Today is Tomorrow's Yesterday

By Michael Johnson

Today is Tomorrow's Yesterday shows you how to look at your world differently, and in doing so, actually change the reality of your world. This book is for anyone who seeks a future filled with happiness, laughter, success, and a sense of contentment. It reminds you that tomorrow may not always be there, which makes today a miracle, a once in a lifetime event. Today you have the ability to write tomorrows history; to live a day where tomorrow you will look back and smile and be joyous in the fact that you did live this day, that you were given this gift and made the most of it. It contains 50 life lessons we all need to learn or at least remember again.
For those struggling with cancer or another life threatening circumstance, there is an entire section near the end of the book dedicated to help you jumpstart your way to recovery. It is practical, to the point, and comes from someone with life experience.

From the Author:
Most of us live each day the same as the last because we are certain there will always be a tomorrow. There has to be, we have plans and things that still need to be accomplished. It wasn't until I was told my tomorrows could be limited that life and all that is truly important came into focus.
After contracting cancer at a relatively young age, my world was turned upside down and I finally realized that tomorrow will not always be there and that today is a once in a lifetime event, a miracle.
I soon learned that how we perceive our world actually changes our world. I relearned the art of appreciation, that being kind is a choice, and doing something good for another is an opportunity, not a sacrifice. I learned that bills are nothing more than numbers on a piece of paper, but love; love is real and something we often take for granted. That too many times we let our priorities get turned around and forget what is truly important in life. As you will see in my book, I learned this and much, much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Johnson
• Release date: Nov 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9780985090623

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

Prelude

Monday December 11th

Message 1: Expect The Unexpected

Tuesday December 12th

Message 2: Beauty Is Always There If We Look

Wednesday December 13th

Message 3: Let Go Of Everything Negative

Thursday December 14th

Message 4: Never Hold Onto Grudges

Friday December 15th

Message 5: Love Is Powerful

Saturday December 16th

Message 6: Today Is Tomorrow’s Yesterday

Sunday December 17th

Message 7: Friends Today Can Be There Tomorrow

Monday December 18th

Message 8: Take Nothing For Granted

Tuesday December 19th

Message 9: You Affect Everything Around You

Message 10: Share Your troubles

Message 11: Learn From The Past, Don’t Live There

Thursday December 21st

Message 12: Never Hide Your Mistakes

Friday December 22nd

Message 13: Don’t Get Bogged Down In The Dogma

Saturday December 23rd

Message 14: Given A Choice, Look To The Brighter Of The Two

Sunday December 24th

Message 15: Straighten Out Your Priorities

Tuesday December 26th

Message 16: Your Thoughts Influence Your Decisions

Wednesday December 27th

Message 17: Make Changes Gradually

Thursday, December 28th

Message 18: Start And End Each Day Positive

Friday December 29th

Message 19: Nobody You Know Should Ever Feel Lonely

Saturday December 30th

Message 20: Create Goals And Put Them To Paper

Monday, January 1st

Message 21: Find Time For What You Desire

Tuesday January 2nd

Message 22: Mental Pictures Can Create Reality

Wednesday January 3rd

Message 23: There May Be A Grander Plan

Thursday January 4th

Message 24: Look For The Good In Every Tragedy

Friday January 5th

Message 25: Move Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Saturday January 6th

Message 26: Appreciate Everything

Sunday January 7th

Message 27: Find Time To Rest Your Mind

Monday January 8th

Message 28: A Door Never Closes Without Another Opening

Tuesday January 9th

Message 29: Balance Out Your Life

Wednesday January 10th

Message 30: Never Allow Others To Limit Your Future

Thursday January 11th

Message 31: Release Past Resentments

Friday January 12th

Message 32: Your Words Have Power, Use Them Compassionately

Saturday January 13th

Message 33: Your Mind Is More Powerful Than You Realize

Sunday January 14th

Message 34: The Grass Is Not Always Greener

Monday January 15th

Message 35: Stick To Your Instincts & Do Your Homework

Tuesday January 16th

Message 36: Your Perceptions Control Your World

Thursday January 18th

Message 37: Let Destiny Prevail

Saturday January 20th

Message 38: Take Responsibility

Sunday January 21st

Message 39: Intuition And Instinct

Monday January 22nd

Message 40: The Reward Is In The Giving

Thursday January 25th

Message 41: Do What You Love

Saturday January 27th

Message 42: Belief Works

Sunday January 28th

Message 43: Turn Tragedy To Triumph

Monday February 5th

Message 44: Intuition Is At Your Disposal

Tuesday February 6th

Message 45: You Are The Sculptor Of Your Life

Wednesday February 7th

Message 46: A Positive Attitude Leads To Positive Results

Thursday February 8th

Message 47: Find Your Higher Purpose

Friday February 9th

Message 48: It’s All In The Mind

Saturday February 10th

Message 49: Signs Are All Around You, Pay Attention

Sunday February 11th

Message 50: Success Is Living A Happy Life

Messages Conclusion

I Found Out I Have Cancer, Now What?

