Learning to deny myself

"May the Lord lead further and further those who do in earnest want to live the Joshua [i.e., transformed] life. It means a daily dying to self and what self wants; a daily turning to our Master with a "Yes, Lord" to everything, even to what is most against the grain. May He quicken those who have not yet begun to live this life to see what they are missing, before it is too late"
I found this quote by Amy Carmichael and it goes perfectly with what i read this morning. I read in Matthew again where Jesus says "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
I was just praying, before I read that, that the Lord would teach me how to not waste my life. I don't wanna look back on this summer and realize that I wasted time. I have to remember that my days are numbered. I want my life to count for Jesus! Then he showed me how to do that in this passage. There must be a daily dying to self. I must learn to deny myself the things that I want, especially if they keep me from the things of God.
I pray the Lord will help me to meditate on this thought today and not just forget about it like I sometimes am guilty of doing.

"All want their lives
To count for something
To leave their mark
When life is through
But vain pursuits
Will count for nothing
Time will erase
Whatever we do

I want my life
To count for Jesus
For earthly things
Will quickly fade
No need to add
To worldly riches
I only seek eternal gain

Inside my heart
There burned a question
What was I placed
On earth here for
It truly was
To build a kingdom
Not of my own
But of the Lord's"