Unwritten rules of a happy life

1. A $50 watch and a $5000 watch both can tell you the time. But neither can buy you more time. So focus on living each day and each moment fully. And that buys you time and happiness.

2. A $20,000 car and a $200,000 car can both take you to your destination. But neither can take you to your dream. So focus each day on getting a closer to that. And one day you’ll reach it.

3. A $500 TV and a $5000 home entertainment system can both entertain you. But neither can make you happy. So focus each day on being happy. Then you won’t need as much entertainment

4. A $200 outfit and a $2000 outfit can both make you look attractive. But neither can make you a beautiful person. So focus each day on becoming beautiful not just attractive and you will.

5. A $50 pair of sneakers and a $500 workout outfit can both enable you to exercise. But neither can give you health. So focus each day on building health and enjoy it.

6. A $50 night out or a $500 night out with friends can be fun. But neither will guarantee friendship. So focus each day on being a friend. And you’ll have friends.

7. A $200,000 house and a $2,000,000 house will each provide you a place to live. But neither will guarantee you a happy family. So focus each day on building family. And you’ll have it no matter where you live.

8. A $500 wedding ring and a $50,000 wedding ring both signify you’re married. But neither will guarantee you love. So focus each day on building love. And you’ll have a happy marriage.

Advice for my children

 

1. Son or daughter, don’t engage in pleasure, avoid it at all costs—for pleasure is always here. Many young men and women found it and it consumed them and left them poor. Then it waited for other young men and women and consumed them too, for the appetite of pleasure is insatiable.
2. Son or daughter, beware of con men and con women—you know, the ones who will pounce on you like hungry wolves when they discover you have money, and pretend they love you but what they’re really after, is your money. Then as soon as they realize the damage they’ve caused you, they disappear into thin air like ghosts.
3. Son or daughter, life becomes meaningless when you stop loving yourself. Until you understand this important secret, you’ll remain poor and isolated for the rest of your life. Love yourself first, and other people will love you.
4. Son or daughter, laugh with all, but trust no one. Trust is something that requires the test of time. Remember, everyone must earn your trust before you can trust them.
5. Son or daughter, love your father and mother and honour them for bringing you into the world. It’s not a perfect world, but love them still, because no one else is there for them. Remember, you’re a continuation of them. If they failed, you’re there to succeed. If they made some mistakes, you’re there to correct them.
6. Son or daughter, do something useful for your life, invest in your life, invest in education, and most importantly, invest money. And if you don’t have money, don’t fuss. Go work for it. Don’t just sit around. Cut grass. Just do something until you get money.
7. Son or daughter, avoid bad friends, who are just there to consume your money and run away from you when your money is gone.
8. Son or daughter, good friends are rare and difficult to find. If you find one or two, keep them for the longest time possible. Keeping good friends reduces your stress and carelessness.
9. Son or daughter, have fun but also have limits. Remember, a person without limits will soon go over the cliff.
10. Son or daughter, keep away from vipers and rattlesnakes. Vipers and rattlesnakes are people who eat with you on the same table and backbite you the moment they leave your table. Vipers and rattlesnakes are people who are jealous of your progress and would celebrate to see you dead.
11. Son or daughter, don’t marry before you accumulate financial stability. Remember, if you struggled to feed yourself when you were just single, feeding two mouths will be even a greater challenge. What about when the children begin to arrive? What about when your children will want a good education? By then, you will be looking like you’re twenty years older than you actually are.
12. Son or daughter, teach yourself a valuable skill, for a good skill will take you places, but more importantly, teach yourself business, for business will look after you when you’re old, better than your mother ever could.
13. Son or daughter, you will make many mistakes and many things will not go your way, but the worst mistake you can make is to give up and blame yourself. When you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up. Move on, and you will soon realize as you move that, life is not perfect.
14. Son or daughter, you’re still young and time is on your side. The greatest skill is to understand the value of time, for time is money and money is part of life. Therefore, the greatest sin should be time wastage.
15. Son or daughter, learn from whatever they teach you in school, college or university, but more importantly, learn from the school of life, for the school of life is where the best education is to be found. The school of life teaches you the difference between good and evil, fortune and poverty, success and failure, fame and disgrace.
16. Son or daughter, don’t seek knowledge just for the sake of it. Seek knowledge for the sake of profit and for helping others. Anyway, with the proliferation of the Internet, knowledge has been rendered free. More importantly, seek wisdom, for it will protect you, correct you when you go wrong, protect your life, protect your money, and above all, it will preserve your dignity.