Sort of like when the student is ready the teacher will appear. I suppose in my case it’s when the writer is ready the post will get written. A bit corny.

These life lessons are not my own. They are a combination of the incredible wisdom of 4 individuals in particular.

Four people I would like to first acknowledge whose wisdom I am citing in this post:

• John C. Maxwell, author, speaker. (Lessons #1, #2, & #3)
• Richard Leider, author and speaker. (Lessons #4, #5, & #6)
• Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, author and speaker. (Lessons #7, #8)
• Dr. Bernie Siegel, author and speaker Lessons #7, #8, & #9)

The life lessons are simple and easy to follow. Don’t feel you have to incorporate all 9. Just see which ones speak to you and go with those. It is my intention that you may benefit from some or all of the wisdom that is offered in this post.

The 9 Life Lessons are a combination of their work, and here is a brief summary of  the lessons:

1. Knowing your purpose in life
2. Growing to reach your maximum potential
3. Sowing seeds that benefit others.
4. Be more courageous in work and love.
5. Find your purpose earlier in life.
6. Be more reflective.
7. Give more.
8. Do things to live and enjoy life.
9. Just be yourself.

1. Knowing your purpose in life

One of the very first self-help books that I read that made a lasting impression on me was, The Success Journey, by John C. Maxwell.

In his book, he stated his own personal definition of “success” and the first three life lessons are based on Maxwell’s definition. Now granted knowing your purpose is really all about first finding your purpose (#5). But I really think knowing you purpose has really to do with being honest with yourself. We all have those certain things that we do just a little bit better than the litany of other things that we “try” to do well but sometimes fall short.

For me, it was writing. I love writing. Whether I am the best on the planet is to be determined, however I love to write and I love to express myself with words.  I am also a huge fan of words and their meaning. It always fascinates me to learn the origin of words especially now that I speak Spanish.  I have been able to see an even  deeper connection between the words of the past and how we use them today.

When you know your purpose in life, you most likely will do it even if no one pays you, and you will do it until the day you die.

Check out this nurse who is still working and she’s 90 years young.

2. Growing to reach your maximum potential

All of us have limitless potential. The problem is that we are our worst enemy. Zig Ziglar, in his book, See You at the Top, brilliantly illustrates the importance of working on the inside out. He shares the story of a young business executive that took some work home to complete for an important meeting the next day. However every few minutes his five-year-old son would interrupt his train of thought. After several such interruptions, the young executive spotted the evening paper with a map of the world on it. He took the map, tore it into a number of tiny pieces, and told his son to put the map together again. He figured this would keep the little fellow busy for a long time and he could complete his work. However, in less than a minute the boy excitedly told his dad he finished. The young executive was astonished and asked the boy how he had done it so quickly. The little guy said, “There was a picture of a man on the other side, so I just turned it over and put the man together. When I got the man right, the world was right.” In other words when you get you right, your world will be right.

Being the best version of you, is really all about working on the inside out.

3. Sowing seeds that benefit others.

This 3rd lesson had a real profound impact on me, and its one to this day I still make a habit of maintaining. Long after I am gone, I would like to know that my life stood for something greater than just me.

As Tony Robbins likes to say, “The secret to living is giving.”

Giving and helping others, is what life is really all about. Teaching and making a positive difference. It’s the reason I have this site. To provide tons value and to be the ultimate resource in calisthenics.

All human interactions are opportunities either to learn or to teach and when you neither learn nor teach, you are passing up an opportunity. – Scott Peck – Taking the Road Less Traveled

Sowing seeds that benefits others is all about doing things for others regardless of any immediate or future benefit for the person giving.

In its truest form it is anonymous random acts of kindness.

4. Be more courageous in work and love.

Life lesson #4, was something that I first heard from reading, Richard Leider’s book, The Power of Purpose. Since 1973, Leider has interviewed thousands of people over the age of 65, asking a deceptively simple question: If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently? There were three answers that seemed to rise to the top of all of the responses from the thousands of people he interviewed. Those answers are what make up life lesson #4, #5 & #6.

Being courageous is about taking a leap of faith. It’s about risking it all. You can not be half pregnant and neither can you be half in when it comes to your own life.

