One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says that somebody else got ‘lucky’ or is ‘blessed.’ These terms take all of the ownership away from the person. These terms make it seem as if something was just dropped into their lab and that they had no control over it or the hard decisions that had to be made. These terms make it seem as if hard work wasn’t needed. That being said, I’m going to cover some of the hard lessons that men learn too late in life.
Have you learned these lessons yet?
- One of my favorite sayings is, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” The truth is that luck is something in fairy tales. It’s not luck. It’s about timing, preparation, and getting off your ass. You have to get the work done in order to be the one that gets lucky.
- Money will not make you happy. I’ve been broke, and I have been not broke. I can tell you from this experience that being broke is a lot better, but it will not make you happy. One of the biggest mistakes we see online is people obsessing about material things. Stuff doesn’t make you happy. Success is not about stuff. Success is about relationships. As I get older and lose people close to me, I realize that buying stuff is cool, but the focus is nurturing and cultivating relationships. When you’re surrounded by people you love who uplift you, that makes you rich. What really matters in life is being connected with people that make you happy and who you love.
- You can’t run from your past. Eventually, it will catch up with you. I dealt with this from a young age and struggled with feeling good about myself. I felt insecure as a kid, which impacted my ability to stand up for myself. I decided I deserved to be happy and went into therapy, which made my life better. You can’t speed up the healing process, but you can certainly slow it down by avoiding it, self-medicating, sleeping around, and numbing the pain. Go to Better Help for 10% off your first month of therapy and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help you.
- Your health is your number one asset. I talk about this all the time because I’m passionate about people taking care of themselves. If you neglect yourself by smoking, doing drugs, drinking and excess, not exercising, and eating like crap, you’ll pay for it at some point. You need to make sure you’re drinking your water, living a clean lifestyle, and taking care of yourself. A lot of times, younger people have a hard time thinking long-term, and, unfortunately, this will catch up to them and potentially be too late. Make sure you go get annual blood work, see your dentist, and have preventative care. You’re not invincible, and you won’t live forever, but take care of yourself so you can enjoy life as long as you can.
- You need to make you happy. Do not live for somebody else. You need to decide what really makes you happy and love the life you lead. Make sure you leave a legacy, and it’s never too late to change. Take action asap because you’re not guaranteed tomorrow. Be able to look at yourself in the mirror and know that you are doing the best that you can. Get outside your comfort zone, push yourself beyond your boundaries, and try something new. If you fail, that’s part of the equation.
- You need to test yourself and your limits. If you try to stay safe, you’ll stay stuck. You live an average and boring life that is basic. It won’t be inspiring. So you need to take the jump and do something scary.
- Authenticity is better than popularity. Be authentic and allow people to see who you are. Your life will be better because you will feel better about yourself. It can be scary to be authentic and genuine about who you are, but if you’re not accepted for who you are, you don’t need to be around those people.
- Social media revolves around appearance, and there are a lot of very ugly ‘beautiful people’ out there. They are physically attractive but hollow inside. They are ugly. Good people are better than pretty people. Find a person you’re physically attracted to, but at the core, they’re good people. They need to have integrity and honor. They need to treat you with respect and uplift you. They must care for and love you even when things aren’t good.
- When things aren’t going well, remember that this, too, shall pass. Even though you may be going through a hard time right now, keep moving forward because whatever’s happening will pass.
- The world does not revolve around you or me. Many times, we do or don’t do things because we think everybody is thinking something about us. We believe that people are judging us. The reality is they’re too busy worrying about themselves, being insecure, and being absorbed in their own lives. They’re not thinking about you. So take chances and risks because even if you fail, nobody’s paying attention.
