#LifeLessons #Entrepreneurship #PersonalGrowth

Turning 18 requires a little bit of reflection. Here are the 18 life and entrepreneurial lessons I've learned over the last 18 years of my life:

1. Trust Your Intuition and Energy. There's nothing that replaces your instincts. Emotions are facts as well. I've had to learn this the hard way too many times. Energy never lies. "Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do." — Benjamin Spock

2. It's Not the Critic Who Counts. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena...” — Theodore Roosevelt. Remember that the opinions of those who stand on the sidelines don't define you. What matters is that you're in the arena, striving and daring greatly.

3. Trust Actions More Than Words. Everyone can tell you how much they support women, minorities, animals, climate, etc. Social media is full of heroes and heroines who, by now, could have saved the world if words were enough. It's not happening, as we can see the evidence every single day. Actions matter much more than words. "An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching." — Mahatma Gandhi

4. Taking Action Eats Theory for Breakfast. There's no amount of theory or hours of memorizing structures and strategies that can replace life learning from taking action and experiencing things. Don't get me wrong—I love learning and reading and immersing myself in topics I don't quite understand yet, but action eats theory for breakfast.

5. .Always Create. Creative experiments make the difference; they expand time and go beyond what you might think is possible.

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." — Maya Angelou

6. Words Matter; Words Have Power; Words Are Power. Choose them wisely. Elizabeth Gilbert, in her book Big Magic, shares that words and ideas are conscious beings; they have the power to create and destroy depending on how we use them.

7. When You Go Through Hell, Go Fast. There's a way through everything, and the power lies in motion, in finding the right balance for yourself, and in celebrating the small steps.

8. You Can Learn from Success as Much as from Failure. All experiences are learning opportunities. To FAIL is by definition just "the First Attempt in Learning." You can learn from everything. Open yourself to all kinds of learning.

9. The World Is Full of Advice and Advisors; Most Don't Apply to You. Listen and implement advice from people who are examples of what you would like to experience. "Take advice from those who are successful in what you aspire to." — Unknown

10. Stop Putting Effort and Love into Environments and Situations That Don't Respect You. "Believe people when they show you who they are the first time." I love this quote by Maya Angelou, and since I started to listen to this advice, my life became much easier. There are no second or third chances for disrespect.

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them." — Maya Angelou

11. Be Patient. It's challenging, but incremental change is happening all the time.

12. Time Is an Illusion. It's better to spend it doing things that lift you up with people you don't need to translate your soul to. "Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." — Marthe Troly-Curtin

13. Stop Trying to Change the World; Keep on Changing Yourself. There's no excuse for not trying to change and improve yourself. The world will be taken care of when we all focus on addressing our internal issues and transforming them.

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." — Rumi

14. Creativity and Curiosity Are Here to Serve You—Everyone Is Creative. Three golden rules for creativity I created for myself over seven years ago changed everything: - Every idea is a good idea. - The sky is not the limit—you can be very wild with your ideas. - Trust—in yourself, in the process, in the environment (what happens here stays here).

15. The "Stupidest" Ideas Are the Ones You Never Made Happen. These ideas equally have the potential to be the next big thing. "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." — Wayne Gretzky

16. Always Celebrate Yourself, and all your progress, even the tiniest steps.

17. Listen. The world speaks in many languages and in many ways that you might not understand yet. Listening will deepen your understanding of what truly matters.

18. Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. — Oscar Wilde

And the last, bonus one, for the coming year is:

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.' —Norman Vincent Peale

Find your own Moon and just go for it. Identify your unique dreams and aspirations—your personal "Moon"—and pursue them with determination. Don't be afraid to set ambitious goals that are meaningful to you, even if they seem out of reach. The journey towards your own Moon is what leads to growth and fulfillment.

And I would love for you to share your Moon wish with us. Here or here.

#LifeLessons #Entrepreneurship #PersonalGrowth #Wisdom

?? Many of you have asked how you can support my creative work - here's one way! Buying me a coffee would help enormously: buymeacoffee.com/creativebites

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