My Two-Cents: Twenty-Fun
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelo
Aim to surprise people, let it be your specialty. One of my favorite movie moments is at the end of Marley and Me when John is leaving his job and his boss says – Just for the record, you surprised the hell out of me. And to that, he replies – that’s my specialty. Be surprising.
Listen to what your grandparents have to say. My grandparents are super rad. And wise. Ask questions and chew on the answers they give you.
Listen to little kids. I’ve learned a lot from my youngest brother Jack. He’s only eleven, but he’s hilarious. Plus every once in a while, he’ll say something pretty wise beyond his years. Or he’ll just call me on the phone to remark about some South Park episode he watched or what Harry Potter book he finished. He also listens to Aerosmith and cracks sarcastic jokes with a deadpan demeanor – my parents are kind of convinced he is an 80-year-old man reincarnated into an 11-year-old boy’s body. You can learn a lot from kids though – they are able to see things in simplistic form with a happy-go-lucky nature. A skill we all had at one point, and one we'll spend the majority of adulthood trying to figure out how to get back.
Write things down! The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that we don’t need to write it down because we’ll remember it.
Write letters and notes. My mom used to write notes and put them in my lunch box. My dad wrote me a list of quotes his dad gave him when I moved out for the first time – all things I still have in a box in my room. Save the things people write you – that’s how you’ll want to remember them by someday.
Your parents are people too! They aren't perfect, but why should they be? They don't deserve to be held to a higher stander than everyone else.
Theories are some of the most fun things to think about. Olive theory from how I met your mother. Seinfeld’s analogy is that breaking up with someone is like kicking over a pop machine. You really have to kick it a couple times to get it to budge and then eventually it’ll all come crashing down. I could go on and on with more. Be present and notice the little patterns in the mundane, it'll make your life more interesting.
“People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth, and being chased in a fun way.” -Amy Poehler. You can learn a lot about someone by watching them tell the truth.
Be young and hungry. One of my favorite movies is Good Will Hunting -- Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's big breakout film. The story behind the making is also really cool -- the script started as a final project for a class and ended up turning the two of them from nobodies to household names. The duo remarks that it only worked because they were so ignorant of the odds of success when they started. Their young and hungry demeanor allowed them to defy chance, and consequently create one of the best films of all time.
If you don’t know what you want to do, start by trying to figure out what you don’t want to do.
Sometimes, the most direct path to where you want to go is the detour.
“Knowledge speaks, Wisdom Listens” -Jimi Hendrix. This is one I’m trying to be better at... People are fascinating, take the time to listen and try to understand how they work. It might help you figure out how you work -- which is one of the most important things we'll ever get to do!
It is totally okay to take a nap over the lunch break. I think the best jobs are not the ones that make the most money, but rather allow you to take a nap over your lunch break if you want.
Self-efficacy is the most important thing you can learn, but it takes lots and lots of practice.
You can have more fun as a leader but you can get away with more as a follower. Do a little bit of both.
If you haven’t had an in-person conversation with someone in two years, you probably shouldn’t have an opinion on them. Think about who you were two years ago. People change, and that’s how it’s supposed to work. If you expect others to judge you based on who you are now and not who you were – you should follow that same standard.
The spotlight effect is real and self-hindering – no one is actually paying attention to you.
Laughter is the best medicine, and sunlight is the best disinfectant. And sarcasm makes everything better.
“To me there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think -- spend some time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think and cry, that's a heck of a day.” One of my favorite quotes from Jimmy V’s Espy speech.
The best place to be is where you are right now – it sounds cliche, but it’s really true. Once you realize that, things that felt like one big soup of moving parts start to make more sense.
