Your Most Useful Life Advice To Us

[Thoreau]

Hello,

Today I was contemplating some of the principles that I regard as being the essence of my personal ideology and I remembered one of the things that I hold very dear: sage advice.

I would like to request the advice of this community of intelligent people. Please share any advice that you have that would be of great benefit to those of us who have very little life experience. I will start off with whatever comes to my head...

- Surround yourself with people that are better than you in whichever areas you lack and learn from them.

- Treat "little" people, that is those without power or money, as you would the President, the Pope, or any other "great" person

- Invest in yourself in terms of mind, spirit, and physical well-being. It is one of the few things that evil people cannot take from you

Well, that is my humble advice. I am not very good and that is why I seek the help of anyone of the members to contribute advice of any sort.

[JMan]

Originally Posted by Thoreau

Hello,

Today I was contemplating some of the principles that I regard as being the essence of my personal ideology and I remembered one of the things that I hold very dear: sage advice.

I would like to request the advice of this community of intelligent people. Please share any advice that you have that would be of great benefit to those of us who have very little life experience. I will start off with whatever comes to my head...

- Surround yourself with people that are better than you in whichever areas you lack and learn from them.

- Treat "little" people, that is those without power or money, as you would the President, the Pope, or any other "great" person

- Invest in yourself in terms of mind, spirit, and physical well-being. It is one of the few things that evil people cannot take from you

Well, that is my humble advice. I am not very good and that is why I seek the help of anyone of the members to contribute advice of any sort.

For the competetive in nature:

'Winners never quit. Quitters never win.'
--Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi

[bbdream8]

Always take action.

Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

[dannielo]

Anything worth doing in this world will not be easy.

[Mr. DEM]

I am actually just starting out with my personal development but I will offer some advice:

1. Never give up - There will always be days when you don't feel like reaching for your goals but, I can't stress this enough, push through the negative feelings. Everyone has the ability to achieve great things, all it takes is persistence and dedication.
2. Never let fear stand in your way - If there is one thing I let happen to me in my teenage years which has had a great impact on my adult life is that I let fear stop me from achieving great things. Everyone gets scared about things, whether it be a career change or something like social interactions and what you do with this fear can lead you on two different paths, the first is a dead end where you live in fear and never challenge it and then the other path is to freedom.
3. Never be afraid of seeking help - If I hadn't sought help for my anxiety and depression I probably wouldn't be here today. There is a lot of judgement from people about mental illness and it impacts on the sufferer but I highly recommend seeking professional help. Some people are ignorant when it comes to mental illness but until they suffer from it they will never know the massive effect it has on you.

I don't know if any of that is of help to anyone but it is all I have got to offer.

Mr. DEM

[smartile]

Hi Thoreau,

Here's some food for the mind,

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~ Buddha

[Matt Willard]

Not everyone thinks and feels the way you do, so you might as well learn to live with it.

[fainaent]

One of the most true, powerful statements to me is this from Marianne Williamson:

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

I know there have been times that I haven't let myself shine, because I didn't want to stand out. But stopping yourself from being who you are, and who you can become... that is one of life's greatest tragedies to me.

-Zachary

[funchy]

"...grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference..."

[Thoreau]

Originally Posted by smartile

Hi Thoreau,

Here's some food for the mind,

Thank you for sharing, smartile. This is one of the most undeniable principles I have come to realize in my lifetime.

[silicon toad2000]

One I've always kept close to the forefront of my thoughts. I think Eisenhower said something similar.

There is a big difference between making someone do something and making someone want to do something. Think very carefully before making the choice.

[Parthon]

I think one of the biggest impacts for me would be summed up with:
"Every person is worthy. Everyone in the world, from the lowliest beggar to the highest president, everyone you see and hear, even yourself, is just as worthy as each other."

[Liveformx64]

To be indifferent to criticism from ones peers, one must first become indifferent to their praises.

"A person is a still a person not matter how small" Dr. Seuss

[bluedragon]

"The present moment is the best possible coach, and fortunately, it is with us in every moment of our lives"

Never postpone something that is important to you long enough for it to become a problem.

The most important thing when you want to begin something is to begin.

Don't let the desire to do something perfectly lead to you not doing it at all.

