By Mark Andrew Beach

In our pursuit of wealth, prosperity, abundance, and riches, we must never forget that some things in life matter even more than money.

A former teacher of mine once said,

"You can spend all your health earning your wealth, but if you do, you’ll spend all your wealth trying to regain your health."

That hit me. Because it’s true. Maintaining good health habits isn’t just about wellness—it’s essential to living a truly prosperous, abundant life.

But even more important than health—or money—is our relationships.

We’ve all heard, “Money can’t buy you love,” and that’s absolutely right. Nobody on their deathbed ever wishes they had made more money. But many do regret lost love, not spending more time with their kids, or not being kinder to their spouse.

That reality hit me even harder during an exercise a mentor once guided me through. She asked me to imagine I had just 24 hours to live. I was in perfect health, but somehow I just knew I’d be going home to my Maker at the end of the next day.

She said, “Take five minutes. Write down everything you’d want to do with your last day on Earth. Time and money aren’t a factor—you can do or spend whatever you want. What matters most to you?”

So I wrote. In the order the thoughts came to me—unedited, raw, and real:

1. Contact all those I’ve hurt and ask for their forgiveness one last time.

2. Reach out to those who’ve hurt me, and forgive them.

3. Say goodbye to my eleven children, their spouses, and my eight grandchildren.

4. Say goodbye to my dear wife.

5. Be available to everyone else—family, friends—who wanted to say goodbye.

6. Go flying—hang gliding, parasailing, something to relive the joy of flight.

7. Broadcast and leave my message to the world.

8. Tell certain people I love them—people I should have told but never did.

9. Prepare messages from my living relatives to my ancestors.

10. Swim with dolphins.

11. Stand on top of Mt. Everest.

12. Return to Argentina for a day.

After I finished, my mentor surprised me. She said, “Now tear off the top third of your list. Throw the rest away.”

Shocked, I asked, “Why?”

She replied, “Because you never know when your last breath will come. And if it does, it’ll be too late to finish even your best intentions.”

I looked at what remained—the top few items. I breathed a quiet sigh of gratitude.

Yes, I thought. I do believe I have my priorities in order.