OT- Tip of a lifetime- not cycling related

[Sandy]

Great tips in the thread about cycling. But how about tips of a lifetime that you have learned through your life experiences.

I'll give you a few that I really wish I genuinely understood and applied in my life more effectively-

1. Communication is the key to ANY relationship.

In that relationship, each participant must listen to, understand, and be sensitive to what the other person is communicating. If not, the relationship cannot thrive.

2. Enjoy your work.

If you don't truly enjoy your work, find the opportunity to change your work to something that is enjoyable and for which you will feel satisfaction, accomplishment, and genuine happiness.


Ok- I am a dog/animal person, so I am going to even add one in that arena:

3. Observe your pets and see how they interact with you. You will learn a great deal. My daughter's dog (who I had for over 6 months once), a lab/retriever mix, taught me the importance of patience- he was remarkably patient when waiting for me. My dog, an adopted rescue pit bull terrier taught me that sensitivity to him and others is really important. For best results, approach a person (and your pet) in a calm and sensitive manner. Interact that way too. It will do wonders.

If this thread is deemed too off topic, so be it, and please just remove it.

I do know that if I knew the above 3 tips much earlier in life, I would be a different person- decidedly for the better.


Sandy

[csm]

Plastics.

don't spit into the wind

don't tug on superman's cape

don't eat yellow snow

[bw77]

I got very little of lasting value from my 4 years of college. But I remember this from a course in psychology:

"All thoughts are normal"

[Sandy]

I got very little of lasting value from my 4 years of college. But I remember this from a course in psychology:

"All thoughts are normal"

Including Kevan's?? :)


Sandy

[old_school]

To be nobody-but-yourself -- in a world which is doing its best night and day, to make you everybody else--means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
-e. e. cummings

[Ray]

Nobody ever lay on their deathbed thinking they should have spent less time with their family and more time at the office. Nobody.

-Ray

[Sandy]

To be nobody-but-yourself -- in a world which is doing its best night and day, to make you everybody else--means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
-e. e. cummings

Nice thought. Be yourself and try to improve who you are.

Sandy

[CNY rider]

Nobody ever lay on their deathbed thinking they should have spent less time with their family and more time at the office. Nobody.

-Ray

Maybe Hugh Hefner will end that streak?

[Sandy]

Nobody ever lay on their deathbed thinking they should have spent less time with their family and more time at the office. Nobody.

-Ray

I'd like to add that you should seek those with whom you have had differences and try to do your part to rectify those differences if the relationship is important to you. In addition, try to improve yourself so that you can better relate/interact with those you care about. Apologize to those you have mistreated. Once you are on your deathbed, it is too late. Or once they are gone, it is too late.


Sandy

[Elefantino]

Marriage advice from my dad:

"Always say yes."

He lived to be married 60 years.

I've been married 28.

Words.

[peanutgallery]

When I first moved in with a girl my Dad told me to never take out the trash in the bathroom

His other gem was to never trust anyone with a sun tan in February

[Hardlyrob]

For those of us that travel frequently:

"Just remember that there is almost nothing the person behind the counter HAS to do for you, but a world of things they CAN do to help you. Treat them accordingly."

Best advice I ever got...and I'm on the road three days a week - every week.

Rob

[ti_boi]

When you are going to fight....never shove the guy (most people do that first before they hit someone)...simply pull back and hit them in the face as hard as you can. That usually ends the fight right there....follow with a quick combination. My special forces friends never use their hands but always an object....anything they can grab and beat the daylights out of their opponent. Best advice I ever had. Really.

[Fivethumbs]

1) Only your friends will screw you because you'll never give your enemies the chance.
2) It's not what you don't know that will hurt you, it's what you know that just ain't so.

[konstantkarma]

"You can't live peoples' lives for them"

In the context of you can't prevent everyone from making mistakes, and you can't force people to make the right choices in life.

[SamIAm]

Great reward does not come without a commensurate amount of risk.

Don't lend money to family and friends, give it to them.

[Ray]

Ok, another one.

"Be yourself. Everyone else is taken"

I think that might have been Oscar Wilde, but I'm not sure. A funny way of stating an obvious point that's not obvious enough sometimes.

-Ray

[Joe Cyclist]

"I never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Mark Twain

[Climb01742]

"you're 18, right?"

[Climb01742]

ok, more seriously...

this isn't a tip but a story, my favorite zen story. if only i could be more like the monk...

