If you don’t ever contemplate the things that you have learned the hard way, you are likely to have to learn them again. Some of this is serious, some is silly, and some is just plain ridiculous…but it’s true for me. Enjoy!
1. Start each day with chocolate. I keep it in the nightstand so that my feet don’t hit the floor before I’ve started my day off well.
2. If something will take you less than a minute to do, do it when you think of it so that it is not taking up valuable real estate in your head.
3. When you care about someone, tell them. Everyone needs to hear it and, in my experience, most people don’t truly know how you feel about them.
4. Be willing to step out of your comfort zone for the benefit of others. Life is going to make you uncomfortable anyway, you might as well make it count.
5. A bucket list should be worked on now…you are not guaranteed later.
6. (A spin off of #5) A f*%$ it list will take you your whole life…don’t dwell on the things that go on this list…they will simply rob you of your joy.
7. Everyone with a heart should love dogs. I have known many dogs that are better people than a lot of people.
8. When painting rooms in your house, choose colors that are pre-configured by the manufacturer…you’re never going to get a precise match again if you color-match.
9. I can’t remember much of what I have read over the years but a smell can take me back to a memory in a flash (with all of the feelings that go along with it.) Pick your personal fragrance carefully.
10. Sleep naked. Life is too short for your jammies to get all twisted up in the sheets.
11. When you sleep naked, keep a robe handy so that when someone inevitably rings the door bell the second you lay down, you are not caught off guard.
12. Laugh! At everything and everyone…especially yourself. It makes you feel better and also prolongs life!
13. If you can’t remember, go ahead and put on the deodorant again…trust me…
14. Say “no” on purpose. Saying yes to one thing isn’t just a yes…it’s a no to something else. Know which is which.
15. Live on mission. If you are fulfilling the mission that you have set before you, it’s a lot harder to feel the weight of peer-pressure or poor self-esteem.
16. Appreciate the people who speak truth to you (even if it is unflattering.) They are the ones that actually give a crap.
17. Approach the challenges in life. The sidelines is no place to play a game.
18. Find a creative outlet. Our God is a creator…it’s hard not to see him when our creativity and passion intersect.
19. Dance. It’s where your body and soul intersect.
20. Pray. We are here for a reason and there is only One who knows what that reason is.