Friday, December 30, 2011

25 Lessons Learned In 2011

1. Never judge a book by it's cover - the old adage rings true.  Be it a company, a job, a person, or an actual book - what you see on the outside isn't always what you get on the inside, and sometimes what you find inside is a MAJOR disappointment.

2. Never compromise who you are - for anyone or anything.

3. "You never really change like they say, you only become more like yourself".  Thanks, Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction for that nugget.

4. Trust your instinct.  Gut.  Feeling.  Feelings.  They are more often right than wrong.

5. Don't dwell in gossip; jumping in that pot perpetuates it.  Stay above it and it will simply go away.

6. When you put something out there on social media and it's read - even by one person - it's engraved in stone.  While it can be deleted from the surface, it's always there.

7. Work for success rather than money.

8. Being happy where you work is way more important than the paycheck you bring home.

9. As Stephen Covey said, "The best way to predict your future is to create it".

10. As Jodi Picoult said in Keeping Faith, "The worst thing about endings is knowing that just ahead is the daunting task of starting over".

11. The Kardashian's, Teen Mom, Jersey Shore, House Wives of (Fill In The Blank), and other garbage reality television programs similar that have become focal points of daily conversation are seriously on the list of causes for our once great country falling apart at the seams...using the word "reality" for any of them is a joke in and of itself.

12. Forgiving is easy.  Forgetting isn't.

13. As Maya Angelou once said, "people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel".

14. Another Maya Angelou nugget, "you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back".

15. To paraphrase a Robert Frost quote, one thing is for sure about life - it goes on.

16. Most people never truly listen.

17. Don't rain on anyone's parade - we all have cruddy stuff we deal with daily.   No need to send out invites to your own little pity party. Revel in other's success, because success - as well as negativity - is contagious.

18. Be mindful of sharing your opinion just for the sake of being a dissenting voice.

19. Stop always looking for the answers...Stop always asking the heavy questions...Just be...Enjoy the here and now.

20. Say "Thank You" - daily.  It's a powerful and lasting phrase.

21. Don't straddle yourself with regret.

22. Give unconditionally - thoughts, encouragement, prayers, time, patience, friendship, love, service.  Everyone can use one or all, and any one of these simple things could be the lighthouse in someone's storm.

23. Take the time to learn the lessons from the challenges we face.

24. All any of us can do is put forth the right effort for the right intentions - we can pursue what is right for us...the results of the effort and intentions will fall as they will. Period.

25. When in doubt, always follow one simple rule - WWHBD - What Would Honey Badger Do?  http://youtu.be/4r7wHMg5Yjg  It'll never steer you wrong!

2011 - quite a year personally.  Looking forward to its quick exit and on to bigger and better things in 2012.

I'm not going to make resolutions.  I'm going to start revolutions.

Get on or get out of the way.

2 comments:

  1. I agree Matt.. .
    Sue Kauffman

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  2. Have a New Year Matt.
    I hope 2012 is better for you both spiritually and physically.

    And that your Ravens leave you as disapointed and heartbroken as they did to me back in 1995.
    Eat shit and die Art Modell.

    -Sigler

    ReplyDelete