In the course of my life, or anyone’s life for that matter, there are pieces of advice that are given. Some are welcome and some are not. Some are given from people who you have given permission to speak into your life and some are not. Some advice is brilliant and some is not. Here are ten pieces of advice that I have been given that has made a significant difference in my life.
1) Become the most enthusiastic person you know. Great advice from Dale Carnegie in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Being enthusiastic in life is one of the greatest ways I know to experience all that life has to offer.
2) 10% of everything you earn is yours to keep. Brilliant advice from George Classon in his book, The Richest Man in Babylon. We get paid at the end of the week and from that we pay the bank, the service station, the grocery store etc etc, and after all that we have nothing left for us. Classon suggests we learn to live on 80% of our wage. With this 80% we pay everybody else. Then with the other 20%, we give 10% of what we earn to God and use the other 10% to create wealth for ourselves. Classon says that is not how much you earn that matters, but how much you keep. Marrying this point and the next point together – about others – my favourite quote is “The man with no shoes cannot give his shoes to the man with no shoes.”
3) The richest life is the life that is focussed on others. Ps Jack Hanes from Penrith Imaginations Church is a man sold out for missions and for others. His passion to help others greatly inspires me. And the more I have given my life to help others the more satisfying life has become. I can’t change the entire world, but I can change someone’s entire world.
4) Tell your children often that you love them, that you are proud of them, hug them and give them your time. The two most important people in my world are my two daughters and I want to leave them in no doubt as to what I think of them.
5) Get good at doing the pressures of life. Ps Bill Beard, founding Pastor of Lighthouse Christian Centre in Wollongong, once told me that there are always going to be pressures in life, people are going to hurt me and things are at times going to go wrong, so don’t react surprised when it happens, instead respond in a mature way, not making major life decisions in the midst of the storms. Brilliant advice that I live by.
6) Don’t Drink. I grew up in a home that was anti alcohol. I still remember my father saying – I have never seen anything good come from drunkenness. Now that I am 42 and I have been around a little while, I look around at life and I have found myself saying to others, I have never seen anything good come from drunkenness. I have seen though, pregnancies come from drunkenness, people get bashed, etc etc.
7) A Leader is a reader. Thanks John Maxwell. I am not sure how many books I have read over the course of my life, but I had read some very impacting books and they have been used to shape who I am, how I see life, and what kind of leader I am.
8) Your attitude will determine your altitude in life. Thanks again John Maxwell. The attitude we use in our life to interact with life, is really like a pair of glasses we put on each morning and it’s through those glasses that we view the world. Some people put on glasses whereby they view the world with a “I’m a victim” attitude, others view the world negatively, others view it with an attitude of entitlement. My desire is to view the world each day with a fresh curiosity about life, having a child like sense of adventure about the way I do life. Your attitude really does make a significant difference to your life.
9) Have a bucket list. I got this from the movie of the same name. I love having a bucket list and it certainly has opened up some great opportunities for me to have some great adventures and experiences. I have written a blog on Why i am a fan of having a bucket list, so you can check that out if you are interested.
10) Jesus makes a difference in your life. Wouldn’t do life without Christ and even more importantly, wouldn’t do death without Him either. Jesus makes a difference in life and in death. Thanks John 3:16.
What great pieces of advice have you been given? Leave a comment as I would love to hear the life changing advice that you have taken on board in your life and who it was that gave you the advice.
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Categories: Family, Life, Motivational, Wisdom for life
peterpilt 
When you wake up in the morning say “Good morning God ” Not “Good God its morning”
our old minister from Menai illawong uniting Church use to say this to us and i will never forget it
thanks
Marcia
Now about that 10% – “Then with the other 20%, we give 10% of what we earn to God and use the other 10% to create wealth for ourselves.” I take that money with me to my back yard and trow the money as high as I can up in the air – AND ALL THE MONEY GOD WANTS HE CAN TAKE IT AND SEND THE REST BACK TO ME !
When in doubt, don’t do it – Ps David Holt
While there’s breath there’s hope – My Dad – Kurt Sauer
You’re Fired!! – Ps Peter Pilt
Keep the main thing the main thing
Persevere to achieve one’s goals.
Do not let disappointment pull yourself down
Carry out one’s duty and responsibilities before you expect your rights to be respected
Now about that 10% – “Then with the other 20%, we give 10% of what we earn to God and use the other 10% to create wealth for ourselves.” I take that money with me to my back yard and trow the money as high as I can up in the air – AND ALL THE MONEY GOD WANTS HE CAN TAKE IT AND SEND THE REST BACK TO ME !