30 Lessons A Wise Man Once Shared - Marc and Angel Hack Life

1. You can’t make choices for other people.  Don’t let other people make choices for you.
2. There are an unlimited number of ‘Dr. No’ folks that you will encounter in this life.  If you have a personal inspiration, idea or goal, don’t let a ‘Dr. No’ deter you!  Trust your gut, do the planning and then DO IT!
3. Opportunities are often disguised as work, so most people don’t recognize them.
4. The Chinese character for the word ‘crisis’ literally means ‘danger and opportunity.’
5. Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small pieces. -Henry Ford -  Same concept configured as a question:  How do you eat an elephant?  Answer: One bite at a time.  Read Getting Things Done.
6. Learn from the past, but don’t dwell in the past.  In other words, don’t abuse the precious ‘now’ by not being in it.
7. Worry is a misuse of the imagination.
8. Perfect is the enemy of good.
9. Education and knowledge are invaluable.  But do we need to know everything?  Is it possible in a specialized world to know everything?  For instance, do you need to have a comprehensive understanding of dentistry to go to a dentist to have a cavity filled?  In many instances, ‘not knowing’ is a wise approach – it’s like cleaning out a crowded closet to make space for something useful.
10. Big results come when you narrow your focus.  Concentrate your efforts on smaller and smaller areas.  When your efforts are diffused over a wide area they won’t have much of an impact.  So focus on smaller areas and your efforts will be felt more fully.  It could take time for change to happen, but keep that focus narrow.
11. You can’t do it all yourself.  We live in a multi-specialized world.  For example, in building a house, plumbers specialize, electricians specialize, heating and air conditioning technicians specialize, roofers specialize, masons specialize – get it? These guys are consultant contractors who have mastered that component.  For any large project, find the right consultant or mentor.
12. Don’t try to impress everyone.  Purposely impressing people is an act that brings nothing but a momentary ego boost.  Be real with people instead.  Connect with fewer people on a level that is deeper and more profound.
13. Short lecture on happiness and contentment:  Check out what you do have and be satisfied with it for today.  There is an infinite list of what you could want and don’t have.  I like Shakespeare’s line in the play Hamlet, when the young prince tells us that “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space.”  The trick is what one emphasizes.  We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy.  The amount of work is the same.  -Carlos Castaneda  Read The Happiness Project.
14. Manage your time.  Your situation and environment is ever changing, so be careful not to confuse things that are urgent with things that are important.
15. A healthy paradox of life that I find personally challenging:  There is ENLIGHTENMENT to be gained from the ability to live in the moment, but if you don’t have a time management system, or an event control system, you are at a significant disadvantage in achieving goals.
16. Keep it simple.  There is a world of magnificence hidden in simplicity.  Pick the five most important things in your life now and focus on those things.  Let the other stuff go.  Stop the busyness and really enjoy what’s important to you.
17. Focus on goals, not obstacles.
18. There is a major gap between knowledge and taking ACTION.  Mistakes and failures are necessary interim steps in the learning process.  Stop talking about what you have done or what you are going to do. Just do it and let your actions speak for themselves.
19. Sometimes you just have to go for it.  Put your uncertainty and fears aside for a second and ask yourself this:  “If I try and I don’t get it right the first time, what will I have lost and what will I have gained?”  The answer is:  You will have lost nothing but a little bit of your time while gaining an important lesson that will help you get it right the second or third time.  People rarely get it right the first time.  In fact, usually the only people who ever get it right are those who continue going for it even when they’ve come up short numerous times before.
20. Fall down seven times, stand up eight. -Japanese proverb
21. Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. –Confucius  Read Quitter.
22. In order to get, you have to give.  Supporting, guiding and making contributions to other people is one of life’s greatest rewards.  Everything you do comes back around.
23. Not much is worth fighting about.  If you can avoid it, don’t fight.  Step back from arguments with your spouse, family members or neighbors.  When you feel anger surging up and you want to yell that vulgar remark on tip of your tongue, just close your mouth and walk away.  Let yourself calm down.  You don’t have to be right or win an argument.  It just doesn’t matter.
24. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is always the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself!
25. If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.
26. People skills – I think the main one:  ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS AND LISTENING.  Practice as if you were a television interviewer.  Get other people to tell their stories.  A powerful communication skill that I call SCAFFOLDING in business or informal interaction with other human beings on the phone or in person:  Give the person your first name and get their first name in the first few moments of contact… which establishes rapport.  Example:   “Hi, my name is Marc; I didn’t get your name, who am I speaking with?” (Follow-up, depending on the situation, with “How are you doing today?”)  Then after this rapport context, move on to dialogue like, “I wonder if you could help me with a simple issue I am having with ABC… or you do you have any recommendations for XYZ?   Always in closing, let the person know that you “appreciate their assistance.”
27. You don’t need an MBA, but take some courses or read some books on finance, economics, financial planning, investments (real estate, stock market), and accounting.  With these navigational skills, start to steer your ship through continually changing seas.  Don’t buy stuff you don’t need.  Don’t spend more than you make.  Don’t let your money manage you.
28. It is your life, your body and mind.  Without necessarily getting a Ph.D. in nutrition, increase minimal culinary skills, accumulate some basic nutritional knowledge, and start experimenting immediately with what works for you.  Also concentrate on keeping your body active.  Cardiovascular improvement – your heart loves you when you take it there, deep breathing space, building muscle, stretching space.  Escape from confinement in automobiles and office desks and move around.  Read Eat to Live.
29. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.
30. Smile!  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday… and you will be.