1. What you don't talk out, you act out.

One way or another, your body's gonna deal with what's going on in your head. And if you're all stressed out because you're trying to hold it all together, you'll stress out other people.  Why?  Because hurting people hurt other people.

2. If you're on time, you're 10 minutes late.

It's important to respect people's time.  It shows you value them taking time to meet with you and help you out.  Bottom line:  respect is in the little things.

3. Value people for who they are, not what they do for you.

Life is not about you, and other people don't exist exclusively for your own enjoyment and benefit.  They are not tools, favor dispensers, or paper napkins that you use and throw away.. they're people.  Take a genuine interest in others because of who they ARE, not what you think they can do for you.

4. Always go to bed a different person than when you woke up.

Challenge yourself. Read. Lean.  Ask questions.  Debate. Dream. Set goals and pursue them with a fury.  If you're just coasting through life on cruise control content with yourself and your tiny ambitions, you're missing out-and wasting who know how much potential for greatness.

5. It's not the most talented, it's the most willing.

You don't have to be perfect; you just have to get STARTED.  If you wait until you have it all figured out... you'll be waiting a LONG time.  If you're willing to go for it, you're already ahead of the game.

6. Your friends = your future.

Choose your friends wisely- they WILL influence who you are, what you do, and what you think more than any other factor in your life.  Your friends should be people you admire for all the right reasons, people who make good choices and care about others.  If you don't want to end up like your friends, pick different friends.

7. It takes months to build trust, and a moment to break it.

Think of trust like an ornately hand-sculpted ceramic masterpiece of glory.  It's awesome, but it's also fragile.  If it breaks, you can try to collect the pieces and glue it back together... but it will never be quite the same. 

Consider each choice you make with that in mind.

8. It's not your fault. But it is your issue.

It doesn't matter who's to blame or who started it- you have to deal with the problems and challenges you're facing.  Take responsibility for finding a solution.  You may not have caused your problems, but it's up to you to deal with them.

9. It takes 10 years to become an overnight success.

There's not way around hard work.  Persevere.  Behind the scenes, those who succeed have been at it for a long time... often without any public applause.

10. You don't have to be THE best, but YOUR best.

In the end, it doesn't matter how you stack up compared to others. 

We all can be OUR best, regardless of our background or current situation.  This interesting thing about this is that only you can determine when you're being your best, and when you're NOT. 

Grade yourself honestly.

11. You are not a problem.  You are an opportunity.

Seeing people as problems is unacceptable.  Every person has value; every person-no matter what their pat or current issues-has something unique to contribute, something to teach others. With every challenge, you have a choice:  give up, or learn from it and use it to help others.

12. If you don't figure out who are you, someone else will tell you who you are.

Defining your identity is your business-nobody else's.  But if you don't spend time figuring out who you are and what you stand for, you're easy prey for being boxed in and labeled by others.

Josh Shipp