10 MORE Things I Would Advise My 20-years-younger-self To Live A Happier And Better Life

Dear Ethan,

Besides the 10 things, I would advise my 20-years-younger-self to live a happier and better life, here are 10 extra lessons/things…

11) Pray before judging and criticizing

Hurting people, hurt people. Before you judge and criticize, be quick to pray for divine healing and transformation. A simple prayer like “Dear God, may you heal whatever is causing Mr./Ms. to do XYZ and replace it with your love and perfection instead” will do magic.

12) People don’t care about your explanations but only results.

Many people use explanations and excuses to mask their non-performance and such people are despised. Few focus on reporting results and such people are revered. Plan diligently and act relentlessly with faith. Think like a monk and act like a warrior.

13) No one owes you a yes or affirmation

I used to feel frustrated and annoyed whenever people said no to my requests where I expected a yes. I later realized that’s a sure path to sadness.

The moment I switched my mindset to acknowledging that no one owes me a yes or affirmation, but rather my responsibility to figure out a way to get a yes or a lesson, then, my happiness increased.

Same thing with affirmation. Recently I was advising my two daughters not to be anxious about people saying negative things about them because no one owes them an affirmation because they do not have control over what other people say. But they (my daughters) have control over what they tell themselves or self-affirmation. This my friend will save you a thousand pains.

14) Forgive for your own sake and not the other party

When you forgive, you are doing yourself a favour. You would be saving yourself from pain. You are relieving yourself of mental and emotional poison which affects your health if not released. You forgive for your own sake not because of the other guilty party. In fact, they don’t even need to know. It’s a gift to yourself.

15) Master writing to think and speak better

When you write, you sharpen your thinking. When you think better, you speak better. Just call it the trinity of communication. Think, write and speak. I am aware that you speak daily. If only you could write daily too, then, your overall communication skills would become better and you would produce better results.

16) Be optimistic and also plan for what might go wrong

Being positive is key and yet sometimes life, career and business can take unexpected turns.

Smarter people prepare for the good and the potential ugly circumstances. When it comes to people, it’s good to trust and it also helps to double check at the same time because you never know as to what could be hidden.

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17) Master story telling

Story telling is one of the most powerful tools of influence because people are more receptive rather than guarded.

That’s one of the reasons Jesus Christ used stories and parables a lot. To create bigger impact, make intentional story telling a part of who you are

18) Practice ‘Nowness’

It might sound cliché but it’s still critical to live in the now. Beyond being in the now (not in the past or future), aim to create and produce results now because this is the one and only chance you are guaranteed to have. Get it created and manifested now.

19) Excellence is not enough

Aiming for excellence isn’t enough. Target being outstanding. Strive to be at 100%. Do your very best and the world will reward you with the best.

20) Build and refuel your four core pillars

Build your core four - mental, emotional, spiritual and physical resources because that’s the fuel that will get you to your goals and dreams. Every time you feel like you are not at your best, it means that one or a couple of these four areas is running low on fuel. These four areas affect everything and as such you need to pay attention to them.

Now, Ethan, you have it. If you can relentlessly pursue and implement even half of the 20 lessons, then, you can literally compress what took me 20 years into two to five years.

Go shine and fly. Once again, if you find these tips useful, share them with other people because they could get an idea that impacts their lives just like these thoughts did to me.

I love you, I believe you and may you do the same to yourself.

God bless you forever!