Treatment

Your Mind

Nutrition and Diet

20 Things I Hope You Remember

Introduction

Is it possible to actually change the reality of your life by only changing your perception of the world around you? Absolutely.

Is it possible to improve your health, finances, and relationships by changing only your outlook on the future and expectations of what the world will provide? Definitely.

After discovering I had cancer, I needed to ask myself something I never considered before.

Will I be here tomorrow?

It's the worst, yet most important question, I have ever been presented with. My answer was yes, of course, yet I wondered, how can anyone be certain?

My hope is that as you read this, you don't currently find yourself in a similar situation. If you do and that question bothers you, I recommend skipping the rest of the introduction and starting at the Prelude. Come back later to finish the introduction. You will then see the relevance of the questions I am about to ask myself and why this book came to be.

Introduction continued:

Assume for a moment you knew with certainty your life will end in 24 hours. What do you do now? Contact loved ones, family, friends, possibly someone you've had a difference with in the past so you can make amends before you die?

You think about all of the things you wish you had done yet hadn't started because there was always tomorrow. Perhaps you planned to have a child, to learn an instrument, or to take a trip to a place that has always fascinated you. You wonder about the experiences you missed, the lost opportunities and you ask yourself why you didn’t make them happen. Were there other priorities or just the knowledge that there was always tomorrow?

Thoughts and images fly rapidly through your mind. Sorrows, regrets, possibilities not realized because you didn’t have the time or were too afraid to start. There may have been projects started yet never finished because time didn’t seem to allow for it or you let something else get in the way.

You start to wonder who will attend your funeral, and begin counting. Does the total seem small considering this is the number of friends it has taken a lifetime to acquire? Of course there were many others lost through the years, but now looking back, wouldn't it have been worth the effort to keep in contact with them? Was a friendship really not valuable enough to make a casual phone call or stop by just to say hello? These and countless other questions consume your thoughts as you realize your time on Earth is winding down.

Your mind is flooded with fond memories of times gone by that bring a smile to your face and warm your heart. Photo albums and home movies are of prime importance in these last few hours of life. They give you the fleeting illusion of living in the past, a past that is now so very precious. You relive these moments briefly in your mind, but your attention is constantly brought back to the present as you see the sands of time rapidly sinking to the bottom of the hourglass.

You panic when you realize the sun is going down and this will be your last sunset. You rush out and watch as this majestic ball of power descends upon the horizon, the entire sky becoming a rainbow of red, orange and blue as it departs for the final time. It's hard to imagine a more beautiful sight and you wonder how others can be going about their business while this miraculous event is happening. Then you understand. They are just like you were yesterday. They pay no attention because for them there is always tomorrow. The sun will rise and set again, there is still plenty of time to contact old friends, get in touch with family, to mend broken relationships and begin those projects they have been meaning to start for so long. There is still time to have children, help others and make a difference in the world. There is time to do all this and more...........tomorrow.

After the sun disappears and the moon comes out of hiding, you are amazed at the wonder of it all. How was this not magnificent before? How can anyone walk at night and not take a moment to look up, to gaze at this wondrous spectacle? You ask yourself, how can it be possible this will all soon end?

If only you could have another chance, be given a little more time to appreciate all of the things taken for granted that didn't seem so important, a little more time to set things right. Just one more tomorrow.

As those last few grains of sand slowly fall, you wonder if you've lived a whole life. One filled with both happiness and sadness, but one complete up to this point. Or were there missed opportunities and time lost that could have been better spent?

Priorities have all shifted in these final hours. When looking back, a work deadline now pales in comparison with attending your child's school play. The bills sitting on your desk are nothing but numbers on a piece of paper, as they really have been all along. You now see it was much more important to go home and enjoy a dinner with your family than work those extra hours.

Television shows which seemed so fascinating and took up most evenings were just a waste of time when it could have been spent talking about what is happening in your family's lives. Moments that were there and available are now lost. Lost forever.

It is only those who are here tomorrow who will have the opportunity to do all these things. They get another chance to do what they wished they had done yesterday. But will they? And then you realize what that makes today. Today is a day of wonder, a gift like no other. Today will only happen once in your lifetime. Today you can do those things you wish you had done yesterday, for it is tomorrow’s yesterday. You are living in the past of tomorrow. A soon–to-be past you have complete control over and can write any way you wish. Today you are living in tomorrow’s history.

Most of us live each day the same as the last because we are certain there will always be a tomorrow. There has to be, we have plans and things that still need to be accomplished.

We trick ourselves into believing we have control over the number of tomorrows in our life, but this is a false assumption. We are all limited to a certain number of days on this Earth. Luckily for most of us we are blissfully unaware of how many are left. We hope that by living a healthy lifestyle we can add to that number, but there is no way of knowing for certain. Unfortunately, for many it is only when they believe this number is getting extremely small that they shift their priorities and begin to actually appreciate all the wonders around them.

It wasn't until I was told my tomorrows may be limited that life and all that is truly important came into focus. Like everyone else, until this happened I didn't appreciate the significance or value of the people and world around me.