In a small village, a young girl got pregnant. Her enraged parents demanded to know who the father was. Petrified, the girl said it was an old, revered Zen master. When the parents angrily confronted him, he simply said “Is that so?”

At the child’s birth, the entire village demanded the master take care of “his” child. “Is that so?” he said taking and caring for the baby.

Months passed. The once revered monk was now an outcast, forced to do the most menial chores at the temple. Guilt stricken, the girl confessed who the baby’s true father was—her secret boyfriend. The whole village rushed to the monk. To their endless apologies, he simply said “Is that so?”

[Len J]

When my Dad was fighting cancer. A very close friend asked me.."What do you need to do now, so that 6 months after he is dead you can honestly say you have no regrets?"

It totally informed my interactions with my Dad over the last year of his life.

It's not a bad question to ask about all of one's relationships.

Len

[Lifelover]

Learn not to say everything you think.




Use the term "whatever" more often. Learn to say it with a little Tude! To get the full impact you can't just think it, you have to say it out loud. Just be careful, after a few (too many) drinks "whatever" becomes "Fk It".

[zap]

snipped

I do know that if I knew the above 3 tips much earlier in life, I would be a different person- decidedly for the better.


Sandy

You are a better person.

Tip.

KISS.

[sspielman]

Never force a fart.

[Lifelover]

Don't lock your car (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=663881&postcount=6)

[1centaur]

Everything is temporary.... Act accordingly.

Nobody deserves anything.

Making good choices in life is about playing the odds. Some are better than others at figuring them out.

[majorpat]

from a salty, old first sergeant,

"never buy a used car off a gravel lot"

[Chad Engle]

Never force a fart.

I'm sitting in a Subway and people are looking at me because I am sitting alone laughing out loud. That's funny right there. I don't care who you are.

[max_powers]

"buy cheap, sell dear"

[Tom]

From the guy who hid out from the Russians for a year just to get picked up by the Germans and spend his years from 17-22 in a labor camp.

"Don't go looking for trouble, trouble will always come looking for you."

Like he took his own advice. He joined the 82nd Airborne to come to this country and ended up marrying my mom.

[Dekonick]

Nobody ever lay on their deathbed thinking they should have spent less time with their family and more time at the office. Nobody.

-Ray

So true.

[keno]

In conversation, it is hard to improve upon silence.

Mind your own business.

keno

[PBWrench]

Always remember to say thank you. And mean it.

[39cross]

LONDON (Reuters) - A British couple who hold the world record for the longest marriage said on Wednesday their success was down to a glass of whiskey, a glass of sherry and the word "sorry".

Percy and Florence Arrowsmith married on June 1, 1925 and will celebrate their 80th anniversary on Wednesday.

The Guinness World Records said on Tuesday the couple held the title for the longest marriage and also for the oldest married couple's aggregate age.

"I think we're very blessed," Florence, 100, told the BBC. "We still love one another, that's the most important part."

Asked for their secret, Florence said you must never be afraid to say "sorry".

"You must never go to sleep bad friends," she said, while Percy, 105, said his secret to marital bliss was just two words: "yes dear".

The couple have three children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren and are planning a party soon.

"I like sherry at lunch time and whisky at night and I'm looking forward very much to my party," said Florence.

[bw77]

One that I have remembered for a long time is this:

"The more you do, the more you can do."

I first heard it when I worked one summer on a dairy farm 40 years ago.
And most recently I thought about it when I decided I had enough of expensive auto repairs (Volvo), and decided to learn how to fix some things myself, such as the timing belt. Now whatever repair is needed, my first thought will be - I can fix this, instead of how much the dealer will charge me.

[CaliFly]

Marriage advice from my dad:

"Always say yes."

He lived to be married 60 years.

I've been married 28.

Words.

I got the same advice with the added: "...and always say I'm sorry." Almost 15 years for me...and loving every minute of it. :beer:

[veggieburger]

Tell your wife/husband you love them. Tell them every day and mean it. If people truly felt loved, there would be less broken marriages, more well-adjusted kids and a lot of generally happy people.

I have always liked this too:

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

[malcolm]

Interesting thread.
Ray's no one on their death bed ever wished they had worked more is hard to beat.

Attention to detail
Integrity

Hopefully I'll teach these to my children, for I truly believe they are all you need to be successful.

