As I think back over the years and wonder at how I got to live this life of non-stop travel and adventure I am reminded of two of my favorite phrases “The world is your oyster” and “Carpe diem” (seize the day). I truly believe you can be, have and do anything you want in life once you clearly identify what that is and give yourself permission to have it. 

As a philosophy major in college I thought a strange thought one day: what if heaven and hell exist only in our own minds and our lives manifest those perceptions? What if we can chose our own realities and really live instead of merely just survive? 

To pilfer another famous line “life is what happens while we’re busy making plans”. So what if we stop worrying about the future and start enjoying today to the fullest. What would happen? Well, I’ll tell you what has happened for me. I know who I am so I know what I want and I reach out my hand and I take it (and if it doesn’t yet exist then I make it). No “what if”. No going to sleep early when there’s a party right outside my door. No putting off till tomorrow what could be done right here, right now, today.

Yesterday a wonderful performer collapsed to the floor right next to me. He’s a very funny man, full of life and energy despite getting on in years, and then suddenly, in mid-sentance he passed out. A moment later he was fine, but what if that had been it. He’d been telling me about all the things he wanted to do in his life and hadn’t. Will he do them now? Would you? 

None of us knows how long we have to enjoy this gift of life. Make every day count. Stop worrying about the news, and politics, and the price of tea in China and start noticing the flavor of the food you eat, the quality of the company you keep, and the memories you make along the way. 

I feel like I’ve lived five lifetimes already and I’m just getting started. Throwing myself out of a perfectly good airplane at 13,000 feet while screaming at the top of my lungs on my birthday was as good a way as any to shock my system into full awareness that I am alive. I can tell you the air smelled sweeter and ground felt firmer when I landed.

Here’s the video. Carpe diem!

Comments are now closed. Here is what was submitted:

Cruise Ship Speaker Joshua Seth - Getting Lost in Istanbul

As soon as I looked out of my cabin window this morning I knew that this port would finally provide the taste of old Europe that I’d yet to find on this voyage. Mosques and minarets dotted the landscape and bright red flags with the Muslin moon and star snapped briskly in the sea breeze. It was about 90 degrees already and it was only 8am.

The first stop of the day was at the Hippodrome, the site of chariot races in old Constantanople that attracted crowds of 100,000 people. The Egyptian obelisk that still stands at it’s center is over 3,500 years old and I suddenly realized that I’d never before seen anything older than a few hundreds years that wasn’t locked up behind glass in a museum. This massive sculpture was standing right out in the open, just steps away from the equally impressive Blue Mosque.

Men are forbidden to enter mosques with their knees exposed in Turkey and this is why I was now sweltering uncomfortably in my jeans as the temperature topped 100 degrees. It was worth it though, as again I’d never seen anything like it, not just in terms of size and age but in detailed adornment too. I took a great many pictures of the same domes and columns, trying to stitch together some semblance of the scope of the place.

Afterwards I went to a rug making demonstration which was actually quite a bit more interesting than I’d anticipated, and not just because the place was air conditioned! Mustachioed men kept throwing rugs out onto the floor, one after another, bam bam bam, for about 45 minutes, saying as each one unrolled “This rug took 4 years to make. It’s silk on silk. All hand woven”. Bam! “This one took 5 years to make. It has over 600 stitches per square inch and is over 100 years old.” Bam! And they’d throw another one on top of that until there were dozens of carpets piled all over each other, covering the floor completely.

Finally I entered the Grand Bazaar, home to over 7,000 shops and easily twice that many merchants trying to aggressively coerce passersby into sampling their wares. I used various accents and attitudes with the vendors and had a great time pretending to be from different parts of the world. I even posed as a Turk several times and tried to outsell the shop’s vendor, enticing the tourists it with Borat like enthusiasm. It was great fun. Eventually I just dropped my Turkish accent and did a flat out Borat impersonation. I’m sure the Turks don’t know who Borat is but they loved it just the same and invited me back behind the counter for green apple tea and Turkish delights.

I got lost in the bazaar for hours and picked up a few oddities, like a bookmark made of woven Turkish carpet and a bunch of “evil eyes”. When it was time to go back to the ship, it took me nearly half an hour to figure a way out of the bazaar and back to the street where I’d started! I’d gotten entirely turned around in the never-ending maze of merchants and only managed to find my way back again because I’d noticed the particular design on the ceiling where I’d entered.

It was an exciting adventure! I highly recommend getting lost every once in a while. It’s a great way to find yourself

* Venice – It’s beautiful, it’s small, it’s sinking, and contrary to popular belief it’s not stinking. Water smells nice actually, still I wouldn’t drink it.

* Naples – birthplace of pizza, the mafia, and Sophia Loren. That’s everything you need to know, now get out of town and go see Pompeii or Capri. Did I mention they have great pizza though!

* Pisa – Skip it. Just photoshop yourself into a picture where you look like you’re holding up the leaning tower. No need to actually go there.

* Florence – It’s a big indoor / outdoor sculpture museum. You can walk around all day taking pictures of famous statues. I walked around all day taking pictures of tourists standing in line waiting to see the statues inside of the buildings instead of just looking at the statues on display in every intersection and square. They also have the best gelato in all of Italy!

* Rome - One of the most amazing cities in the history of the world. Deserves more than a day. Put it on your “must see before I die” list.

A lot of people talk about living the life of their dreams but very few actually go out and do it. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able not only to live my dream life but to surpass those dreams in every respect.

I thank my friends, my family, my agents and bookers, and every single audience member for helping to make this dream a reality. No one does it alone and in this blog I intend to give back to all of you by sharing tips, insights, and experiences that I pick up along the way.

All my best,
Joshua Seth

NOTE: this was the first blog post / article on this website on July 14, 2007.

NOTE: Commetns are now closed. Here is what was posted…

Jenny Wong-Rinyai

I was at one of your shows & the weight loss seminar on the Caribbean Princess the week of Nov 25th. Awesome!!!! My husband and I bought your “Beat Stress now” and “Banish insomnia” CDs while onboard. I just wanted to say, even though we did not get a chance to listen to them 21 days straight…I listen to when I can/have time and they are amazing. I have slept so well and not let stress take hold of my life.

I just have to work on the weight issue…though I am not overly overweight I wanted to change my eating habits. Your seminar proved successful. I just have to keep at it and not feel guilty if I stray sometimes here and there.

Thanks a million!!!!!

Jenny