1. Life isn’t fair. I’ve said it to myself and my kids have said it hundreds of times. I always agreed with them. I only wish I’d had this answer for them: Life isn’t fair—it’s fantastic.

2. It’s better to talk less and say more. And that’s easier said than done. There’s a reason we have two eyes and one mouth.

3. Worry is not a virtue. I used to think I wasn’t a responsible person unless I worried about things. What kind of parent doesn’t worry about their children? What I’ve come to know is that worry is like prayer in reverse. What you worry about is what you attract.

4. It’s easier to gain weight than it is to take it off. Like I  needed 50 years to learn that! A waist is a terrible thing to  mind.

5. When arguing with your spouse—or anyone else, for that matter—the less said the better.

6. Religion. Many so-called religious people are not very spiritual people. The more someone tells me how religious they are, how honest they are or how great they are, the less I tend to believe them.

7. The sequence is Be, Do, Have—not Do, Have, Be. If I become the person I wish to become, I can do more of the things I want to do and have more of the things I want to  have. Reversing the order is not very effective, and it’s not fulfilling.

8. Age has little to do with maturity. I know some very young people who demonstrate great maturity. On the other hand, I’ve met 10-year-olds who’ve had more than 40  birthdays.

9. It’s a lot easier to refrain from saying something than it is to take it back after you’ve said it. In fact, you can never really take back something you’ve said. Like an arrow released from a bow—it cannot be called back. You can’t  unring a bell.
 

10. There’s more to balance than not falling over. I think  Ben Franklin said it best, “Nothing to excess.” And contrary to what Mae West said, too much of anything is not a good  thing.

11. Air travel. Always try to reserve a seat in an exit row. You get more leg room and in the event of an emergency, you won’t have to think about where the nearest exit is. Also, planes are easier to catch before they take off.

12. Having thoughts is not thinking. It’s much more than that. Thinking is hard work—perhaps that’s why so few people engage in it. Voltaire wrote, “No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking.”

13. Thou shalt not should on thyself or others. This is the eleventh commandment. Many people blame others for holding them back. Truth is, we’re usually the quickest to  put ourselves down. We shouldn’t “should” on ourselves.

14. Have a soft heart but maintain a thick skin. And never  mix them up.

15. Shortcuts seldom work. Perhaps Beverly Sills said it best when she wrote, “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”

16. Personal responsibility. People who take personal responsibility are very rare indeed. Most people want to fix  the blame rather than fix the problem.

17. Comfort. On the road to comfort, one must be willing to sometimes be uncomfortable.

18. Clear agreements. With a written agreement, you have a prayer. With a verbal agreement, you have nothing but air.  Clarity leads to power and having clear agreements—and keeping them—makes for better relationships.

19. The Power of Acknowledgement. Look for every opportunity to publicly acknowledge others for their good deeds. Tell people about the goodness and kindness of others. Look for the examples of what’s good in the world— in small ways and big—and point it out for everyone to see.

20. Success is not an accident. If you develop the habits of  success, you will make success a habit.

21. You can be right or you can be happy. If we’re determined  to be right, and we try to have everyone think we’re right, we’ll give up a good deal of happiness.

22. There’s no harm in asking. The story goes that years ago, one of the leading Rockefeller women was propositioned by a party crasher. Embarrassed and offended, the woman took her case before the New York courts. The final judgment: “There’s no crime in asking.”

If you have little to lose and much to gain by asking—by all means, ask.

23. Knowledge. Facts are cheap, information is plentiful—knowledge is precious.

24. It’s never boring to listen to someone tell the truth.  When people are speaking from their heart, you can’t help  but be interested, regardless of the content or whether or  not you agree with them.

25. Inspiration is the art of breathing in. The only thing that has to be done today is to breathe.

26. Pleasurable reading. It’s better to curl up with a good book  and a good woman than a good book.

27. The science of appreciation. If you learn to appreciate more of what you already have, you will find yourself having more to appreciate.

28. Never give up. Perceived failure is oftentimes success trying to be born in a bigger way. This maxim kept me going in some of my darkest hours, and it has proved to be true.

29. Kinship. Family relationships are a great laboratory for personal growth. Being related hardly insures relatability.

30. Self-confidence. Confidence isn’t something you get; it’s something you are.

31. Old dreams never die; they just get filed away. So often people tell me that they don’t have any dreams. What it usually means is they’ve either not paid attention to them or they’ve put them so far out of mind, they cannot recall them easily.

32. It’s important, but it’s not serious. Life is too important to take too seriously. I’ve heard that angels fly because they take themselves lightly.

33. A successful day: to learn something new; to laugh at least ten times; to lift someone up; to make progress on a worthy goal; to practice peace and patience; to do something nice for yourself and another; to appreciate and be grateful for  all your blessings.

34. Happiness is lasting; pleasure is fleeting. There’s nothing wrong with pleasure; it’s just not something to pursue in the false belief that it will buy us happiness.

35. Charisma can kill. All through history, highly-evolved people have always been, at the very least, misunderstood. They have been criticized and condemned—and even killed.

