Wise people learn from others with more years of experience. You probably heard the question “what advice would you give your younger self?” As we age and enter new seasons of life, it is important to reflect on what is and isn’t working.
- Grow your relationship with Jesus. Action Tip: Ask God to protect you daily. He is faithful and will never leave or abandon you.
- Always remember what drives you. Pursue a career in something that allows you to contribute. Significance and contribution is much more fulfilling than the six figure 9-5 job. Action Tip: Don’t look for answers among the external noise (prestige, money, status). Instead, go within and listen.
- Develop your core values and live by these standards every single day. Never compromise them. Action Tip: Write a list of 3-5 core values and do not deviate from them. E.g., faith, family, significance/contribution, independence/autonomy, personal growth/self-actualization, etc.
- Most of the people you call friends today may not be in your life later. Remember that most people are in your life for a season and only few are in your life for a lifetime. Action Tip: Aim to have 3-5 closest friends. You know you can always count on those friends.
- Be kind and genuine, all the time. Action Tip: Do one act of kindness daily. Hold the door, smile, and genuinely ask how the other person’s day is going.
- Go to bed early. The best part of the day is between 4 – 7 AM. Win those hours and you win the day. Action Tip: Start waking up 15 minutes earlier than you normally do. Go backwards until you reach your ideal wake-up time.
- Identify your biggest fears in life. Do things that scare the crap out of you every single day. That is how you grow. Action Tip: Set a 30-day challenge and do something hard every single day.
- You are your only limit. You can be, have or do anything you want in life if you want it bad enough. Whether you believe you can or cannot, you are absolutely right. Conquer your mindset and you will conquer your life. Action Tip: Start meditating for 5 minutes. Keep your eyes closed and persist when you get the urge to open your eyes and stop.
- Learn how to visualize. Visualize your ideal life daily and watch it become a reality. Action Tip: See yourself on the cinema screen in your most ideal state, flow over and step into that you.
- Write down your monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals. Review them regularly. Action Tip: Write down 3 goals you would like to accomplish in the next 30 days. Write them on a card and carry it with you. Review it regularly.
- When you get to college, experiment. Choose a path that is uniquely yours. Action Tip: Take full advantage of all electives you have an interest in and freely shift from one to another. This is your time to experiment and find what you love.
- Technology can be your worst enemy or a powerful weapon that can be used for growth. Use it wisely. Action Tip: Instead of scrolling through social media, listen to podcasts and watch educational Youtube videos.
- Read often. Non-fiction and autobiographies have all the knowledge, experiences, lessons, and advice you could ever want. Turn the TV off, put down the phone and read. Action Tip: Create or ask for a list of 100 books, read 25 per year (i.e., 2 per month) for the next 4 years. You will be a different person.
- Take extreme ownership of everything in your life. If something is not the way you want it to be, change it. You are in control. Action Tip: Start embracing that mindset now.
- Be a shark and always swim forward. Do not dwell in the past but learn from it. Action Tip: Keep a journal of daily failures. Try to fail at least once a day. The discomfort or embarrassment is your best and fastest way to grow. Train and strengthen your failure muscle.
- Play the long game. Be in competition with yourself, nobody else. Strive to get better every single day. Action Tip: Grow daily. Try to learn something new every single day. Go to bed 1% smarter. You will be 365% better than the year before.
- Pursue excellence in all you do. Action Tip: Don’t fake it till you make it, but act like the person you wish to be.
- Fulfillment in life comes from the journey, not the destination. Find joy in the process and life will feel like an exciting adventure. Action Tip: Engage in adventures regularly.
- Ask for advice. Accept help when it is offered. It is not a weakness but a sign of maturity and leadership. Action Tip: Know that there is no stupid question. Only stupid question is the one you do not ask because you are scared or embarrassed.
- Find a mentor who challenges you. If you can’t find one, hire a coach. Action Tip: Think about those people you admire the most. Reach out to them and offer to help them in their work for free in exchange for mentorship. If you have nothing to offer, show them you are tenacious and driven.
- Say “Thank you and I love you” to your parents, often. Action Tip: Call your mom and dad right now.
- Two words you cannot ever overuse are “thank you” and “please.” Action Tip: Say each once today. Repeat them tomorrow and the next day until they become a habit.
- Life is not happening against you. It is happening for you. Don’t lie to your self. You know what is good for you and what isn’t. You know what you are doing but should not. Action Tip: Write a list of the things you want to change about yourself. It may be cutting out a bad vice, or removing that negative person out of your life.
- Exercise. Do something active and challenging every day. Action Tip: Start by putting your exercise shoes next to your bed. The mere fact of seeing them there will push you to start. Set a goal to run for 5 minutes for the next 7 days. Build the habit slowly.
- Attract greatness. You are the average of the 5 people you spend most time with, the books you read, the foods you eat, the content you choose to absorb. Choose wisely. Action Tip: Start a support group of like minded people interested in growth. Meet once a week in person or by video.
- The best or worst decision you will make in life is choosing who you marry. Marry a person that supports and lifts you up. Make sure your partner is your best friend. Action Tip: In order to attract the person you want, make sure you “become the person you are looking for is looking for.”
- What ever you do, do it with all your heart. Don’t half ass anything. Life is too short. Action Tip: What ever you do, do it with utmost excellence. Treat is as the most important person or job in the world.
- Know that someone is always watching and learning from you. Be a role model to others. Action Tip: Don’t tell people what to do, show them.
- There is always more than one side to a story. Action Tip: Evaluate any situation objectively, not subjectively especially when you are caught up in the moment.
- Nobody gives a crap about your problems, so stop complaining. Action Tip: When ever you realize you are complaining, pinch yourself hard. The body will associate complaint with pain.
- Journal daily. You will be amazed of how much you forget when you review your journal at the end of the year. Action Tip: Start capturing something significant from every day, even if it is in a single sentence.
- Life will hit you in your teeth. Get up and keep going. A diamond is created under pressure. A pearl is created through adversity. Action Tip: Know that defeat is temporary. What ever feels insurmountable that day will likely feel like a joke in 30 days. Put the event in your calendar. When it pops up on your calendar 30 days later, you will realize that every wounds heals eventually.
- Be nice, smile, and always be grateful. You will be shocked how far you can get in life by just doing these 3 simple things every day. Action Tip: Start your day by writing 3 things you are grateful for. It can be the health you possess, the parents you have, food you ate, or coffee you just sipped.
- Live out the Golden Rule, daily. Action Tip: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Period.
- Consistency is key to success. To become an expert, you must put in at least 10,000 hours of effort. Action Tip: If you are pursuing a major or a job you know in your gut is not for you, end it. Keep searching and do not settle. You will know it in your heart when you find it.
- Thoughts become words. Be kind and uplift yourself daily. Negative self-talk will destroy you. Action Tip: Create a list of affirmations on your phone, review and repeat them daily.
- Wake up every day and be epic. The greatest fear in life is the fear of unused potential. Action Tip: Embrace the fearlessness mindset and stretch yourself every single day.
- The most unhealthiest thing you can do is compare yourself with others. Compare yourself with yourself. Act daily in the manner you would want to act as your best and highest self. Action Tip: write your eulogy i.e., what you would want said about you the day you are buried. Exhibit those traits daily. Live them out because tomorrow can be your last day no matter how young or old you are.