We make a mistake when we trust ourselves to make decisions based upon what we want today. The person who knows what is best for us is not the current version of ourselves but the version of ourselves far into the future. That version - presumably near the end of life - understands the consequences of a life lived unwisely and the devastating power of regret.

In this talk, Matthew Dicks, a 20-MOTHstory slam winner, talks about how a near-death experience changed the way he makes decisions - both large and small - and how a simple, easily applied strategy has changed the way we live our lives for the better.

Matt, is an 18-time MOTH Story Slam Champion and a three-time Grand Slam Champion. He is also the co-founder and creative director of Speak UP, a Hartford based story telling organization. Matt created and co-hosted the Boy Vs. Girl podcast about gender and gender stereotypes. In between all this, he finds time to be an elementary school teacher, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, and a life coach.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx