02/19/2026
I turned 42 today. Thank goodness Iâve learned a few lessons by now. Here are 42...
1. Leadership is about what you do when no one is watching.
2. Care about how helpful you are more than you care about recognition.
3. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
4. Playing it safe makes it hard to do great things. Take risks.
5. Even when you donât think youâre making an impact, you never really know who is watching.
6. Read. A lot.
7. Believe there is no limit to what you can do.
8. Donât let the things you own end up owning you. Who you are becoming is more important than what you are accumulating.
9. Enjoy your journey and expect speed bumps and road blocks. Theyâre part of it.
10. You never go wrong when doing what is right.
11. Be an optimist. Also, do not be a pushover.
12. Assume the best in people. A life spent looking over your shoulder is misery in action.
13. Give grace.
14. Run toward what you want, as opposed to away from what you donât want.
15. Be keenly aware that these are the days of your life that you will someday miss. If youâll take just a second to look, youâll see that youâre overflowingly blessed.
16. The things that are hardest to do are often the things that are the best to do.
17. Appreciate opportunities to be creative. Many arenât afforded this luxury.
18. When you take pride and give yourself to your work, it also gives to you.
19. Donât aim to be the biggest. Aim to be the best.
20. Growth never just happensâŚit is created.
21. Build for the future, but focus now on your haves and not your have-nots.
22. Grow yourself and you will grow your network and more.
23. Recognize the Law of Attraction is real.
24. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking. Wear a smile as often as possible.
25. It feels great to make other people feel good.
26. Be bold and recognize that by standing out, you donât get to fit in.
27. Sleep on big decisions.
28. Inspect the result when it comes to important decisions youâve made.
29. Over-prepare. Plan for the worst scenario and hope for the best.
30. People usually want to be heard more than they want to be agreed with.
31. Criticize the behavior, not the person. Praise in public; criticize in private. Praise with emotion; criticize without emotion.
32. A mistake only happens when itâs the second offense. Learn from the first.
33. Obstacles are opportunities. Pressure is a privilege.
34. Daily exercise is an insurance policy against future illness.
35. Be an original. Authenticity is the only way. Anything else is unsustainable.
36. Increase your skills relentlessly. Be so good at what you do that nobody else can do it.
37. Trust your gut.
38. Gratitude is a valuable yet underutilized tool.
39. We will all become dust of the earth after this life. Now is the time to live. Your days define your life.
40. If you have excellent health, a happy family and work that provides purpose, you have a form of wealth that money canât buy.
41. Be radically generous.
42. Romans 12:9-13
-EB
