“We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.” - Max DePree
I don’t claim to have life figured out after 63 trips around the sun. But I’ve learned a few things through success and failure, faith and doubt, leadership and mistakes, joy and heartbreak. This morning I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned along the way as I complete my 63rd trip today. I hope there are a few that may resonate with you.
Growth & Personal Responsibility
1. For things to get better for me, I have to get better.
2. Don’t wish for fewer problems. Wish — and work — to become a better problem solver.
3. My value to others rises in direct proportion to the size of the problems I can solve.
4. Learn, practice and share.
5. Repetition is the mother of skill and repetition builds confidence.
6. Work hard on my job but work even harder on myself.
7. Don’t let learning lead only to knowledge ... let it lead to action.
8. Don’t pursue goals merely for achievement, but for what they make of me in the pursuit.
9. If I don’t have a plan for my life, others will.
10. Make measurable progress in reasonable time on the things that matter most.
11. Success and failure travel together. Get comfortable with both.
12. Everything worthwhile is uphill. There is no coasting to success.
13. Pain is temporary. Grit and faith gets you through. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
14. We all suffer one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
Character, Leadership & Wisdom
15. Character is revealed under pressure, not comfort.
16. Respect is earned daily, not granted by title.
17. Pride is a secret killer.
18. Don’t confuse experience with excellence, or activity with productivity.
19. Don’t be technically right but practically wrong. Develop common sense.
20. It’s more important to understand than to be understood.
21. Listen more than you speak ... and listen with your ears, eyes and heart.
22. Both calm and panic are contagious. Choose calm.
23. There is no blue-collar or white-collar distinction. Be an “all-collar” person.
24. Mediocrity is invisible. Only excellence ... and awful ... stand out. Choose excellence.
25. The road to success is paved with daily disciplines practiced consistently.
26. The road to failure is paved with small errors in judgment repeated daily.
27. The path between the head and the heart can take a lifetime to build.
28. Success is not something you pursue. It is something you attract by becoming an attractive person.
29. When you have a clear vision, decisions become easier.
Relationships, Love & Humanity
30. Relationships are life’s greatest treasure.
31. We become the average of those we spend the most time with. Choose people who lift and ignite, not anchor and diminish.
32. Happiness is best when shared.
33. Love everyone ... not just the lovable.
34. Love should look more like action and less like opinion.
35. Love is made of compassion, kindness, empathy, patience, grace and understanding — each one a tool to be chosen when needed most.
36. Giving is better than receiving and giving begins the receiving process.
37. Trust takes a lifetime to build and a moment to lose.
Money, Work & Stewardship
38. Money matters. Don’t downplay it and don’t waste it. It supports many of the things that matter most in life. Money is important but people are priceless.
39. Learn the difference between good debt and bad debt.
40. Very often, debt steals freedom.
41. Buy what I need and what I love...leave the fluff for others.
42. If I’m willing to live like few others early in life, I can live like few others later in life.
43. I don’t get paid for the hour. I get paid for the value I bring to the hour.
44. Money is usually attracted, not pursued.
45. R.I.C.H.E.$ provides a good framework for life:
- Relationships
- Intellectual Growth
- Career
- Health
- Emotional Vitality
- Stewardship ($)
Curiosity, Learning & Perspective
46. Live a life filled with curiosity, awe and gratitude.
47. Asking is the beginning of receiving.
48. To solve almost any problem, ask three questions:
- What could I do?
- What could I read?
- Who could I ask?
49. Don’t stop learning because I’ve become successful.
50. Wisdom is knowing what matters most ... and acting accordingly.
51. Success is achieved doing within while doing without.
Purpose, Vision & Legacy
52. If you go to work on your goals and plans, your goals and plans go to work on you.
53. Whatever good things we build eventually build us.
54. Legacy is not what we leave behind; it is what we leave within others.
55. A meaningful life is built one day, one choice and one relationship at a time.
56. Success without peace is failure in disguise.
57. In the end, love, character, faith and relationships matter more than possessions, titles or applause.
Faith & Grace
58. Grace changes people more than judgment ever will. Everyone we meet is carrying something heavy. Lead with kindness.
59. Imagination and faith start the miracle process ... taking action puts it in motion, and love bridges it all together.
60. The strongest people I know are often the gentlest, the kindest and most humble.
61. The measure of a life is not status, but how many people feel seen, safe and valued around us.
62. The longer I live, the more I believe life is really about relationships, contribution and love.
63. Life is a do it with God, for others, to myself project.
(This morning’s pic was taken by my friend Ben Williamson during our trek across Franconia Ridge in the White Mountains).
