We have been provided the freedom of choice. However, we are never free from the consequences of our decisions. Our choices contribute immensely to who we are and who we become. Bring your best, and give your best every day. Doing great things is not a sometime thing. Everybody knows something you do not; so listen, learn and grow each day.
The daily habits and rituals of your life are the only things that stand between where you are and where you want to go. If you govern your behavior every day with a precise focus, then learning, discovery, and growth will transpire. Give yourself the shot to achieve a great day by attaining small victories and making each moment a masterpiece.
Know you will always have a critic. You will be criticized, scrutinized, second-guessed and disparaged on your journey. Stay the course. Rise above the noise while remaining humble in your aspirations, gracious in your successes and resilient in your failures.
Never confuse your excellence with pleasing others. We often look for enemies externally. But the biggest one lies internally. Two of the most undervalued relationships is your relationship with yourself and your relationship with books. Many of our problems stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room with ourselves.
The more you say no, the greater the opportunity you have to say yes to experiences that are more relevant; and useful in your growth as you explore the unknown depths of who you are. When we add anything to our lives, we must subtract from other areas. It takes courage and self-discipline to say no.
I am often asked about my longevity. At eighty-one years old I am more excited about living than ever. There is so much to do and learn. May the following secrets for my longevity provide support as you uncover, reveal and stand in your truth while combatting the temptation of allowing the outside world to choose your path!
- Make health and wellness my #1 priority.
- Always keep moving. Do not let death creep up on me.
- Life is all about survival.
- Be a learning machine and a lifelong learner.
- Be careful of what goes into your mouth and what comes out of your mouth.
- Make the most of whatever path I am on.
- Think and act with a youthful spirit and energy.
- Easy Choices = Hard Life. Hard Choices = Easy Life.
- Let go of the need to be right.
- Leave my path so good that others will follow.
- Invest less in material things and more in my mind.
- Be seen. Be heard. Be understood.
- Set limits on how many activities and commitments I engage in during a day.
- Every day I seek to grow and get better 1% physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
- Believe in tomorrow and plant seeds today to be part of it.
- Stray away from going with tradition. Challenge the status quo.
- Find and reinvent yourself.
- Listen to your intuition. If it does not feel right, it is probably not good for you.
- Slow down to go farther.
- Show up and bring your best self to the day.
- Do not be afraid to be wrong.
- Be obsessed with what’s next. Develop and nurture a growth mindset.
- Do not use age as a crutch.
- Commit to continuous improvement and living to my fullest potential.
- Never lose track of my “Why.”
- Take something that is ordinary and develop a plan to make it extraordinary.
- Every action I take must have meaning behind it.
- Smile. Smile. Smile.
- Life is precious. Live today and immediately!
