If you cannot be corrected without being offended, then you’ll never truly grow in life. – Professor Richard Feynman
Professor Feynman is someone you should definitely get to know. I highly recommend his book Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman.
Author: Dad
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Growing In Life
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You can do anything…
But you can’t do everything. This is a lesson I constantly have to remind myself of because I am always tempted to push into the next project. You have the gifts to get anything done you want to get done… but only if you focus…
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What is courage?
Courage: being terrified but still going ahead and doing what needs to be done.
“The one who feels no fear is a fool. And the one who let’s fear rule him is a coward.” –Piers Anthony
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” –Franklin D. Roosevelt
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. -Dune
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Practice Makes Perfect: Wrong
The expression people throw around is “practice makes perfect.” This is wrong because if you aren’t practicing perfectly then you are only reinforcing bad habits and wasting your time. The truth is, and your mindset should be, PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.
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Your Focus
Focus on what you can control. There is no point in worrying about what is out of your control, like whether the economy is in a recession. Instead, take measure of what you can personally affect and take action to make your life better.
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Strong, Smart, Brave
I hope you are…
Strong enough to stand on your own
Smart enough to know when you need help
Brave enough to know when to ask for it -
Your Choices Determine Your Future
Your life and what you get out of it is not determined by what you want. It is determined by the choices you make.
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Regrets
“Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.”
You can use your regrets as fuel. If you didn’t do your best with something, or you regret the way you handled the situation, you can fix it and turn it all around.
When graduating from high school, we were seated by GPA. Highest GPAs were sitting in the front, and all of my friends were in the front row. I was sitting about 1/3 back in the audience. I was so disappointed with myself that I resolved to do my very best academically in college. I used this regret from high school to fuel my performance in college.
When you find yourself regretting something, turn your attention to the future. Don’t get mad about what happened in the past, which you can’t change. Instead, figure out what you can do to turn that regret into pride as you fix your mistakes and do it right the next time around.
Also: “Don’t cheat yourself by not giving it your all.” -Rich Leonard
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Confidence
Confidence in yourself and your abilities is probably one of the most important virtues for you to pursue. So many good things come from confidence. Your relationships, happiness, and success will much improved from a high degree of confidence. With a big enough confidence, you will end up believing in yourself and it doesn’t much matter what other people think. The good thing is confidence is something that can be nurtured and developed.
Where does confidence come from?
Part of the answer is competence. How do you become competent? Hard work over long periods of time. You don’t get really good at anything overnight. And you don’t get really good at anything without hard work. If you want to be an amazing chess player, it’s really hard work. You have to read books, study your games, work with a coach, and put in the time. Do this with anything, and you will undoubtedly develop a lot of competence over time.
Another part of the answer of how you become confident is through winning. Even small wins will start to develop your confidence. Enter a chess tournament and beat a higher ranking player and you’ll start to feel more confident. Practice a speech and nail it in front of your class and you’ll feel the momentum building. The critical point is you can intentionally design a roadmap along any skill to build your confidence. Don’t bite off too much too soon. Even if there’s no course or certificate out there for you, you should design a bunch of smaller challenges that you can overcome to start building your confidence.
Note this post is about confidence, not cockiness. As much as people like and want to be around a confident person, they run away from a cocky person. Be confident but not cocky. Usually this means don’t talk about how good you are. Even if you’re the best in the world at something, don’t brag or boast. Let your actions do the talking. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
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Destiny
One of my all-time favorite quotes:
“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
-William Jennings Bryan