Just a few timeless life lessons we all learn on the road of life…
- Beauty comes from within. – You will never be beautiful like me. You can only be beautiful like you. One does not become beautiful by trying to be beautiful. One becomes beautiful by finding beauty in what’s already within.
- Pain has a purpose. – Pain doesn’t just show up in your life for no reason. It’s a sign that something in your life needs to change. This change takes strength. But remember, it’s not that those who are strong never get weak in the knees, or that they never gasp for a breath. It’s that while their knees are shaking, they force themselves to breathe and to take another step. Read The Road Less Traveled.
- There are right people, and wrong people, for you. – There are fake people, and those who are true friends. There are people who take the heart out of you, and those who put it back. You have a choice of who to spend time with. True friends have an honest heart, and will go out of their way to help you when you need it most. Stick with the people who never let you down and keep their promises. You can’t fake that.
- What you focus on grows. – Do not let the negativity wear off on you. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Promote what you love instead of discrediting what you dislike. When you choose to focus on the things you love, you end up finding more joy and more love in life.
- What you don’t start today, won’t be finished by tomorrow. – There are seven days in the week and someday isn’t one of them. Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow. Read Getting Things Done.
- Sometimes taking your own advice is hard. – You know what to do, but you can’t seem to accept your own good judgment. You’ve said the same exact words to others, but listening to your own words is a struggle. That’s why friends are priceless. Because sometimes you just need to hear it from someone other than yourself.
- You can’t live your life solely for other people. – When writing the story of your life, don’t let someone else hold the pen. You’ve got to do what’s right for you, even if the people you love disagree with your dreams. Live your life so that when it’s time to ask where the time went, you can answer: “It went to joyful moments of self-discovery, to my search for passion, to doing work that felt like play, to standing up for what I believe in, and to exploring this beautiful world with an open heart. My time went to living MY life!”
- Forgiveness is the first step to recovery. – Sometimes we don’t forgive people because they deserve it; we forgive them because they need it, because we need it, and because we cannot move forward without it. So cry, forgive, learn, and move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future growth and happiness.
- Your beliefs become your reality. – What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe. Even though you cannot control everything that happens, you can control your attitude toward what happens. And in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you. Read Awaken the Giant Within.
- Success is rarely easy, but always worth it. – Those who have achieved their dreams know that life is about willpower and persistence. It’s about hanging on to hope when your heart has had enough, and giving even more when your mind and body want to give up. Yes, each step may get harder, but the view from the top is priceless, and well worth enduring the journey to get there.
Photo by: Jason Corneveaux
Laura M. says
Wow! Powerful, and true – every single point. The first two took my breath away.
Thanks for another solid dose of inspiration Marc and Angel.
kristi says
Thank you for such powerful reminders. I SO needed to read this today!
Lenny says
Words of encouragement definitely needed as I start my morning. For me today, it’s all about #2 and #10. They fit together like a glove, because right now I’m working my butt off to complete one of my primary goals for the year. Thanks as always.
Heba says
I’m 78 years young today (yes, it’s my birthday) and I agree with everything you said here. Thank you for all the wonderfully up-building words and thoughts you post. You honestly make a difference. And I share your posts each week with my sons and grandchildren.
Hope & Sugar says
This is spot on! Just like every other post you put together. I have frankly managed to stay positive the last year, only because of your blog. And life is so much better today. Thank you for your daily doses of inspiration 🙂
Donna says
Thanks so much to you both. You have no idea how finding your blog has helped me.
Magda says
Happy Bitthday Heba!!! Cheers from Ontario, Canada!! Blessings to you, and to all! 🙂
Michael says
Your emails are one of the few I don’t automatically delete, and they have helped to change my life in a positive way. Just thought I’d let you know that this morning.
renee segal says
These are lovely each and every one! Thank you!!
Verg says
🙂 All smiles after reading this.
Appau Michael says
Your African reader (me), must admittedly say he’s living now as you keep on awakening the warrior in him; and today is no exception. Congrats, you guys are doing a great job with this site.
Amandah says
These are great reminders!
Sadly, some of the ‘wrong people’ may be those most closely related to you like your family. But you still have the power to limit the amount of time you spend with the ‘wrong or negative’ people. Life’s too short to constantly spend it with those who aren’t for you or don’t support you and your dreams. Go and create your own ‘family.’ The people may not be blood related, but they’re probably the ones who’ll touch your soul and take you to the next level in your life, rather than hold you back.
FitGirl15 says
As always, well said!
Thanks for sharing this!
Golnaz says
Hello Marc and Angel!
Congratulations! I love your writings, and always when I receive your email updates, I read the new article and get a lot of positive energy from it. You are helping me find leafed and happiness in this world…
thank you … <3
kate says
It is truly wonderful to read these positive words, to keep myself in check. Because positive speaking thinking and talking promotes positive actions! Your blog is inspirational! Thank you.
