57 Trips Around the Sun

My birthday is October 14. By the time you’re reading this, I will have turned 57. Therefore, I have compiled 57 words of wisdom for your consideration. Some include relevant quotes; some are life lessons I’ve learned the hard way. It’s less painful learning from others’ mistakes than from your own (see #39).

A Trip Around the Sun, Jimmy Buffet, Martina McBride

1. Applaud other’s successes. Jealousy may make this one difficult.

2. Avoid arrogance

3. Avoid criminal activity – “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – William Shakespeare

4. Avoid debt

5. Avoid greed – Don’t live beyond your means.

6. Be a dork – My daughter affectionately says I’m the biggest dork she’s ever known.

7. Be a trailblazer – “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

8. Be crazy

9. Be childish – This world needs more innocence.

10. Be generous

11. Be kind – a smile, a hug, or a high-five may be the only loving contact a stranger gets, and those gestures don’t cost anything.

12. Be spontaneous

13. Be the best you can be – “No one can make you feel inferior without you consent. – Eleanor Roosevelt

14. Be humorous – We all need more laughter.

15. Be thankful

16. Be unique

17. Be you

18. Believe in miracles

19. Believe in yourself

20. Breathe/Meditate – Take time to be quiet.

21. Care for others – you made need help in the future.

22. Create good habits and hobbies

23. Do stuff – make that bucket list and start checking things off.

24. Don’t be afraid of change

25. Don’t be afraid of death

26. Don’t be afraid of failure

27. Don’t be afraid to feel – even grief.

28. Don’t criticize

29. Don’t hate

30. Dream, and then make it happen.

31. Embrace humor – we all need laughs and smiles.

32. Endure – “This too shall pass.” – Persian adage

33. Enjoy little things – like savory food and good company.

34. Exercise – Shoot for those 10,000 steps per day.

35. Forgive yourself and others – no grudges allowed!

36. Help others – I keep granola bars in my car for the homeless. I won’t feed their potential addictions, but I will feed them.

37. Indulge – but everything in moderation.

38. Know what’s important – “Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.” – George Carlin

39. Learn from mistakes – never stop learning. My Grandfather got his doctorate at age 72!

40. Listen to others – “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. They listen with the intent to reply.” – Stephen Covey

41. Live for the moment – and make moments for yourself and your loved ones.

42. Love with all your heart – your family, partner, your friends.

43. Make your own luck – “The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” – Ray Kroc

44. Plan for the future

45. Seek a fulfilling career – “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot

46. Seek happiness – “Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.” – Roy Goodman

47. Seek knowledge

48. Seek like-minded friends

49. Seek truth – the search may reveal more than the outcome.

50. Silence critics – be your own cheerleader, until others take over.

51. Smile - “All the statistics in the world can’t measure the warmth of a smile.”- Chris Hart

52. Take calculated risks

53. Talk with people – especially those who have spent more time on the planet than you have.

54. Think big – and then make it happen.

55. Travel – there are amazing things to see other than your backyard.

56. Use your talents - “Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” – Henry Van Dyke

57. Work hard - Laziness is unbecoming.

I don’t know how many more trips I’ll have around the sun, but I plan on making the most of them. I hope you do too!