36. Making demands. If you ask something of someone and  you’re upset over his or her response, then it wasn’t a request, it was a demand.

37. Your progress is hindered to the degree that you’re  upset about where you are. If you’re in Chicago and want to get to Los Angeles, it does no good to be upset about being in Chicago. In fact, it etracts from your ability to get to Los Angeles. What is just is.

38. Do it now! Ideas are worthless. Intentions have no power. Plans are nothing . . . unless they are followed with action.

39. Spiritual Principle is much like the wind. It is neither good nor bad, and you must know how to use it. You can be run aground or use it to move you where you want to go.

40. Happiness is a choice. You have a choice to be happy or  unhappy. Since you must be one or the other, why not choose happiness?

41. Art Linkletter was right. Kids will say the darndest things—and usually at the darndest time. Like when my son Will (five at the time) introduced me to everyone in the supermarket checkout line and then announced to everyone in the store that I had plastic teeth (my temporary bridge).

42. Today’s action becomes tomorrow’s habit.  Emerson was right, “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

43. Making money is hard. Finding ways to serve isn’t hard at all. If you put your emphasis on serving instead of on earning, the money will come.

44. We never do what we have to do. We always do what we want to do. It just seems like we have to.

45. There is a price for success. But there is also a price for failure. Given the choice, the price of success clearly has the best return on investment.

46. Courage. A person with some doubt and still taking action will accomplish far more than one with no doubt taking no action.

47. There’s no need to prove we’re valuable. We just are. We don’t take action to gain or prove we’re valuable; we take action to gain results and discover more of who we already are.

48. Everything I do, I do to make my heart sing. OK, I  haven’t always done this, and I don’t always do it now—but I do try.

49. Leaders are readers. It doesn’t follow that all readers are leaders, but today, all leaders must be readers. Reading can be a powerful catalyst for thinking; it has the potential for stimulating wisdom.

50. Use your head, but live in your heart. I’ve gotten into big trouble by going with my head instead of listening to my heart. I’ve also mistaken my emotions for my heart. But I’ve never, never been misled by my heart.

51. The only way to truly have what you want is to give up having to have it. As soon as you let go of having to have something, it no longer is elusive but rather seeks you out. There’s nothing wrong with wanting something, it’s having to have it that messes you up.

52. When you learn something, share it with at least three people on different occasions, and it will be yours. One of the great riches of life is that you can give away all your knowledge and still keep it for yourself.

53. Questions are the answers. Getting the right answers is only possible when you’ve asked the right questions.

54. Get it done. There are no honorariums for people to get up  and tell how they didn’t do it.

55. Writing. Good writing is clear thinking made visible.

56. Conquer your fears. Otherwise, your fears will conquer you. Fear has killed more dreams and sidetracked more  success than anything else I know.

57. It’s hard to be a prophet in your hometown. People  expect an expert to get off a plane. Heck, even Jesus had to get out of Nazareth.

58. Becoming. It matters little what road we take. What’s really important is what we become on the journey.

59. Happiness is an inspiring goal. You can only be happy  when you are in the process of achieving a goal. Without a goal there can be no accomplishment. Without accomplish– ment there is no meaning—no satisfaction. Humans were created for accomplishment.

60. If I can always find a way to survive, then I have the same skills it takes to thrive. Once I realized this, my life started to get much better—and easier. I started to apply my skills in a new direction.

61. It’s expensive to be a maverick. Starting new things, being the first to do something or to do it in a new way takes time, patience and usually money.

62. Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you say. It’s not so much what you say, but who you’re being that communicates.

63. Be practical. Some people are so heavenly minded, they’re no earthly good.

64. The high road. Doing the right thing is seldom the easy  thing.

65. When raising kids, you have two choices: you can be popular or you can be a good parent. You can’t be both— at least not until they get older and wiser.

66. It doesn’t take guts to quit. Anyone can quit—and most people do—on their dreams and on themselves.

67. Winning isn’t everything, but it sure beats losing. And it’s definitely more fun.

68. Our job is to decide; the Universe’s job is to provide. The mere act of getting clear on what we want initiates a whole string of events, circumstances and ideas that never would have happened had we not decided. By gaining clarity and choosing clearly what we want, we charge the Universe with tasks, opportunities and situations that bring about what we desire. The world manifests according to our
request.

69. Marriage. The decision to marry and the person you choose to marry is probably the most important decision you’ll make in your entire life.

70. Money is good. Money isn’t everything, but it sure beats no money. Money is not evil; it’s the love of money that’s evil. Use money and love people—never the other way around.

71. Good judgment comes from experience. Where does one gain experience? Bad judgment—or the very careful study of other people’s bad judgment.

72. You can be serious about something without being grim.  Life’s too short and too precious to spend it being grim.

73. TV is both a blessing and a curse. It has the potential— and does in some instances—of providing great value. But for the most part, it’s an incredible waste of time. I call TVs EIRs—Electronic Income Reducers.

74. If you’re going to laugh about it later, you might as well laugh about it now. We usually take our problems way too  seriously. Most of the predicaments we get into become stories we tell and laugh about for many years. So if we’ll find it funny then, we might as well laugh about it now.

