How would you conduct your life if you knew you were going to live for 1,000 years? Take this one step further, how would your interactions with other people in your spheres of influence change if they, too, were going to live for 1,000 years. Would that make you more thoughtful, considerate and less likely to engage in dishonest behaviour?

This is an intriguing and radical question. To be fair, credit for this concept was first floated by Naveen Jain, a prominent entrepreneur, a former founder of InfoSpace and a current trustee of the X Prize.

Of course, if you have read this far, you probably rolled your eyes at this idea. The prevailing sentiment for the vast majority of people is, “Life is short.” How many times have you heard that expression? Personally, I’ve heard that lamentation numerous times.

On the other hand, given the rapid advances in life and medical sciences, it’s not far fetched to believe in the not-too-distant future, most of us will live a reasonably healthy life to the age of 120 and more.

If you knew this were going to be the reality, how would your dealings with others change?

Now, forget about living to 120 or even 1,000 years. What if you are, in fact, an eternal being? And what if other people in your social and business circles are likewise eternal?

Before you scoff at this concept, saying, “everybody dies,” ponder this: What if death is just an illusion? What if you are going to meet your deceased loved ones and opponents again in a future lifetime? What if this is the veritable truth of the universe?

How would this alter your conduct toward them?