2013 – 45 Things I Learned in Life.

45 Years, 45 Lessons: Reflections on Life and Growth.

When I turned 45, I decided to do something a bit different.

Instead of reflecting on just another year, I chose to list the 45 most important lessons I’ve learned in my life.
I shared this list as a video – a gift to our community and a reminder for myself and my loved ones.

I hadn’t seen this video or thought about the list in a while, but finding it again was a delightful surprise.
It was fun and enlightening to see how deeply these lessons have shaped my life.

Here’s a list of those life lessons, just in case the video gets lost in cyberspace:

1. Make as many mistakes as fast as possible
2. When I set my mind to something, I usually achieve it.
3. Gratitude for what I have and the people in my life is key.
4. Living fully, loving with an open heart, and making a difference are what truly matter.
5. Saying “I love you” to my loved ones daily is non-negotiable.
6. If I’m not as successful as I want to be, there’s something I just don’t know yet.
7. A big part of my success is that I haven’t watched TV or read a newspaper in over 25 years.
8. The best investment I can make is in my education.
9. It’s better to buy experiences than things.
10. For the poor, money is expensive and time is cheap; for the rich, money is cheap and time is expensive.
11. Taking action is not the same as implementing.
12. To be successful, I need to implement, implement, implement.
13. The faster I implement, the more successful I become.
14. Set high goals, and take small steps to achieve them.
15. Great relationships are about choosing to make them work every day – not just falling in love.
16. Surround yourself with the type of people you want to become.
17. Exchanging time for money is a really bad deal.
18. I grew up believing in “Ask and you shall receive,” but I’ve learned it’s “Give and you shall receive.”
19. Until age 40, your body takes care of you; after 40, you have to take care of your body.
20. You can’t be 95% responsible – you’re either 100% responsible, or you’re a victim.
21. Being a victim is just a choice.
22. Money can’t buy love or happiness, but it sure can buy freedom.
23. To succeed, I need to give first.
24. Having fun is one of the most important ingredients to success (at least for me).
25. To be creative, all I need is excitement, passion, and lots of curiosity.
26. Money, freedom, and fulfillment are secondary reasons to own a business – contribution is number one.
27. People are good, kind, and caring—a lot more than we give them credit for.
28. It’s what I do when no one is watching that matters most.
29. I’m happiest when I share myself with others.
30. It’s okay to say “I don’t know.”
31. It’s okay to say, “I need your help.”
32. It’s okay to say, “I’m sorry.”
33. I feel most alive when I challenge myself beyond my comfort zone.
34. It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
35. Although I love to have it my way, working with a team gives me so much more.
36. When I die, I want to be able to say, “In my life, I made the world a better place.”
37. The best feeling in the world is knowing I made a difference in someone’s life today.
38. Sharing my life 24/7 with my best friend, lover, wife, and business partner was the best decision I ever made.
39. The best teacher I’ve had so far is my daughter.
40. Whenever I’m bored in life, it’s because I’m not fully participating.
41. Becoming an “overnight success” takes exactly 10 years of hard work.
42. Our gifts and talents don’t belong to us – we were born to share them.
43. The more authentic I become, the better I get paid.
44. We all have so much more potential than we can ever imagine.
45. The older I get, the more I know that I don’t know.