New Beginnings

At 32, I must have thought I've learned a lot from life.

Borrowing the concept from writer Bum Tenorio, Jr., in my silence, I interviewed myself and culled 32 simple or not-so-simple things I learned about life.

1. Being born unfortunate is not a license to an unfortunate future. It doesn’t matter who you are today, what matters is who you will become tomorrow.

2. People tend to ask themselves why they failed in an endeavor not realizing they failed not in the execution but in planning.

3. Say “10Q” even if the situation doesn’t requires you to say so.

4. Write down your life greatest dreams and aspirations and read it as often as you can.

5. The purpose of our existence is not merely existing but to live our existence. Our actions, plans, and decisions should revolve around that purpose.

6. Respect your spouse - it is one of the proven secret formula of a lasting married life.

7. Keep your passions burning. Winners are people who desperately pursue what they badly want.

8. Take a daily dose of prayer. Prayer in absolute trust and surrender sweeps out anxieties, worries, fears and doubts. Above all, it gives peace the world can't give.

9. Believe in God’s mighty hands working in your life. If things get wrong, believe that all things pass through His gentle hands. God writes straight through crooked lines.

10. Smile, smile and smile. It is the secret of a lasting youthful glow.

11. Difficult people are inevitable part of your life. You cannot avoid them but you can choose to love them.

12. Build your life on solid ground. Your good values, morals and sound principles are the strong foundations of your life.

13. Good things will come to those who wait. Patience is a virtue.

14. Hug your loved ones and say “I love you” as often as you can. Tomorrow might be too late.

15. Call each person by his or her name. It is one of the commandments of human relations.

16. Be genuinely interested in people - even if they aren’t interesting enough.

17. Take charge of your own life because nobody else will.

18. Enjoy your journey in this race called life. Take Jesus as your travel companion.

19. Laugh and laugh as often as you can.

20. Focus on the positive side of life. Be an optimist. You are far more blessed than anyone.

21. Forget all the hurts people have caused you but dwell on the good things they’ve done.

22. Your earning capacity is dependent on your self-image. Start expanding your psychological wallet. God desires you to be financially blessed so you can be a blessing to others.

23. During difficult decision moments, let go and let God.

24. All addictions - drugs, alcohol, material or sexual is a manifestation of a psychological hunger for love.

25. Don’t be afraid to try. Trying isn’t always associated with failing.

26. “Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we are raging inside, we always have a choice. My friend Harry taught me that. He chose to be the best of himself. It’s the choice that makes us who we are, and we can choose to do what is right.” (as quoted from the movie “SPIDERMAN 3″)

27. Hopeless and desperate situations aren’t forever. There will always be a way out. All sufferings and hardships will come to an end.

28. Happiness is relative on one’s perspective on it. A person with a single centavo can be happier compared to a man with a million dollar bucks.

29. Business people are sharks. In order to survive in the highly competitive corporate world, you have to swim with the sharks.

30. Married life isn't a walk in the park. You have to talk while you walk to get there.

31. The greatest gift a man can have is the gift of being a father.

32. Happiness is always a choice.