15 | My Life - My Rules

There exists a few words of self advice I draw from in life. I'd like to share them here, because they guide my career path and every encounter I share with others. I have a personal motto that's evolved over the last decade, but has really seemed to take solid form. The first part reads:

Life is what you make it...

The second part you can find in the title of this blog. It would be nice if nothing ever went wrong, but it does. Life will shit on you/me/anyone periodically no matter what is done to prevent it. How we choose to act when we face hard experiences is what defines us as humans. I certainly have the ability and right to wallow in self pity when things go South or aren't fair. But what does that solve? I strive to look at failures instead as crossroads in my path, and opportunities to learn. Those failures are just as much chances to better understand my endpoint as they are obstacles to get there. The phrase also implies that in the end, I'm the one that chooses my fate. I choose whether to stay down or get back up. I choose whether to be happy or not, and in the end, little else matters.

My motto is powerful (to me at least), but it's hardly all encompassing. It falls into the three "rules" I try my best to follow.

Work Hard. I find self-satisfaction in accomplishment. If I'm not giving 100% to the task at hand, I'm wasting my time, and probably wasting someone else's. The pinnacles of human achievement never resulted from a half effort. Whether I create greatness or not, why reach for anything less?

Enjoy Yourself. Does this resemble anything else you've read here? Look for the positives in any situation. They can make even the toughest situation worth it. Dr. Frank Diaz, a friend and mentor of mine has told me story of his travels to India a few times. The Rupee is practically worthless compared to the dollar (hard to believe in this economy). Indians also love to haggle. So even though it was chump change for an American to purchase anything, Dr. Diaz would get occasionally upset if he felt ripped off. Meanwhile, everyday he watched a poor man who lived in a pseudo-shack come out and eat his once-daily bowl of rice with a mile-wide smile on his face. One particular frustrating day for my friend, the poor man came over and offered his only sustenance as a gift. He wore a giant grin as usually. It still brings tears to Dr. Diaz's eyes at how generous that man was despite having so little. But to that man, that little he had felt like the world, and he chose to be happy every day for it. If that's not a lesson on not taking life for granted, then I don't know what is.

Don't Be An Asshole. No matter how much someone may irk you, it's not worth returning the deed. You never know how your relationships will affect you in the future, so don't squander them. People deserve praise. People deserve to be treated as people. Advertising is not the only people-based industry out there. Life is a people-based industry. Positive attributes are come and go in memories, but negatives accumulate. I try to remember that when I face personal dilemmas.