Bobbi Emel says
Marc, these are all spot-on. I have especially been finding the second lesson to be coming up a lot for me and am learning to just sit with discomfort.
And forgiveness is so important! I think that self-forgiveness is often the first step to recovery for what we hold against someone else is often the very thing that is within us, too.
Debbie says
Thanks for your posts. Some sites I’m subscribed to get put on the back burner, but I always read yours the same day I get them. They are always positive and uplifting and I usually learn good things from them. P.S. Happy Birthday Heba!
Karim says
Thanks again for your priceless advice. The #6 is very useful lecture in my eyes. Admittedly, as we give council to others, we have a lot of good points, but even during our speech, we realize that we don’t follow all if our advice in our own lives.
Michelle says
Great article! Life lessons worth living.
The Ninja Baker says
Very thoughtful post, Marc.
As a former model who made mucho Japanese yen at one time, I am oh so grateful for a stepmother who drummed into my head that physical beauty is fleeting. Like the beauty of the sakura cherry blossom.
I also flew solo for many, many years, diving in and out of abusive, pain-filled relationships because I was hungry for affirmation…Getting out of those situations took courage and brought on many bouts of shaky knees. I was scared. But I garnered strength from getting on my knees and asking for help. (Your point #6.) It’s not magic. But many moons, prayers and action steps (Your points #5 & 7) later, in my late 40s I married the love of my life. And each passing year with my husband brings me a more beautiful life than I ever imagined possible.
Janis says
#2 & 3 feel especially powerful for me today.
ejaz hunzai says
I love the 3rd one… so true. Thanks for all the awesome writings. 🙂
Dov says
Marc/Angel
Your words are so timely – I have shared them widely, you have the ability to make me stop and rethink so many beliefs, decisions and journeys. Keep it up.
JJ says
I want to thank you guys for writing this inspirational stuff. I’m in high school and sometimes, scratch that, most of the time things are confusing and trivial. These articles help me put things in perspective and helped me decide to be me, not always the withdrawn teenageer stressing to live up to my teacher’s, coach’s, friends’, and parents’ expectation. For a while I felt like I had to have split personalities just to survive, with all of the aspects of my life splitting me in a million directions. The little tips on life that I have read in these articles have improved my attitude on the things that I have to and want to do, and for that priceless reason I say something that does not nearly come close to what I want it to mean, “thank you”.
eric says
number 4. resonated with me.. focus is key.. your quote “Promote what you love instead of discrediting what you dislike” is something we all should learn. Thanks marc/angel
Rohan Advani says
It’s indeed timeless, motivating and quite inspiring to life someone up and putting them back on the track, Its 8.28 am here in India (Asia) and I came here through the FB page of yours, Marc and Angel you really make our lives simpler, easier and much more happier!!!
Ara Bedrossian says
Pain is the flag that you’ve made a mistake. I think in order to learn the big stuff of life, you must experience pain. We didn’t know something, we get zapped, we fail, and now we now something we didn’t before.
(Note: I’m not referring to goth club pain)
Ansel says
About no.3:
There are some people who are overall good people and good friends to others, but just not right for you. Their friendship doesn’t suit you, and that’s it.
It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a bad person, but just like Marc says, they’re “wrong people for you”.
Ella says
I have felt the confusion of grief wash over me again and again feeling as if I am drowning in the waves again and again since April (really). My beloved daughter died April 1 2011 and 6 months later I lost the love of my life in Afghanistan (he did not die, he did however suffer from a brain injury… I am so grateful he did not die.. but he no longer loves me or remembers me or who we were who we might have been). Just after the 1 year anniversary I thought surely I change the outcome by running a marathon (a closet fixer can you tell) in their honor. I trained like crazy, fund-raised… did all the right things (or so I thought, the one thing I did not do was allow myself to feel my grief, my loss). I was on a mission to find God. To make sense of the senseless. And it seemed I had succeeded. Until the moment the plane landed.
I came back to the same. The same life, the same loss… broke, stressed out in a job that crushes me and the full force of grief pressing on me I am exhausted. I have lost the ability to run (once healing for me), feeling lost and overwhelmed and very much alone.. Today a friend said… Find your feet. I did not know what he meant. Until I read this. While I might be crying (in this precise moment).. I feel my feet. It starts here with what I read. I am lost (however I feel right now this moment)… I will breathe – inhale and exhale. I will focus on what will grow… that I will find God. Good things can and will come. I will continue to find my feet. Thank you for being here. THANK you for being a light in dark moments.. One day I know I will too.
Maru says
Hi Marc and Angel, I follow your blog on facebook, and I just can´t believe but i have to agree every time I read anything you write, this is so cool, positive and empowering, thanks so much, i don´t know how you two got so much wisdom!
Thanks again!