What I Know, Part 2

7. Not All Friendships Are Forever: Some friends are in your life for a reason or a season and when that reason is no longer valid or that season is over, so is the friendship. I've learned to appreciate my former friends for what they brought into my life and then move on - without bitterness or hard feelings - but with love and fond memories.

8. You Can't Get Rich Quick or Have Success Overnight: If you talk to those who have gotten rich quick you'll see that it took a lot of time and that overnight happened over many nights and usually many years!

9. Knowing What You Want Is Half The Battle: There is a song that says, "You can't get what you want, til you know what you want." If you don't have a goal, you can't reach it. The other half of the battle, once you know what you want, is working consistently towards getting it ... when you feel like it and when you don't.

10. You Are Your Own Business: Even if you don't have an entrepreneurial bone in your body, you are in business for yourself. You provide a service to the company you are working for and they compensate you for it. The company will not hesitate to let you go if it's in the 'best interest of the business', so you should be prepared to act in the 'best interest of your business - you.' Be loyal to yourself and your future, not your company.

11. Get Advice From the Experts: I love my father dearly and if I need personal advice, I will not hesitate to call him. However, if I need real estate advice, I go to a good realtor. If I need tax advice, I go to a good tax person (or several). And I don't go to anyone without doing my homework first. Before I go to the tax man, I'm going to do my own research and learn as much as I can about taxes and my situation. I will confer with the experts but I'm not going to leave my business in anyone's hands without being informed.

12. You Can't Change the Past or Predict the Future but You Can Control the Present: What has happened has happened. We've all made mistakes, we've zigged when we should have zagged or leapt without looking. A lot of times, we think that life would have been so much better, if we had only made the other choice. As far as the future, some people are so paralyzed by the thought of making the wrong decision that they don't make any decision at all, often staying in miserable or mundane circumstances because of it. What you can do right now, is control what is going on right now. You can't change the past but you don't have to continue to relive it. You can't predict the future but what you do right now will impact that future. Right now is all that there is and all that matters.

So there is the dirty dozen. What I've learned in half a life (that is if I live to be 80!). What sage advice would you add to this list?