"If you judge people, you have no time to love them..."
-Mother Teresa
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me..."
Philippians 4:13
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" - Matthew 16:26
It’s better to sing off key than not to sing at all. Promptness shows respect. You can’t avoid offending people from time to time. When you don’t mean it, apologize. When you do mean it, accept the consequences. The first person to use the expression “Get a life!” in any dispute is the loser. The most valuable thing to have is a good reputation, and it’s neither hard nor expensive to acquire one: ...Be fair. Be honest. Be trustworthy. Be generous. Respect others. Don’t be bothered when people don’t share your tastes in music, sports, literature, food and fashion. Be glad. You’d never get tickets to anything otherwise. Keeping perspective is the greatest key to happiness. From a distance, even a bumpy road looks smooth.
It’s not “political correctness” that dictates that we try not to insult others’ beliefs and identities. It’s common decency. It’s 10 times easier to fall in love than to stay in love. And no matter what the sad songs say about romance, broken hearts do mend. Don’t waste your breath proclaiming what’s really important to you. How you spend your time says it all. Keeping an open mind is as big a challenge as you get older as keeping a consistent waistline. Fear of failure is a ticket to mediocrity. If you’re not failing from time to time, you’re not pushing yourself. And if you’re not pushing yourself, you’re coasting. If you’re in a conversation and you’re not asking questions, then it’s not a conversation, it’s a monologue. In everyday life, most “talent” is simply hard work in disguise. Great parents can have rotten kids and rotten parents can have great kids. But even though biology plays a huge role in destiny, that’s no excuse to give up or stop trying. Two cheap, easy self-improvement projects: Develop a strong handshake and start smiling when you answer the phone. The 10-minute jump start is the best way to get going on a big task you’ve been avoiding. Set a timer and begin, promising yourself that you’ll quit after 10 minutes and do something else. The momentum will carry you forward. Candor is overrated. It’s hard to unsay what you’ve said in anger and almost impossible to take back what you’ve written. Goals that you keep to yourself are just castles on the beach. If you’re determined to achieve something, tell people about it and ask them to help you stick with it. All the stuff you have lying around that you’ll never want, need, wear or look at again? It just makes it harder to find what you do want, need or intend to wear. File it, donate it or throw it out. Exercise does not take time. Exercise creates time. Almost no one stretches, When you mess up, ’fess up. It’s the fastest way, if there is one, to forgiveness. Be truthful or be quiet. Lies are hard to keep track of. Your education isn’t complete until you’ve learned to take a hint. There’s a good reason to be secretive about your age. People tend to assume things when they know how old you are.
Whatever your passion, pursue it as though your days were numbered. Because they are.