[false_Aest]

Following quote is from an email a friend sent me:


"Oh, you need to know something. The period between graduating and having kids. This is short, enjoy it. One day, I realized there's usually a very small window of time between when you're dependent on someone, and when someone is dependent on you. During this time, is when you live for yourself, and truly find yourself. It could be a trying time, it was for me. I feel like college shaped me and I discovered the type of people I want to be friends with. But when you're out in the real world, you're on your own, and it's much harder on the soul. Try to meet people of your age, that helps. Sorry to sound so serious, but I wish someone told me that ten years ago."

[EddieBirdsell]

Listen.

[Louis]

Great reward does not come without a commensurate amount of risk.

... unless you're a Wall Street banker.

[CaliFly]

Tell your wife/husband you love them. Tell them every day and mean it. If people truly felt loved, there would be less broken marriages, more well-adjusted kids and a lot of generally happy people.

I have always liked this too:

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

A friend of my parents hand-wrote this in calligraphy on parchment, framed it and presented it to my parents on their wedding anniversary sometime in my teen years. It has stuck with me through the years and into my own relationships. Very profound.

[CNY rider]

... unless you're a Wall Street banker.

There's still plenty of risk when you're a bigshot banker, but it's the little people (otherwise known as taxpayers) who get stuck with it.
They just aren't invited to share the rewards. ;)

[veloduffer]

A couple of relationship & marriage tips:

1) Marry someone with the same values as yours. Interests like golf or tennis or music are not what makes a marriage last. You need to be working toward the same goals in life.

2) Marry someone that complements (offsets) your weaknesses.

3) When married, don't go to bed angry. Always settle things straight away because if you let them fester, the argument gets more heated and starts to involve other things.

[cinema]

Do not let R. Kelly into your kitchen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQBb5Z4Vjuc

[93legendti]

"The corollary to over promising is under delivering". Carl Von Ende

[OtayBW]

"Remember, pretty girls fart, too."

-- Advice on how to be comfortable when meeting new women, as told to me by an ex-girlfriend a long time ago.

[ti_boi]

"Remember, pretty girls fart, too.".


Yeah but theirs smell like ice cream.

[ti_boi]

Dr. Robert Doback: When I was a kid, when I was a little boy, I always wanted to be a dinosaur, I wanted to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex more than anything in the world, I made my arms short and I roamed the back yard, I chased the neighborhood cats, I growled and I roared, everybody knew me and was afraid of me, and one day my dad said "Bobby you are 17, it’s time to throw childish things aside" and I said "OK Pop", but he didn't really say that he said that "Stop being a ????ing dinosaur and get a job".

Don't lose your dinosaur!

[Bob Ross]

When you are going to fight....never shove the guy (most people do that first before they hit someone)...simply pull back and hit them in the face as hard as you can.


Um... you pull back and Imma see that, y'know what I'm sayin'?

[ti_boi]

Um... you pull back and Imma see that, y'know what I'm sayin'?


You'll feel it about the same time you see it....know what I mean?

[paczki]

You'll feel it about the same time you see it....know what I mean?

Never pull back, it opens you up to a counter-punch. First rule of boxing.

[ti_boi]

Never pull back, it opens you up to a counter-punch. First rule of boxing.


Semantics fellas. Just words. A fast hand takes the day. You just gotta watch people behind you.

[beungood]

Two to the chest, one to the head,repeat as necessary.

[bob the nailer]

1. Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.
2. It is never too late to be what you might have been.

[Russity]

Don't waste time spending money you don't have, on things you don't need, to impress people you don't like.

I see waaaay too much of that S*%T going on.

[DonH]

'Treat other people the way you want to be treated'

[jimp1234]

Save 10% of your (gross) income, and pay yourself first.

[bob the nailer]

If you can drive it, fly it or f-ck it, don't buy it.

[rugbysecondrow]

At the end of the night, I love the girls who love me.

[sn69]

I can't resist (no offense with the added levity, Sandy):

Jerry's dead.
Phish sucks.
Get a job already.

[flickwet]

A broad brush thank you to all who posted, BTW I have carried the desiderata with me my whole life, I was going to correct the history posted by veggieburger, until I researched it , Wow ya learn sumthin everyday, hey theres a message there too, thanks espescially to veggieburger, I had always thought the history was the old church story, Olde St. Pauls 1692 or something like that but that it had been annotated over time, Max Ehrmann gets my thanks also, Oh, Be Thankful, thats a good one too