I think most of the time our daily priorities are based on the belief that we will have another tomorrow so we only pay attention to what is directly in front of us. It isn't until that moment you realize tomorrow might not always be there when the true priorities become apparent. It's as if you are allowed to see clearly for the first time in your life.

I hope you have many happy and fulfilling tomorrows and if not as many as you wish, the ones remaining will hold importance, purpose, laughter and joy. My goal is to clear some of the blurriness of everyday life and help you enjoy all the wonders it can provide.

Prelude

After being diagnosed with cancer I had an unstoppable compulsion to write down my feelings each night. I wasn’t exactly sure why I was compelled to do this but penned my thoughts anyway. A year or so went by before I read anything I had written and what I discovered surprised me. Within each day’s writings seemed to be a message of help, peace, or something I wished I had learned long ago. My hope is that you look at your own life and apply those messages you believe can improve the quality of your tomorrows. I follow each day’s writing with what I call The Message. It’s basically the message or if you want, the Lesson, I believe I was given that day.

This is not a book about cancer, dying or struggle. This is a book about life and the teachings given to us every day if we only pay attention, regardless of the number of days we have left.

This book is for the living, for those full of life and wishing for more of the same. For all those who seek a future filled with happiness, joy and a sense of contentment. This is also a book for those struggling with a life-threatening circumstance. This is a book to help you realize what is actually possible, to help you remove any limiting thoughts which could be compromising your immune system’s ability to heal. This is for you and all those who love you.

Regardless of our current situation, we each deserve and can achieve what we desire. We can attain the life we dream about, a life full of wonderful tomorrows and miraculous today’s.

If you do have cancer or know someone who does, please first read the section titled I Found Out I Have Cancer, Now What? This was written specifically for those who currently have cancer as a jumpstart to your recovery. I’m not a doctor so this is not medical advice in any way shape or form, it’s only what I learned from my own experience and thought it may help.

An Authors Request

I would greatly appreciate two favors of you. So I can feel more of a connection with my readers, would you please upload a picture of yourself with this book to my website MikesNewPlanet.com under the book owners tab. In addition, can you please provide a review of my book at whatever site or bookstore you purchased it. This will provide insight to others as well as myself as to what you gained from reading it.

Monday December 11th

Well, after three and a half months of fearful suspicions my nightmare has become a reality, I have cancer. It’s a little surreal at the moment. How does a healthy 38 year old with no major physical problems in the past contract something as serious as cancer? It doesn’t make sense. What is equally unbelievable is it happened to me, to me! These things always happen to someone else. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to go, or so I thought. Merry Christmas!

I’m not sure why but being told I had cancer didn’t shake me too badly. In fact it’s scary how well I handled the news, almost ominous. Was I bracing myself in case the diagnosis was indeed bad or did my subconscious already know the truth and was only awaiting confirmation? I’m really not sure. I was doing my best to convince myself it was something else, anything other than cancer. After all I am too young and don’t smoke, so the chances of me getting cancer can’t be that great. I kept thinking it had to be an infection, but somewhere deep down I must have recognized what the problem actually was.

For some unexplained reason I’m not scared. Denial maybe? An inner peace that takes over a person when faced with something as serious as cancer? I feel like everything will be ok, that somehow it will turn out as I expect in the end. But is this my conscious trying to fool me again or an inner knowing coming from a place rarely tapped for information? For now at least I don’t have an answer to any of my questions.

Everyone around me is very upset and worried as they should be I guess, although I’m not. Do they know something I don’t or could it be I’m the one that already knows the ultimate outcome, one they can only wish for? Is it more fearful for the person without the affliction than the one with it? I think so. I would have a hard time coping if my wife or another loved one were in the same circumstance I find myself in now. When someone else is sick you have no power over the situation, but if you are the one with the problem you get a sense of control even though it may be severely limited. I guess the main thing now is to make sure I don’t impede my own recovery by having negative thoughts.

I wonder what goes through the mind of a doctor when he tells a person they have cancer. Is there any consideration of the families and how a life is going to be affected, or is it more like a mechanic giving the diagnosis to the owner as to the problem with their car and what will need to be done to fix it? Is it too painful to allow in feelings for all those you see suffering every day? Maybe so, I know I wouldn’t want to have that burden.

Message 1: Expect The Unexpected

Sometimes life throws things at you that you don’t see coming. I never expected to get cancer in my lifetime let alone in my 30’s. But after being diagnosed, I soon learned that regardless of the circumstances, it is how we react to these unexpected life twists and turns that determine our future and ultimately make all the difference in the final outcome. Bad things can happen to anyone. Learning to accept them for what they are, moving ahead and staying positive is the best and only response we should have. Instead of internally fighting the fact that this horrible twist of fate has happened, or asking why me and going into a depression, accept the reality of the situation. Gear yourself up for the challenge before you and develop your own battle plan to win the war. Lay all the cards on the table with no illusions. You were dealt this hand, now play to win.

Your perception of events and outlook on the future is what’s most critical now. It shapes your view of