August 1st 2008, a few days after The 21 Convention 2008 wrapped up, my best friend Curtis Noll died from a rare type of cancer. He was the greatest hero I have ever known. For all of the inspiration you guys see in The 21 Convention, and in me, you should know that a great part of that inspiration is a parting gift from my friend.

That gift was the achievement of his own life and his own happiness before his time on this earth ended. That gift was the knowledge that I wake up to every day — that Curtis is dead, and never coming back.

Superficially depressing as this sounds, this is quite inspiring to me — inspiring because it is a crystal clear reflection of the fact that time is finite — that life ends for all of us one day, one way or another.

Coming full circle, the achievement of life is not an avoidance of death. It is not a negative, but a positive, because life is good — and subsequently, so is the continuance there of, and the expression of your own happiness during it, to the highest and best possible of you.

Born Feb. 13th 1986, Curtis was able to achieve this before his death August 1st 2008. That’s not a lot of time. Many of us are older than that already.

If you haven’t achieved that in a longer stretch of time, that is not a cause for shame — it is a source for inspiration. Curtis was an extra-ordinary individual, but he was not an alien. He was as human as any of us, and him achieving life before his short time was up, with very little aid, and even less knowledge to pull from, is proof that we too can achieve what he did during the course of his life.

His own happiness, to the best and highest of his ability — his ideal, on his own terms, and by his own standards.

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I titled this post “You Have 2 Weeks to Start Living”, because Curtis’s battle with cancer lasted about 2 years, and at some point during those years, he had to face the fact that he had a limited time left on earth to start living.

And then it would be over.

His existence, with his friends and loved ones left behind to face the world without him. Translated for those not fighting a life-threatening illness, you have about 2 weeks left to secure your seat at The 21 Convention 2011 of London England.

The event lasts four days, from June 2nd-5th, and then it’s gone forever. The 21 Convention will carry on. T21C 2011 of London England will live and die at the end of four days. It will exist only in the form of concrete, dead footage. Crystal clear and valuable as that footage may be, it is not alive. It is not in the process of developing and growing into what it can be — it’s a permanent record of the event, nothing less, and nothing more.

So what does this mean to you as a future attendee?

It means The 21 Convention is a tool that you can use to start living. You still have to make the spark — no one can do that but you — but it can be the tool that is used to produce that spark.

It is a tool Curtis did not have — but it is a tool available to you that I have created. It is a tool every man should have exiting high school, exiting university, exiting his 20s, 30s, and beyond.

It is a tool that unfortunately, most men are not even aware of at such points in their lives — but if you are reading this, it is a tool you do have the ability to use, simply because you are aware that it exists.

But the chances to use it come only twice a year, and will not continue forever. At some point, The 21 Convention will end, just like Curtis did, and just like I inevitably will.

I have decided to achieve life before death. If Curtis could do it, so can I. If I can do it, so can you.

You need to ask yourself a serious question today: am I ready to start living my life to the best and highest possible, and am I going to utilize the raging wildfire that is The 21 Convention?

Like Dj Fuji said, are you going to continue pushing off taking action — attending — or are you going to start achieving life, creating the outcomes necessary for that achievement, and taking the right actions?

• If you don’t have the money to attend, find it. Look for discounts, ask your parents, sell your Xbox, whatever — just do it.
• If you don’t have the time, due to work, school — whatever — find the time and make it happen. Create the time you don’t currently have.

The oldest cliche in the book is “where there’s a will there’s a way”. Well guys, where there’s a will there’s a way. Make it fucking happen.

You make The 21 Convention possible – I make it real.

London tickets go offline May 30th. Door tickets, if available, are more expensive, and do not get a friend in free.

Reserve Your Seat Today

– Anthony Dream Johnson