25-36 of #365LifeLessons – Music, Exploration, Apologies

25) They say business isn’t personal, it’s just business. But when it’s such a major part of someone’s life, it is indeed personal. Remember this both when you’re employer and employee, and act accordingly.

26) Learn to say you’re sorry but don’t be overly apologetic (you know those people who say “sorry” about everything they do… yuck.)

27) Explore before settling down. There’s always time to settle down.

28) Pack light and bring a credit card.

29) Learn to play the guitar. It can bring you solace when you’re alone, entertain a group of friends and warm up a campsite, a party or even a date.

30) Send her flowers for no reason at all.

31) Call your Mother weekly. ;)

32) Plan to learn a new skill every year. Even if you never again apply it.

33) Create something with your hands – a tree house, a go kart, a desk, a house… something that will always make you proud when you look at it.

34) Learn how to be alone.

35) Write it down. Visit it again in a few days, months, years… you’ll be amazed at your perspective.

36) Don’t keep up with the Joneses. It’s a boring game that no one ever wins.

What I’ve Learned, What I’m Learning – #365LifeLessons

12 – 22 of #365LifeLessons – I missed a few

I never promised I’d keep ‘em coming daily (did I?), just that I’d post at least 365 ;) So, to catch up, here’s 12-22.

12) Admit your mistakes – it’s the only way to truly improve from making them.

13) Don’t “Over-Google,” – some things in life are best learned from actual people – like your spouse, your Doctor, scientists, etc. Social insights only go so far.

14) If you keep people guessing, they’ll never be able to reproduce what you do. Stay the course, YOUR course. Even if others don’t quite get it, criticize it or wonder just what the hell you’re doing.

15) Believe in you. It’s the best investment you can make.

16) Know when to walk away. There are many times in life you’ll need to do so for your best interests.

17) Stop listening. Sometimes you have to ignore what the haters say and keep focused on the good things in your life.

18) Exercise. Always.

19)  Find champions. Not just those that you admire, but those that admire you and can inspire, lead and direct you as you navigate new challenges in life.

20) Be honest. It isn’t always easy, it’s often uncomfortable – but it’s always the best way (even if a little white lie right now seems the easiest way out).

21) Don’t underestimate yourself.  If you think you can’t, you can’t. But if you try, you’ll likely never regret it – and will always learn something new.

22) Turn the TV off. Or the computer, the iPod, iPad, whatever. Invest in people, books, music… learning – at least more than zoning out in front of the boob tube. You don’t want to be a boob, do you?

What I’ve Learned, What I’m Learning – #365LifeLessons

2 of #365LifeLessons – Be Good To You

Being good to yourself is crucial in both work and personal life. If you’re not good to you, no one else will think they need to be.

What I’ve Learned, What I’m Learning – #365LifeLessons

Love Thy Enemy

I posted this on my Pinterest but love it so much I had to put it here, too. We all have haters. Don’t sweat ‘em. Some Friday inspiration to keep you looking at the positive….

Choosing Happiness

I’ve always found that choosing happiness isn’t as easy as it sounds. Thanks to a good friend for sharing this quote. You know who you are and why I love it so.

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
- John Lennon

Taylor Swift Sweeps Up

I am not exactly a country music fan. However, I did grow up in Wyoming for a time, and can attest to spinning George Strait and Patsy Cline LPs (yeah, as in actual records on the record player). Therefore, when I came across the Country Music Awards on the TV tonight, I paused. And listened.I was surprised to see how much pop has infused the country genre. Guest spots included Dave Matthews, Kid Rock and Daughtry. The always-entertaining Carrie Underwood has always had a good deal of pop in her style.

But perhaps the biggest surprise was how well Taylor Swift did! She won Entertainer of the Year (among several other awards) – as the only female nominee (and the youngest winner ever) – beating out the older, more experienced and all-male competitive list of George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban.

I have to admit, until now, I had never sought out her music, although I enjoyed it enough when I heard it on the radio. But after this impressive win (yeah, women!), I downloaded her new album, Fearless, and have to say – although I’m certainly not the target audience – I enjoy every song. Not only does she have a beautiful voice but she wrote all of her own songs “each in about 1/2 hour” as she told Ellen DeGeneres recently.

Impressive. Inspiring. Congratulations.

My Husband is Insane…

…and I’m so thankful for his insanity! As you will read if you choose to click over, he bought me quite a Christmas present this year. It’s such a thoughtful, significant and personal gift that he even created a blog for it (we are both truly techno geeks … over the holiday break we realized that back in ’99 – when we were getting married – we created a blog before we even knew what a blog was – it was such a great site I wish it was still up – we even won an “award” for it… but I digress).

I suggest starting here for the beginning of the “story” that will shape our 2008. I’m so excited, nervous – still in shock – and quite frankly, happy to have something besides work to focus on all the time (okay, yes, I have two children, three dogs, great friends and more than enough to do… but again, I digress).

Sometimes you need inspiration from an outside source and wow, if this isn’t inspiration I don’t know what is. If you have any interests in running, marathons, Ireland, adventure or heck, even marriage – and how to keep it interesting – perhaps you will find interest in our blog or following our next 10-11 months of training on Twitter - you can find us at @training4dublin.

Happy New Year – it’s certainly going to be an interesting one!

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