Sorry for the slight delay between posts. My apologia was rather lengthy, and after something as honest and emotionally charged as it was, I was burned out. That said, I am just as excited about being able to present this post to you, because it is one I have wanted to write for two years.
Many of you know that my favorite television show is NCIS. In that show, the lead character, Agent Gibbs, has a list of fifty rules which he lives by and expects his team members to follow. I was particularly fascinated by that concept and began internally compiling my own list of rules. I have kept most of them in my head over that course of time but thought it was time to write them down and share with all of you. After learning so much about me in the last post, I feel that this post goes hand in hand with the apologia. Enjoy.
1. Respect all. Like some. Trust few.
2. If something happens once, it MAY happen twice. If it happens twice, it WILL happen a third time.
3. Always have a reason for doing what you do. Have multiple reasons whenever you can.
4. Never let milestones become millstones. Don’t focus so much on the end result to the point you despise the journey.
5. Desire determines destiny. If you want something, go and get it.
6. What someone has to say is more important than the hair or piercings on their face, the amount of tattoos they have, or what they are wearing when they say it.
7. Bring your A-Game at all times. There is no substitute.
8. Sometimes, you’re wrong. Admit it and move on.
9. Never allow yourself more than 48 hours to be upset about any one situation. Two days is ample time to recover.
10. Keep your enemies at a manageable number. If you happen to make a new enemy, do everything you can to resolve things with another enemy.
11. Whatever you do, do not mess up the first impression you make on anyone. It cannot be undone.
12. Do not worry about the chapters of others’ lives that you are not in. The only thing that can come of it is unnecessary stress.
13. Forgive immediately, but be wary in terms of rebuilding trust.
14. Go out of your way to treat others well. It does not guarantee that they will treat you well, but they will think twice about treating you badly.
15. Choose your words carefully. The fewer you use, the more weight they carry.
16. In whatever you do, seek balance.
17. Never be content in settling.
18. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and the ones you’re unsure of closest of all.
19. Be of sound body and mind.
20. Be transparent and honest about the things that don’t matter. If you do that, others will respect your privacy on the things that do.
21. Everything is better with music.
22. Anything without purpose is pointless.
23. Reality is the mean average of the sum of all perception. Remember that 1000 people can see the same thing 1000 different ways, and none of them could be completely correct.
24. It is always better to know than to wonder “What if?”
25. Things happen. Adapt accordingly.
26. The fewer people you involve in an issue the better.
27. Use decorum appropriate to your surroundings. That is not compromising yourself; that is being smart.
28. Questioning what you are told is not rebellion. It is doing your due diligence.
29. Never ignore past lessons. Anything from the present can be related to something from the past.
30. Time nudges open some of the doors we thought were closed for good.
31. Avoid burning bridges. It is easier to cross a bridge than to rebuild one.
32. Accept every bitter pill with grace and humility.
33. Be sharpened by your successes and refined by your failures.
34. If you think something is over, it usually is not.
35. Never forget those who helped you get from where you were to where you are.
36. The worst sort of opinion is an unsolicited one.
37. The concepts of good and evil are sometimes easier to grasp when viewed as ends and not means. It allows for more wiggle room.
38. Knowing your enemy is important, but most of all, know yourself.
39. Being “nice” can lead to harder feelings in the long term than being honest.
40. It is better to deal with people with a finesse approach rather than a power approach.
41. What is supposed to be, will be.
42. The best help you can give to another is to help in preventing them from making the same mistakes you once made.
43. Be cognizant of both your strengths and your weaknesses.
44. Just has you have changed over time, so have others. Give them the same chances you deserve from others.
45. In a matchup of natural vs. contrived, natural wins 100% of the time.
46. Believe most of what you see, some of what you hear, and very little that you encounter over the internet.
47. Know where you are and where you want to be. Once you have that figured out, map a route to getting to where you want to be. Enlist the services of anyone who can be of aid.
48. Attention one draws to oneself can never compare to deserved attention showered upon them by others.
49. Sometimes, you have to wait.
50. Be who you are. Do what you do. Accept that some will not like it. Smile and keep going.
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