I promise that death will lose its bite if you understand this answer.

Here is what happens when you die:
Your children will miss you.
Your grandchildren may miss you.
Your great-grandchildren might not miss you.

Three generations are all you’ll last before your candle is snuffed out for good.

What lesson can you learn from death?
To remember that you will be forgotten – and sooner than you think.

Soon you will have forgotten all things: soon all things will have forgotten you.

Marcus Aurelius: Meditations

Understanding this truth of life will remind you to live now. And what about those great figures of history we admire and look up to; Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Joan of Arc. How much does it matter to them that they’re remembered?
What good is it – they’re no longer here to see.

Being remembered after death is as useful as winning the Venezuelan lottery. Maybe those banknotes will be worth something one day, or maybe the world will remember you. But when you’re staring up at 6 feet of dirt or occupying some lonely earn, what does it matter to you?

Make your memories while you still can – they’re the only ones you will care about.