out he had five to ten years to live? He took that passion to live to the next level. He turned his every day into the biggest twenty-four. He went on to finish his final year of medical school and became the facial plastic surgeon he dreamed of becoming. After two years of dating, he proposed to his girlfriend. At a restaurant in Napa Valley, he told the waiter it was her birthday, and when they brought out a cupcake with a lit candle he told her to close her eyes and silently make a wish for her future. When she opened her eyes he was down on one knee with a ring in hand. They were married in 2005.

He didn’t let the knowledge of his brief life make him bitter, instead he continued to treat others with value and compassion. He allowed himself to fall in love and then focused his life on being the best husband he could be. He didn’t shy away from his dreams, but completed a difficult residency in head and neck surgery that required more than eighty hours a week from him, followed by a thriving fellowship in plastic surgery where his battle with cancer raged with growing intensity. Lastly he established a comprehensive specialty program and served as director of the Division of Facial Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery at a major medical center. Eleven years after his diagnosis, Adam passed away. Eleven full years, of love, excellence, service to his community and all those who knew him. Because he lived those eleven years the way he did, his legacy will last so much longer.

Imagine if you knew the next twenty-four hours would be your last. What if you knew the next twenty-four hours had to be the biggest twenty-four of your life? How would you hold the hand of your significant other? What would you do for your children? Who would you call to make amends? What legacy would you seek to leave behind? None of us are promised tomorrow. The beauty of it is, you very likely have many tomorrows. If you live each and every one of them with a mind that is set on building your legacy, what an incredible life you will have to show for it! We all start out with the same blank slate. We all are given the same number of hours to spend on whatever it is we choose. Where you choose to invest your twenty-four will directly determine your success in both your career and your relationships. Building wealth, nurturing healthy relationships, and making a difference in your community is all within the potential of your twenty-four. Let’s move forward together. Let’s be better today than we were yesterday and better tomorrow than we were today. Make every day The Biggest 24!