Some things I've learned

I'm no genius, and I know I still have a lot more to learn in life. However, I wanted to share with you all some of the things I have learned so far.

First give value, then get value. Not the other way around. To increase what you receive, you must increase what you give.

Be proactive, not reactive.

Mistakes and failures are good. When you allow yourself to learn from them.

We are responsible for what we do. Unless you're a celebrity.

Don't beat yourself up.

Set goals. It's important to focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want, and keep that focus steady. A good way is by setting goals, and reviewing them frequently.

Your attitude changes your reality. When you use a positive attitude instead of a negative one, you start to see things and viewpoints that were invisible to you before. When you change your attitude, you change what you focus on; then the world can be seen in a new light.

Gratitude is a simple way to make yourself, and others, feel happy.

Never compare yourself to others. When you compare yourself to others, in a way you're letting the world control how you feel about yourself. A more useful thing would be to compare yourself, to yourself. Look at how far you have come, what you have accomplished and how you have grown.

80-90% of what you fear will happen, never really comes into reality.

Don't take things too seriously. Taking yourself, your thoughts and your emotions too seriously often just seems to lead to more unnecessary suffering.

Write things down. Many of your good or great ideas may be lost forever if you don’t make a habit of writing things down. This is also a good way to keep your focus on what you want.

Live below your means. Look for bargains and discount stores. It helps to separate needs from wants.

If you want to be at the top of Maslow's pyramid, find a job you love. It's good to be passionate about the things you're doing. It helps you to enjoy life more.

The 80/20 rule -Or the Pareto Principle- it means that 80 percent of the value you will receive will come from only 20 percent of your activities. So a lot of what we do, may not be as necessary as we think.

Most success boils down to perseverance, determination, tenacity, and other products of personal accountability.

Life is an exploration, and maybe certain lessons must be experienced to be understood. Yet I wonder how much pain we could prevent if we taught life’s important lessons to our young people instead of relying on the real world to teach them for us.