39 pointers in life my friend gave me...

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine; after hearing me answer her question "so how you been? what's new with you?" with a little of apathy and lack of enthusiasm; sent me the following least I want to share with you all. I hope that perhaps this list, will resonate and hit close to home as it did to me when I read it, and maybe you too might learn a thing or two...or 39...

1. Struggle Is Good: Never say “I can’t take it anymore.” Say “Bring it on!”
2. Don’t Complain: Complaining is the biggest waste of time there is. Either do something about it, and if you can’t, shut up about it.
3. Always Strive For Something: When you wake up in the morning, think about what you’re trying to achieve. Humans need a vision to wake up every morning. After you picture your vision, go after it. Every day.
4. Spend Time With People You Love: That’s your family and best friends. If you don’t have a family, create one. Most people in life are only visitors. Family is for life.
5. Don’t Start A Relationship If You’re Not In Love: I’ve done this more than once. You kind of like someone and think: “We might as well give it a shot.” Not a good idea. You’re either in love, or you are not. Don’t fool yourself. It’s not fair to you and the other person.
6. Exercise Daily: A healthy body is where you have to start everything in life. If you can’t build a healthy and strong body, what can you build in life?
7. Keep A Journal: No, keeping a journal is not for children. It helps you to become a better thinker and writer. “I don’t want to be a writer” you might think. Well, how many emails and texts do you send a day? Everybody is a writer.
8. Be Grateful: Say ‘thank you’ to everyone and everything. “Thank you for this beautiful day.” “Thank you for your email.” “Thank you for being there for me.”
9. Don’t Care About What People Think: We all die in the end, do you really think it matters what people think of you?
10. Take More Risks: Don’t be such a wimp. Seriously.
11. Pick An Industry, Not A Job: If you want to become good at something, you need to spend years and years doing that. You can’t do that if you hop from industry to industry. Pick an industry you love and start at the bottom. You will find the perfect role for you eventually.
12. Lead The Way: When you find yourself in a situation where everyone looks at each other, it’s time for you to lead. You‘re a leader when you decide to become one. There’s no initiation or a title. Just a decision.
13. Things Are Not What They Seem: If something sounds too good to be true, it is. A little skepticism never hurts.
14. Money Is Not The Most Important Thing: You have to train yourself not to care about money and focus on providing value instead. Also, don’t become too dependent on the stuff you own — otherwise, the stuff will own you.
15. Be Nice: I don’t mean you should be a pushover. You can be someone that doesn’t take shit and be nice about it. Just don’t insult people, think you’re better than them, or act like an idiot.
16. Strain Yourself: Take on challenging things in your life. No strain no gain.
17. Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable: Life, work, relationships, challenges. It’s all uncomfortable. So get comfortable with that.
18. Learn Every Day: You’ve got to train your brain to stay alert. You don’t have to read a book a day to learn every day. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from the people around you — be open to what they can teach you.
19. Rest Before You Are Tired: Even if you love your job, and every day seems like a holiday, you need to take time to rest. You’re a human and not an android, never forget that.
20. Don’t Judge: Just because people make different choices than you, they are not stupid. Also, you don’t know everything about people, so don’t judge them — help them.
21. Value Yourself: “Who am I to say something?” Well, you’re a human being who wakes up every morning and contributes something to this world. You have the right to say and do anything you want. Recognize that.
22. Have Patience: Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? But that’s too obvious. Rome also wasn’t built in a year, or even two years, or even five years. Some things take decades to make happen. How’s that for your perspective?
23. Think About Others: Just be mindful, that’s all. We all have families, bills to pay, and our own issues. Don’t always make everything about yourself.
24. Give Without Expecting Something In Return: Don’t keep score. You will become a bitter person if you do that. Give solely for the joy of giving. If you get something in return, great, if you don’t, great.
25. There’s No End Game: We, as a species, just are. Don’t try to figure it all out. Enjoy your journey.
26. Enjoy Small Things: I like clichés because they are true. Especially this one. You know why? Everyone says they know it, but no one lives up to it. They just chase big things.
27. Don’t Take Yourself Seriously: Yeah, yeah, you’re an individual, and people have to take you seriously, I get it. But at the end of the day, we’re all a bunch of ants trying to chase the same things. Lighten up.
28. Take On More Responsibilities: Sounds paradoxical (like many things in life), but believe me on this one. The more responsibilities you have, the more purpose you have in life. Just don’t get overwhelmed. You’re not that important.
29. Don’t Blame People: What’s the point? Do you want to punish them? You don’t do that to people. Also, don’t blame yourself — you’re only human.
30. Never Look Back Too Long: Reflecting on the past is only good for one thing: Learning.
31. It’s Okay To Be Sad: Life’s not always great. We all know that. But why do we pretend we’re okay while we’re not? Because we’re too proud. If you’re not doing well, admit it. Now, you can work on getting better.
32. Avoid Negative Situations And People: You can’t underestimate the impact others have on you. Get away from negativity at all cost.
33. Invest In Yourself: Skills are worth more than a good job, career, money, and even a reputation.Why? The world always needs people who can do something well. Be that person.
34. Rely On Yourself: Because it’s the best feeling in the world to know you can figure things out by yourself. But don’t overdo it. Ask for help when you need it.
35. Don’t Listen To “No”: The best things in life only happened after people heard “no.” Did they quit? No.
36. Buy A House: A lot of wealthy people say they never buy a property to live in it because it’s not an investment. They’re right. But a lot of people still don’t care because they like to own the house they live in. I agree. And if you move on, rent it out. It’s an investment.
37. Hold Yourself To A High Standard: When you do something, do it well or not at all. Always strive for outperforming yourself.
38. Create Something: Not to leave a legacy, you won’t be here to see it anyway, but to be of use. Make music, write a book, build a table, anything. You’ll feel good about yourself, plus you give something back to people to use or enjoy.
39. Take Action:Don’t just sit there, do something. Without action, there is no outcome.

We might think we know a lot. But just like Socrates, who believed he knew nothing, you and I also know nothing at all.

So we have to keep learning.