It's better to do something, anything, than to oscillate between two things and do neither.

[smartile]

thanks Thoreau,

Thank you for sharing, smartile. This is one of the most undeniable principles I have come to realize in my lifetime.

I agree. It's a paradigm of sorts.... I remember when I first came to this realization after reading, Think & Grow Rich. It seemed as though I was the first one to figure it out

Then after studying and researching the topic, I realized that many others had come to this level of awareness and became humbled by this discovery.

[jtracy]

One of my favorite quotes is
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance".

I also like "A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships were built for" and “One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” Basically this is the idea of if you want to accomplish anything you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone.

I also like the advice to "Be nice to the people you meet on the way up because they'll be the same ones you meet on the way down." Basically this is the idea that you should never treat others with less respect just because you are becoming successful. One day you will have a failure and you will need those people to remember you well. I firmly beleive that everyone should be treated with equal respect no matter what their level of success is.

[Marco Polo]

The three core values I'm living by at the moment are patience, humility and hope. I think once you integrate these values fully into your life, you'll receive big rewards in terms of well-being. Your fear of success will decrease and your ability to achieve long term goals easier. Especially if you're very patient and calm about things, you can take more short-term blows and focus on the long term. One of the biggest mistakes is to live a life of instant gratification, or thinking that you won't ever have to sacrifice anything to achieve success. Another good rule of thumb is to increase your dedication while decreasing your expectations. Work harder but expect less. This way you decrease the risk of dissapointment and giving up.

[Ecce Homo]

Choose love. Truth and power ain't bad either.

[Elrond]

Originally Posted by bluedragon

Don't let the desire to do something perfectly lead to you not doing it at all.

It's better to do something, anything, than to oscillate between two things and do neither.

These are absolutely the two most useful advices for me to remember for where I am now.

[skcastille]

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe the mind can achieve. - Napoleon Hill

[javed]

Someone has already said it, but it is worth repeating

"...grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference..."

[rimmy]

Hi guys,

I feel one must not dwell on the past but instead focus on the future and develop positive attitudes.Remember that failure is imminent.Be positive all the time and take advantage of opportunities before you. Staying focus and being diligent on your goals and deviating from non-productive behavior is an absolute essential for success. Thanks for sharing your posts.

[changes]

a few from my young son (aged 9) whilst pondering the meaning of life with him he came up with "The meaning of life is change" and last week (aged14) "why run it will come" and another today whilst he was on his comp "Life is like being an msn bot it answers itself" you need to know msn for the last one

One very important one though wear sunscreen love that song.

[Parthon]

I love it! "Why run, it will come." .. I'm saving that one.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Marco Polo

The three core values I'm living by at the moment are patience, humility and hope.

Interesting. Those three don't make my list at all.

[jfrancis]

-This too shall pass.
-Breathe.
-Pray. Pray to whomever or whatever you think is listening, but do pray.

None of these are particularly original. I heard the first one from my friend's father when I was a teenager going through crazy teenage stuff. The last two are recent pieces of advice from my mom (who is 79 today!) to me while going through some crazy non-teenager stuff.

[ns123]

Originally Posted by fainaent

One of the most true, powerful statements to me is this from Marianne Williamson:

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
...
And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
-Zachary

Zachary! Wow! I carry this quote around with me. How strange that this passage moves you too!

Thank you for posting this. And thanks for making me feel more connected to the world.

[leplatdujour]

I've got two that I alternate:

Be the change you want to see in this world

and

What use is a man walking on water if you don't follow in his footsteps?


The first is attributed to my personal hero Mohandas Gandhi; the second I've no idea.

[changes]

"Be the change you want to see in this world" wonderful x thanks

[Alfonso Crawford]

To counter some of the seriousness within this thread, I submit the following:

Originally Posted by Alfonso Crawford, and His Experiences at Summer-Camp

Do not transport cactus via your own pants-pockets: you will likely have neither the time nor the patience you return your pants to a usable state, after you've taken the cactus where you intended to bring it—which, interestingly, you'll be able to do without pain.

Originally Posted by Alfonso Crawford, and His Experiences at Church

Do not listen to metal, while leaving a church—even if you work there: the police will interrogate you, for it.