We are the only species that knows it will die….be sure to tell your kids for the sake of humanity.

Marcus Thornley told me that we are the only species on earth that knows it will die and this affects ALL our actions. Some consciously. Mostly subconsciously.

Wow.

(Ps Ive since learnt this is called terror management theory )

What do we with that knowledge, assuming it’s true?

In my experience most people bumble through life. But some really embrace this, the most visible being entrepreneurs.

I see many of them and invest in some. I always ask what drives them and almost all have experienced loss of some form.

It has forced them to face up to their own mortality and one of 2 things happen, they either:

1/ Become more fearful, which increases their desire to do something before they die.

2/ They become less fearful, which increases their ability to do something before they die.

So, both lead to a heightened sense of mortality, increased propensity to take risks and therefore greater value being generated for society.

I know this personally. People close to me died during my 30’s. It accelerated my desire to do things. The catalyst was that I suddenly lost my fear and became impatient to do meaningful things.

So, if accepting mortality encourages greater risk taking and therefore more value accruing to society, how do we best harness this?

Maybe this..

Maybe the single biggest gift we can give to our children – and the world – is to teach them they are going to die as early as is reasonable. And help them really understand what that means.

Presumably they would race to make meaningful things happen, with whatever means possible, in the limited time they have.

Could it be that simple?

If so, what age is too young and how would you go about it?

If you liked this and want more then this is 😊 Me , 💵What I invest in,⚡A belief in corporate innovation and 😱A movement I helped start by accident . Also check out www.thebakery.com and www.saatchinvest.com