Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them. — By the time you finish listening, your perspective on death—and life—will be forever changed. Today, Mel sits down with death doula and best-selling author Alua Arthur for a transformative conversation about how embracing the shortness of life can unlock a profound sense of joy and purpose in your life right now. Alua shares three powerful questions you should ask yourself today and reveals an inspiring exercise to perform on your birthday to help you live with more intention and gratitude. With wisdom, warmth, and humor, Alua shows how getting real about death can unlock the authentic, fulfilling life you’re meant to live. Prepare for a mindset shift that will change how you look at life, death, and everything in between. For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page: https://www.melrobbins.com/podcasts/episode-229 Follow The Mel Robbins Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelrobbinspodcast I’m just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I’ll see you in the next episode. In this episode: 0:00 Introduction 3:03 Why confronting your own death can help you build a better life 11:53 Alua helps people die for a living, here’s what that means 14:21 The ONE exercise you should start doing on your birthday 18:21 Why does talking about death actually bring more life to you? 24:03 The step-by-step guide for how to show up for sick or dying loved ones 26:53 Why Alua says people should be clapping at your funeral 28:47 So what even happens after you die? 35:23 How to have the hard conversations with your aging parents about death 42:05 Exploring one of the hardest questions: what happens to you after you die? 45:31 Your funeral is just another wedding, here’s what Alua means 47:51 Alua’s shares the most common regrets of the dying 48:42 The 3 questions you need to consider when thinking about death 51:42 The handbook for mourning a complicated relationship 54:18 Alua gives you her personal guide to processing grief 58:32 How to turn grief into a powerful tool to improve your life 1:03:30 What you should know about leaving a legacy behind 1:05:30 What does Alua think her last words will be? — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@melrobbins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com​ — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins​?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah