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RESPECT AND LISTEN TO THOSE WHO ARE OLDER THAN YOU
Why? Chances are they know much more than you, as many life experiences are the same from person to person, generally speaking, and they possess the tips, tricks and pitfalls that you’ll encounter as well.
DO NOT USE ANY SUBSTANCES
I hate to say “do not” and “any”, but here is my belief: What are you wanting to use them for (drugs, alcohol, etc.), and can you find a better vehicle to achieve that feeling? The amount of pain and suffering from substances is immeasurable, and why would anyone want even a fraction of that?
START SAVING NOW
Compounding money over time is something that even mystified Einstein, so use time on your side to build wealth now.
HATE DEBT
Borrow only if you absolutely have to, other than that, treat debt like the devil.
DELAY GRATIFICATION
This is one of the signs of emotional intelligence, and is done less and less in today’s society, so use it to prioritize hard work over the payoff.
START GIVING NOW
Life is more than what you get out of it, so give to something or someone at least weekly.
DO SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK
Fear holds us back from experiencing life and growing, so if you can do something that you’re fearful of, you’ll simply have more of life.
HAVE A VISION OF WHAT AND WHERE YOU WANT TO BE IN 10 YEARS, AND WORK TOWARDS IT EVERY WEEK
Break goals down from 10 years to 5 years to 1 year, to what you need to do each month, week and day, and your wildest dreams will come true.
KNOW THAT YOUR FAMILY IS YOUR HOME
A house is just a house, but the family you’ve created can be your deepest peace and greatest reward in life.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE BETTER THAN YOU
You’re the average of the people who are around you regularly, so choose those people intelligently, as they will greatly influence your love, health and wealth.
FIND YOUR PASSION, THEN INVEST YOUR LIFE IN IT
Put in at least 10,000 hours into whatever you want to be great at or in.
SEEK GOD
This is a lifetime journey, but will be the most important trip you’ll ever take.
DISCPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM
This is one of those riddles in life, but it is completely true, as the more discipline you apply to each area of life will give you more freedom in those areas.
EAT WELL, DRINK LOTS OF WATER EVERYDAY
Your energy propels everything you do in life, so fill your gas tank with high octane fuel.
WHEN COMMUNICATING, LISTEN FIRST AND ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU COULD BE WRONG
Do not listen to reply, but listen to hear, and always be humble knowing you don’t know everything, especially people’s perspectives and intentions.
CONFIDENCE IS WHAT EVERYONE WANTS, AND YOU GET IT DOING THINGS YOU ARE NOT CONFIDENT IN
A secret in life people fail to explore, is to simply continue to do what you are bad at to get good, and reap the benefit of having more confidence to do more and be more in life.
YOU HAVE MORE IN COMMON WITH THOSE YOU DISAGREE WITH THAN YOU THINK
It’s become a societal problem in the recent past, where disagreement on 20% of topics will have us forget that we agree on the other 80%. This is a sign of ignorance. If your goal is harmony, focus on the 80%, and treat the 20% with respect. If your goal is influence, focus on the 80%, and treat the 20% with respect.
THINK ABOUT PEOPLE AS IF THEY CAN HEAR THE CONVERSTATIONS IN YOUR HEAD
Hard one to do, but integrity, honesty and positivity is just as much about your health.
READ, WRITE AND EXERCISE EVERYDAY
Reading and writing is working out for the mind, while lifting and cardio are for the body, as it all keeps the body sharp and young.
LIMIT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA. GREATLY
Most of social media is either personal drama or organizational influence, which neither are for your benefit, so limit those negative influences as much as you can.
EVERYDAY HAVE A LIST OF YOUR PRIORITIES, AND GET THEM DONE BEFORE LUNCH
Do the most impactful actions first, and anything else you’re fearing or loathing to do as a close second, and strive to get them all done by lunch. This one lesson alone will make you more effective and efficient than most people.
FIND THAT ONE SPECIAL PERSON IN YOUR LIFE, AND VIEW YOUR RELATIONSHIP AS A PLACE TO GIVE MORE THAN A PLACE TO GET. ONCE YOU FIND A PERSON WHO DOES THE SAME, FIGHT EVERYDAY TO KEEP THEM IN YOUR LIFE
Aside from your relationship with God, this is the most influential decision and action to your overall life’s health and happiness.
BE HUMBLE
Be better than you were yesterday, but don’t focus on being better than others, so see yourself from yesterday as your opponent and outdo them each day.
LEARN NAMES
Ask for people’s names and then use them regularly.
FIND WHAT YOU LOVE FIRST, THEN FIND A WAY TO MAKE A LIVING DOING IT
As they say, do something you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.
DO IT NOW.
Whatever you want to get done, do it immediately. Procrastination is the the answer for the weak, and action is the answer for the strong. Get in the habit of doing things immediately if you want to live a rich life by all definitions.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE DOES
Be your hardest coach and most honest critiquer, and focus on improving yourself, not necessarily beating those around you.
GRATITUDE IS THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN HERE AND HAPPINESS
Being grateful is the anecdote to feeling depressed, stressed and angry, while making you simply feeling happy to be alive.
FIND AND LISTEN TO MENTORS
Every great athlete and business leader has someone they seek advice and coaching from, so find a handful you trust, and can get different feedback and advice from, as they’ve been there before.
TRY TO SMILE AT EVERYONE
Simple, yes. Difficult? Some days. However, this one habit will give you friends, money and happiness, while giving love to people at absolutely no cost.
MAKE A GOOD PORTION OF YOUR LIFE ABOUT GIVING
In your relationships, in your job, to your family, to strangers and to those you haven’t even met yet and may never get a chance to… Give without the need to get something back.
