I am someone who came from the dirt. The odds are stacked unfairly stacked against me and those who look like me.
Family. Character. Ambition. These are the three most important pieces of life to me.
I've been through it all, and I wish I was exaggerating.
PEOPLE
In general, people suck. The reason behind that is many people dont CARE about other people unless they've established a meaningful, balanced relationship with that person. It isnt just other people, its us, too. There is always someone that makes an attempt to get a little closer to you that you'd rather not deal with at all (a babbling co worker, or the awkward guy in your class). For them, we become the "people" who suck. I say that to say this, fukk PEOPLE. You will never be able to be a friend to everybody, its not feasible to be liked by everyone, not enough time or material things in the world to please everyone. DO YOU, whoever else is like minded that you run across on your path in life, keep them around if possible but dont sweat the masses.
CONFLICT
I've learned, as
@Bonitaa, forgiveness is a powerful tool. The benefits of forgiveness are freeing. Its breaking out of the shackles that someone else or something has placed on you in the form of negative thoughts and vengeful behavior. While hate and pain cannot be denied as powerful motivators, they are based on impure emotions and cannot be fully trusted to guide you in the right direction - they do not teach empathy, discipline and fairness. But never, ever, ever FORGET! If you forget, you are bound to repeat the same mistakes that got you into the conflict in the first place. Use the situation as a learning lesson of what not to do next time, so you dont HAVE to forgive. Forgiveness is for you, forgetting is for them. fukk em.
WOMEN
Spend your time working on yourself, the women will come. Homework or broads. Homework. Finishing up that novel or broads. Finish up that novel. I spent so much energy messing with women throughout my life that now I look at it as a disgusting waste of time. It left me irreparably jaded - sharing yourself with so many low quality (character wise) people will desecrate your morals too. Hang with beasts long enough and you'll start to grow horns as well. There is a difference between women and a good woman, though. If you run across a true gem, someone truly unique - keep a line open, you never know who she could become for you later on. Keeping good people around never hurts.
That goes for the women too, because most men arent about shyt.
CHARACTER
This is the only thing you really have 100% control over. Exercise it wisely. Your character can get you into places nothing else can. Your character can connect you to people that nothing else can. I cannot count how many times my character has won the deal, over promises of money, women and fun. When someone sees your character as golden, you can do no wrong, even if you make a mistake and do wrong! People will TRUST in your character to handle it the best way it can be handled. People trust me more than they trust themselves at this point. You ever been around someone who suggests something you'd normally never do but on the account of their character, you go along with it anyway? Thats what I mean. While I have good credit, I'll never need it. If I really wanted to, I could empty the bank account of everyone I know PERSONALLY (no exaggeration) all on a word and go to Vegas to blow it all while having the time of my life. But I'd never be so careless and reckless with others' finances, which is partly the reason they'd give it to me in the first place.
FAMILY
People will come and go in your life, but family is forever like taxes. Might as well make the best of it. For those who were born into horrible families, I truly feel for you, but family is not meant to be those only bound by blood so get in where you fit in. I spent much of my younger years trying to get away from my family, forging a path all on my own - thinking, "Ill show them, Ill be more successful than everyone!". Of course, I created competition where there need not be one. Instead of utilizing my family unit (which for most people, are the most like minded set of people you'll ever find), I made a rift between us that lasted years. In my recent years, I've done a 180 and realized the error of my ways. My brother is into programming and web design, my twin sisters are business management and health fitness gurus, my other sister is into communications - theres no reason why we cant help each other get to where we need to get in life.
AMBITION
The only thing that has gotten me where I am now is ambition. Without it, what makes you want to reach for that next level? Ambition is a dangerous quality that can quickly turn if you dont know how to nurture it correctly. It can infect other parts of your life. Endless ambition concerning your career, your health, and your wealth is fine (good character will ensure the ambition drives you through positive and morally correct paths to your goals, without good character, ambition will make you do the most dastardly and underhanded things to reach your goal). Ambition concerning your spouse, your family and friends is detrimental. It is good to expect much of yourself, but not of others - unless you want to be consistently disappointed. Let others move at the pace their own ambition sets for them, not yours.
I never had anyone telling me the right way to go. Some of you may have that person you can look up to. Either way, we're all in the same boat trying to reach the promised land.
Lets row.
