On the Jewish calendar, this time of year commemorates the 49 days between the Exodus from Egypt and the Jewish people receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, 3000-plus years ago. Jewish tradition asserts that each of these 49 days represents a step from impurity to purity. Each day has its significance and import and is numbered and counted to inculcate fully that "today is the day" and it cannot be lived again and therefore one is obligated to focus upon that day, and to use it and to live it well.
It is also happens that this time of year also marks the transition in American schools of students becoming graduates with one phase of life accomplished and another beginning. As a nation Americans reveres education, and we romanticize about our student days, be they high school, college or beyond. Graduation symbolizes new opportunities and adventures and journeys and future lessons to be learned.
In the spirit of these two realities, I offer my 49 Life Lessons so far. (All but the most general thoughts about money and business are purposely excluded.) The thoughts are my own, unless they are so obviously attributable to someone else. They are presented in no particular order, but somewhat by theme.
Don't trade your life for a mess of pottage--Choose Life.
Learn from other people's mistakes.
Get lots of sunshine, but wear sunscreen.
Eat right, get enough sleep, and develop an exercise regimen.
Life's too long and too hard to go without friends and noble colleagues.
"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."--Dean Vernon Wormer, National Lampoon's Animal House.
Be a leader, not a follower.
Don't ask for advice unless you are prepared to accept it.
When all else fails, follow directions.
Don't let your emotions override good judgment.--Bob Colley.
If you have trouble being on time, start earlier.--Bob Colley.
Have a Plan B.
Smile--Rabbi Aaron Kagan.
Life's too short to eat bad food.
The good is often the enemy of the best.--Anonymous.
Love is a many-splendored thing, but herpes is forever.
In marriage, acquire a better family than your own.
Never acquire a woman unless you know what you yourself are about and how you plan to support yourself and her.
Very religious people should marry other very religious people.--Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
Be darn sure you want to hear the answer before you ask your wife the question: "Why?"
Money can't solve all problems, but it can solve a lot of them.
Live within your means.
Be hard-working.
Constructive feedback is the breakfast of champions.
In the end, keeping track (or score) is the only way to see if you are meeting your potential.--Nick Murray.
"Sometimes it's just easier to do things the hard way."--Weldon Baird's son.
Failure is almost always a prerequisite for success.
If people reject you, it's more about them than it is about you.
Learn to differentiate between crap and ice cream.
If you have your health, you have everything.
If you want to quit smoking cigarettes, "throw them sons a bitches away."--Bob Colley.
There is no substitute for education and lifelong learning.
Play chess or bridge or even do crossword puzzles to keep your mind sharp.
There is also no substitute for thinking for yourself and being responsible for your own actions.
Wisdom lives at the crossroads of experience and expertise.
Write down your goals, and go public with them; begin with the end in mind.
Before you take something on, make sure that you are truly "up for the challenge."
Whatever it is, it's not what you think.
The blood of patriots must be sacrificed on the altar of liberty in every generation.
If you love your freedom, thank a veteran.
Wyoming is what America was.
"No interference with primitive cultures."--The United Federation of Planets, The Prime Directive, Star Trek.
At the end of the day, most men could be OK with just a chair and a desk at which to write or think.--Dr. Michael Savage.
In your job, "You don't get paid for degree of difficulty."--Charlie Ferrara.
"If you take care of your 20s, you'll have good 40s."--Charlie Ferrara.
Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly (until someday you can do it better or even well).
"The problem with religion is that it takes so much damn time."--Benjamin Franklin.
It's never too late to have a happy childhood, but why would you want to have another childhood when adulthood has so much more to offer?
When you come right down to it, a life in which you have nothing to die for, really isn't much worth living.
Daniel Wiseman is an independent political commentator, who focuses on national and international affairs. He spent nine years as a professional journalist in Wyoming before working in fund-raising, non-profit management, and is now working in New York City. Wiseman focuses his writing on how to bring the United States back to its Constitutional moorings. He writes exclusively for Canada Free Press.
