INTRODUCTION

This book is a collection of 409 thoughts, quotes, lessons, ideas, suggestions, reminders, words of advice and encouragement about life in general that were passed on to me by my parents or that I learned at one time or another throughout my life. It includes lessons I have learned from my mistakes and from my share of problems and setbacks. It touches on attitude, goals, responsibility, persistence, success, relationships, planning, personal/spiritual growth, and fulfillment.

This book is about seeing and experiencing life in a different way, about growing and evolving as a person and human being. You may already know, or may have heard, some of the advice, ideas, and lessons you are about to read. I hope and wish you are already implementing them in your life, but if not, perhaps you just need a little reminding—we all do. You may be reading some of the lessons for the first time. You may not agree with some of them. That is fine—we do not always share the same opinions and ideas—but I hope this book inspires you to think and reflect about your own life, your dreams, your goals, your aspirations, your circumstances, and your relationships. I want you to build the courage to create your own ideas, and to live your life to the fullest, striving to reach all of your dreams and goals, whatever they may be, so you can become a better, and more fulfilled, person than you were before. I want you to enjoy your family, your friends, and your time alone, to “slow down to smell the roses” and enjoy your life in general.

POSITIVE ATTITUDE and OPTIMISM

1 Life is wonderful, life is horrible, life is fabulous, life is terrible, life is great, life is awful, life is challenging, life is “a piece of cake”, life is unfair, life is beautiful, life is ugly, life is tough, life is easy … In reality, life is whatever you make it.

2 The way you feel is a decision that you make every day. It is sometimes a conscious decision and sometimes an unconscious one. Be more in touch with your thoughts and feelings and make the decision to start every day, in a positive and optimistic way.

3 There is a choice in every situation you face. You can see it in either a positive or a negative way. You can feel happy or you can feel miserable—the choice is always yours.

4 Your attitude is everything. Always try to maintain a positive attitude about things. This will help you build the courage to change things, it will help you find the serenity to accept things you cannot change, and it will give you the wisdom to know the difference. Gain power over your attitude.

5 Work on your attitude. Learn to control it before it controls you.

6 A positive attitude is far more important than aptitude for a successful life.

7 You cannot change a lot of things that happen in your life, but you can always change how you react to what happens in your life.

8 Do not focus and waste your energy on the “little problems” of your daily life. Do not allow yourself to make them bigger than they are.

SELF-DOUBT, FEAR and CRITICISM

116 Free yourself from self-doubt. Who are you not to create the life you want? Who are you not to achieve greatness? Who are you not to realize your dreams?

117 Never worry that your dreams are too big or your goals are too high. You may not achieve them all, but you will achieve far, far more than you have expected, and you will become a better and a more fulfilled person in the process.

118 Do not overestimate problems and do not underestimate your abilities.

119 When you face a new challenge, you have the opportunity to discover your own unique potential.

120 Be brave. Remember that bravery is not the lack of fear but the ability to move forward in spite of fear.

121 There are many things in life that we do not accomplish and many opportunities that we miss because of our fear to lose.

122 Sometimes it is very hard not to feel fear and sometimes our fears cause us to impose limitations on ourselves, but we can eliminate and conquer them by just continuing to move forward.

123 For some people, their fear to lose is greater than their desire to succeed, so they end up doing nothing and their dreams become impossible.

124 Make your desire to succeed stronger than your fear to lose.

125 Fear is good because it helps you to be cautious, but never let fear paralyzed you, otherwise you will not be able to progress and accomplish what you want.