75. Life is short. When you’re a kid, time flies when you’re having fun. When you get older, time flies whether you’re  having fun or not.

76. We can achieve anything we want—we just can’t have  everything we want. It’s too big a world, there are too  many things, too little time and not enough energy to have everything we desire. We have to be selective.

77. To me, mediocrity is failure. There’s no inspiration in being average. Average is being the worst of the best or the best of the worst—otherwise known as the cream of the crap.

78. Some days you’re the bug; some days you’re the windshield. Nobody’s ever lead a perfect life. There are no bad days; some are just better than others. Some days are sunny, some days are cloudy, and some days you just have to wonder. I think any day above ground is a good day.

79. Regrets. I have some regrets about some things I’ve done. But I have far more regrets about things I didn’t do. Most people would describe me as a risk-taker, but if I were to do  it all over again, I’d spend even more time between the trapezes.

80. It only takes three points of view to create some  reality. What someone thinks of you isn’t that important. However, if one person calls you a horse, you can ignore it. If two people call you a horse, you might want to listen. If three people call you a horse, you’d better consider buying a saddle.

81. Learning. No one’s ever argued with me when I’ve quoted Bucky Fuller who said, “You can’t learn less.”

82. Good Manners. I’m mindful of my manners and how I  might improve them. I strive to look for ways I can be more kind, considerate and polite. And I’ve learned how important it is to be a good example. Kids watch much more closely than they listen.

83. We must discover and live out the best that’s within us. I’m not sure who wrote this, but I believe it. “If I bring forth what is inside me, what I bring forth will save me. If I fail to bring forth what is inside me, what I bring forth will destroy me.”

84. You find what you’re looking for. Whether you’re looking for something good or bad, you usually find it.  The Universe reveals to us what we focus upon. Look for faults in others, and you’ll surely find them. Look for the good in others, and you’ll see them. Look for excuses, you’ll find them. Look for solutions and you’ll find them.

85. It’s your attitude more than your aptitude that  determines your altitude. This is a Ziglarism—and one I  believe in wholeheartedly.

86. Ride the horse in the direction it’s going. I won’t say  there’s never a time to buck the trend and go a different way. However, I’ve found myself swimming upstream unnecessarily a number of times. It’s easier to go with the flow as long as you can be true to your values. On the other hand, to lead a symphony, you must occasionally turn your  back on the crowd.

87. It rarely does any good to complain. When you complain, 90% of the people don’t care and 10% are glad. Whiners have mental BO. Remember, no statue has ever been built of a critic.

88. An upset is an opportunity to see the truth. I don’t  always immediately remember this when faced with an upset. But I do eventually look for what the upset can reveal to me. It’s given me great insights.

89. We teach people how to treat us. By accepting and tolerating the way others treat us, we tell them it’s OK. When we no longer allow others to treat us poorly, we have trained them and enhanced our standing—with them and ourselves.

90. Nolo Illegitimi Carborundum. Everything sounds more  profound if it’s in Latin. Translation: don’t let the bastards  get you down. Listen to your heart—not the fears, jealousies and limiting beliefs of others.

91. Correction without invalidation. Being able to see ourselves clearly is a valuable trait. Being able to look at what we’ve done and left undone and make corrections  without invalidating who we are is rare. A good question to  ask ourselves is, “What kind of a world would this world be if everyone in it was just like me?” The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.

92. When who you are is what you do, then when you don’t,  you ain’t. As a hard-working entrepreneur, I’m still working on this one.

93. Failure is feedback. And feedback is the breakfast of  champions. And I’ve eaten many breakfasts. They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I complete my 50 circumnavigations of the sun much stronger indeed.

94. Dreams are some of the most powerful things on the planet. They have overcome great obstacles. They have inspired greatness in others. They make us stronger and better people. They sustain our spirit. Happy are those who  dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true.

95. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. I’ve wasted a lot of time and energy trying to learn more and teach more and sometimes tried to  impress people with what I know. But it’s caring that really makes the difference.

96. Facts tell, stories sell. Teaching (or selling) by telling stories is the most effective way to impart information.  Jesus was a great storyteller. It’s over 2,000 years after He shared His parables, and they’re still being told today.

97. The past does not equal the future. Most people operate out of their personal history instead of living into the possibility of what they can imagine. What’s behind us has only as much impact as we’re willing to let it. The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn.

98. Mastery is putting it all together. One who works with his hands is a laborer; one who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman; one who works with his hands, his head and his heart is a master.

99. In order to avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing and be nothing. If you’re going to accomplish anything in this world, you’ve got to be able to handle the opinions of  others. Dogs don’t bark at parked cars. It’s a fact that people who want the most approval get the least and people who need approval the least get the most.

100. “Anything the human mind can conceive and believe, the human mind can achieve.” This was written by Napoleon Hill, and it’s always stuck with me. If one person has done it, so can you. If no one has done it, you can be the first. If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it.

101. Learning goes both ways. I can learn as much from my children as I can teach them. Probably more.

Source : SuccessNet