This is a collection of principles, advice, quotes, and lessons learned that I believe you should live your life by.
Respect God and follow His instructions. Read His word (the Bible), pray, and have a relationship with Him.
If the world contradicts the Bible, side with the Bible.
Always look out for each other, have each other’s back, and take care of each other.
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.”
Matthew 7:12
Stand for your principles and stand for what’s right, even if you stand alone.
Think for yourself, don’t mindlessly follow the crowd. Analyze facts and form your own opinion.
Avoid putting a bunch of labels on yourself (for example: Republican, Democrat, black, southern, etc.); that takes away from your ability to think for yourself.
“Another thing to avoid is extremely intense ideology because it cabbages up one’s mind. When you announce that you’re a loyal member of some cult-like group and you start shouting out the orthodox ideology, what you’re doing is pounding it in. You’re ruining your mind… So, you wanna be very careful with intense ideology; it presents a big danger to the only mind you’re ever gonna have.”
Charlie Munger
Daughter: don’t tolerate a man who doesn’t respect you.
Son: always respect women.
Daughter: don’t date someone who doesn’t open the door for you.
Son: open the door for women.
Say “sir” and “ma’am” when speaking with someone older than you.
“If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride – and never quit, you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.”
Bear Bryant
“Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don’t quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don’t quit until you reach it. Never quit.”
Bear Bryant
Keep a small circle of trust; not everyone who acts friendly is your friend.
Don’t believe everything you hear; people lie.
Nothing worth doing is easy.
Don’t be afraid to fail. The fear of failure stops a lot of people from achieving greatness.
“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”
Babe Ruth
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Henry Ford
“If you reach for a star, you might not get one. But you won’t come up with a hand full of mud either.”
Leo Burnett
“Attitudes are more important than facts.”
Karl Menninger
Don’t worry about what people who don’t matter think about you. Throughout life, a lot of people you meet will think negatively about you in some way. Not everyone will like you.
Most people that you consider friends at some point in your life, will not be lifelong friends you stay in touch with. You will only have a handful of true friends throughout your life. Realize this and don’t make decisions with temporary acquaintances that result in lifelong regrets.
Don’t easily trust people.
“If you live for people’s approval, then you’ll die by their rejection.”
Louie Giglio
“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”
Winston Churchill
“The ones who think they know you, they really don’t know anything about you at all.”
Raymond Reddington
Learn to say “no” without an explanation. “No” is a complete sentence. Don’t feel obligated to say yes to people.
Celebrities are just ordinary people like you and me; don’t treat them any differently.
Learn from the past and prepare for the future, but don’t worry about either.
“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Matthew 6:27, 34
“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.”
Winston Churchill
“Who you are should define you, not who you were.”
Raymond Reddington
Being brave doesn’t mean you are never afraid; it means you face your fears and do what you need to do in spite of that fear.
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”
Winston Churchill
Keep your cards close to your chest and don’t tell everyone your business; most people don’t care, and some people secretly want you to fail. Information is powerful.
“Never let the opinions of others become the focus of your life. Jesus always holds the key to your greatest and most lasting rewards.”
Dr. Charles Stanley
Life is like a game of cards—you can’t control the hand you’re dealt, you can only play that hand wisely and hope for some luck (or blessings) along the way.
“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”
Rocky Balboa
“The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you’re made of, not the circumstances.”
“Going in one more round when you don’t think you can – that’s what makes all the difference in your life.”
Rocky Balboa
Don’t talk too much. You don’t always have to say something.
“Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.”
Proverbs 17:28
If someone gossips to you about others, don’t mistake that as a sign that the two of you are close. It’s a character flaw of theirs, not a reflection of your relationship with them. If they gossip about others, they will gossip about you.
Stay away from bars, night clubs, and anywhere else where people are getting drunk and partying or being wild. In your younger years especially, people will act like you are missing out by not being there, but in reality, you are just avoiding trouble and bad decisions. Trouble will find you a lot during life, you don’t need to go out of your way to find it.
“Learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference.”
Marcus Aurelius
“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.”
Marcus Aurelius
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Teddy Roosevelt
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously, that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case you fail by default.”
J.K. Rowling
“Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed.”
Robert Schuller
“You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
Marcus Aurelius
Take calculated risks. Don’t be reckless, but don’t be timid.
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
John Shedd
Don’t be a catastrophizer and act like bad things are world-ending. Bad things happen in life. Keep moving forward anyway.
Your late teens and entire twenties are an important time. Decisions you make during these years can deeply impact the rest of your life. Don’t have sex outside of marriage, don’t get into debt, don’t drink, don’t use drugs.
If you get married, marry a family-oriented, God-fearing person.
Do not marry or even date someone who is financially irresponsible.
Bryant Quick 