This is so true when it comes to work and love. The best advice I ever got was from my uncle, who told me, “You can’t sell your job.” When he told me that I immediately got what he was alluding to. When it comes to work, it’s just a job,  unless you are your own boss. If you are an employee, your job is not something you can sell. You can however sell your business, product or service. That’s probably why, I have gravitated toward being my own boss.

The other side of the coin, love. Really its a completely different coin altogether, love.

Love really first starts with being able to love oneself, because if you can’t love yourself how in the heck are you going to be able to love another human being. Wayne Dyer gives a brilliant example of, an orange. When you apply pressure and squeeze an orange, what do you get? Orange juice, right. Because that is what is on the inside.

When it comes to you, what happens when a little bit or a lot of pressure is applied to you in terms of stress, what comes out?

When it comes to love, I can attest to taking risks. I have traveled all ends of the continental states for love. I have gone to Central America for love. I have crossed the Atlantic several dozen times for love. And throughout it all, I can honestly say I have no regrets.

I think being courageous in work and love really comes down to that. Being courageous so that when the times comes at the end of your life, you will say I risked it all, I played the hand I was dealt with all that I was given. I did my very best.

5. Find your purpose earlier in life.

Finding your purpose and knowing your purpose (#1) are not the same thing. Finding your purpose in life maybe a lot easier than you think.

A good place to start is to look around you. What magazines, movies and books are on your shelf or on your smartphone, tablet or laptop/desktop? What movies do you like to watch? What music do you listen to? What do you do in your free time?

The answers to these questions will give you a small inkling into what you like. And once you know that you can begin from there to dive a bit deeper into your purpose. Other good questions are, what do you get excited about? What bothers you? Knowing what you like and what you don’t like are two fantastic ways to discover the passion and ultimately purpose in your life.

If none of these are helpful, check out this quick video to Finding Your Purpose in 5 Minutes, by Adam Leipzig

6. Be more reflective.

Rather than talk about the countless benefits of  mindfulness and meditation, check out these two posts I wrote on the subject.

Want to Learn To Be Mindfull in Life?

What are the Real Benefits to Meditation?

Just note, that a lot of our own misery in life is not being able to just sit quietly. We have lost the ability to be present. With all the external buzz and noise of daily life we sometimes lose touch with our inner spirit.

7. Give more.

Regardless of your race, creed, religion, and sex there is one all sustaining and timeless trait that has lasted the test of time, and that is contribution. Why do we revere and admire people like, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Nelson Mandela?

Because they gave of themselves, in essence selfless giving.

Here’s a test, tell me who was the richest man in the world in 1960? What about the richest in 1970?

You probably can’t.

But tell me some of the most inspiring and touching leaders of the last century and it’s pretty simple.

Why is that?

Because we gravitate toward those that give of themselves.

A lot of our so-called pain and suffering is the direct result of us just focusing on ourselves. But when you think of the most profound and enriching moments in your life, I bet you that they involved being of service of some kind or another and focusing on something more than just yourself..

Not convinced about the power of selfless giving, check out this video. It’s in subtitles, but its only 3 minutes.

8.  Do things to live and enjoy life.

The best advice I ever heard was from Bernie Siegel, “I tell people, don’t do things to not die, it doesn’t work. If you meditate, eat vegetables, and jog, so that you won’t die, you’ll be very upset some day that you didn’t sleep late, and have a steak, and an ice cream cone. I do things because I feel good living a certain way. So I exercise and I meditate, and I love — because I like living that way. Now I know that it makes me younger than somebody else my age. But I’m not doing it to put off dying.  I’m doing it because I really enjoy living. ”

Life is to be lived and enjoyed. So have that cheat meal or two or three.

Do what makes you happy so long as it does not cause misery towards those around you.

This is a great speech about following your dreams and doing what you love.

9. Just be yourself.

The best quote I ever heard was that, “there will never ever be another person on this planet just like you. ” It is so true. You are the only one of you on the planet. And when your time is up there will never ever be another one quite like you.

We are here to give our gift(s) to the world. Some do it sooner than others, and others take a lifetime to give their gift, but in the end we have that gift to give and no one else can give it.

So be yourself. It’s better to fail at being you, than to succeed at being someone that others wanted you to be. Life is too short to be anything other than who you are.

There you have it, 9 life lessons that have helped me enormously in my life and it is my hope that you can glean a bit from this post. Thank you.