DEVELOP YOUR 3 SECRET WEAPONS
In this order of importance: Your relationship with God, the love of your life and a talent, trait or expertise which separates you from most people.
DON’T USE TECHNOLOGY AS A SUBSTITUDE FOR THE REAL THING
Use technology to increase your efficiency, but never replace authenticity, as a phone call is better than a text and a personal visit is better than a phone call.
LOVE AND HAVE COMPASSION FOR EVERYONE
This is the main reason Jesus is the ultimate model for any life, as we should all love those around us, and have compassion even for those who hurt us. Life is just better that way.
TRUST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT COMODITY
Trust is priceless, as once it is broken, it can never fully be bought back for any amount of money.
DO THE RIGHT THING
Doing the right thing when it is easy, is easy. Doing the right thing when it is hard, is hard. However, doing the right thing is never wrong. Ever.
GO TO BED EARLY AND GET UP EARLY
Ben Franklin was right with “Early to bed, early to rise”, as few good things ever happen late at night, and successful people use the morning to get more stuff done than most people get done all week long.
TAKE CALCULATED RISKS WHICH INCREASE THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE
This is not stupid gambling with your life, assets or talents, but taking calculated risks which will either give you payoff in the short term, or give you lessons which will breed future successes.
VALUE EXPERIENCES OVER THINGS
As an example: Should you take a trip or buy a new car? Go on the trip. What you get will never rust or breakdown.
TAKE WALKS
Take them alone to clear your mind, and take them with others to strengthen the relationship.
DRINK DEEPLY FROM ART
Listen to music, read poetry and look at designs to inspire you, and level up by actually doing any of them.
LAUGH DAILY, CRY WHEN YOU NEED TO
Find a way, anyway to laugh at least once a day, and never dismiss the power of a good cry.
SOMETIMES YOU WON’T KNOW WHAT WAS GOOD OR BAD UNTIL MUCH LATER
Don’t jump to conclusions thinking that you know how the story ends.
LEARN TO MANAGE YOUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE: TIME
It’s been said that time is the ultimate equalizer, as every human that has ever lived only has 24 hours in a day, therefore, learn how to use your 24 hours to the best of your ability.
USE MONEY, DON’T LET IT USE YOU
Money is neither good or bad, but can be used for good or bad, so learn to use it to increase the quality of your life and those around you with it.
HAPPINESS DOESN’T COME FROM WHERE YOU THINK
We continually lie to ourselves that happiness comes from things. You will be happier basing your happiness in experiences. You will be more happy being grateful for your relationships and health. But you will be the most happy simply realizing that you are alive.
CARE LESS ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT YOU
Hold high standards for yourself, and care more about what you think about yourself, than what others think about you.
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT YOU CAN CONROL, NOT CONTROL AND ONLY INFLUENCE
Do not focus on that you can’t control, focus more on what you can influence and invest all of your focus on what you can directly control.
THE MOST IMPORTANT FINANCIAL LESSON: 60/30/10
Help those less fortunate with 10% of your income, invest 30% and live on the remaining 60%.
FAIL
You heard it right: fail. Mess up, make mistakes, error in judgement and just be wrong. If you do so in the name of progress, with the intent of improvement and doing the right thing, you will be better tomorrow. If you fear anything, fear not trying.
SYSTEMIC ISSUES EXIST, BUT DON’T HAVE IT ROB YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Acknowledge systemic issues, and find ones you can positively impact, but never have them serve as an excuse of poor results.
ALL PEOPLE ARE BEAUTIFUL
We’ve been taught that all people are equal, as it states in the bible and our constitution, but the truth is deeper than that, as all people are beautiful. Celebrate that beauty in those you love, remember that in those who treat your poorly and find the beauty in yourself. Life will look different when you do.
KEEP THE TEAM THAT GOT YOU THERE
When it comes to relationships inside or outside work, as the relationship grows or organization succeeds, don’t change out your teammates, but keep the team or person who helped you create the results. This goes for business just as much as your marriage.
GAIN SCHOOL AND STREET SMARTS
School smarts can be found in books and organizations, while street smarts are found in life experiences. Get degrees in both.
ABOVE ALL, KNOW WHO YOU ARE
The identity you give yourself will steer everything you do in life. I pray that you see yourself as a child of God, who does the right thing.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, EVEN THE SMALLEST OF IT
Own up to what you do and where you’re at in life. Don’t fault others, the economy, a trauma, crisis, your culture, government, another person, an enemy, your up brining or even genetics. Take responsibility for your results, and then improve on them. Although outside forces can impact you, realizing they do not define you will separate you in life, and help you live happier and healthier, while blaming others or other things does nothing but waste time.
KILL MONSTERS WHILE THEY ARE BABIES
Anger, addictions, fears, stress, anxiety, riffs, debts and negativity all have a lifecycle, and almost all of them start out as babies, so kill them while they are young before they become out of control monsters which are much harder to terminate.
GUARD THE DOOR OF YOUR MIND
Negativity, despair and judgement are constant just like gravity, and if you don’t protect what enters in your mind, you’re bound to have it be the lens you process everything around you. Can negativity be helpful at times? Yes. But default to positivity, hope and compassion if you want to be happier, successful and loving.
JUDGE PEOPLE ON THEIR CHARACTER
Don’t judge people on their gender, race, religion, socio or economic standings, and have their past history serve as red flags, not the end all, be all.
BE EARLY
Be early to everything you do, as it forces you to prepare, shows that you are interested and helps you get things done and finished faster.