By Ian Ortega
We all have those lessons we take with us into the new year, whether good or bad, they are lessons worth taking with us. So, here are my 13 lessons from 2013.
1. Do Not Judge People Just Because They Sin Differently Than You Do
I lived in the Bwaise Slum for a week while doing a feature story for Daily Monitor and I learned that sometimes, it takes the right perspective to see beyond the surface and not label people. I spent most of my days with drug-addicts and prostitutes who sold sex 24-7. Yet from understanding them, I realized that these good things about them, that only took the right eyes to see these good things. We always judge people as worse sinners than we are. If I learnt one thing in 2013, it’s not judging people just because they sin differently than you do.
2. Do what you love but make sure it’s profitable
I also learned than when you do what you love but it’s not profitable, then that’s a hobby. When you do what you hate yet it’s profitable, then that’s a headache. I learned that the people who are enjoying life, the people who are making the best out of life, are those who do what they love and are paid for doing this work.
3. Always trust life
I learned to trust life and believe that whatever experience it brought me, it was the right one. It may bring a heart break, it may take you to bankruptcy, but life always aims to give you the best end result, and to appreciate the result, sometimes, it takes you via a thorny path. I learned to trust life anyway and realize that every experience was conspiring to give me the best out of life.
4. Happiness is a journey and Not a Destination
I learned that life doesn’t happen after some things happen. Happiness doesn’t come after something; in fact, you first become happy before you get those things. I learned to stop waiting for those cool moments of achievement before I could be happy, I learned that happiness is a choice, it’s the journey, it’s being and not becoming.
5. Detach and watch over life
I learned to stop getting so attached to bad experiences, whether personal or of other people. I learned to detach from feeling super sad when someone loses a loved one, I learned to detach when I saw much pain and suffering in the world. I unplugged from the world and became an independent viewer of the world. So whatever happens, the best way to live life is to get your popcorns, sit in a couch as life plays over on a TV station.
6. Your Environment Eats Your Goals For Breakfast
I came to understand a very powerful principle that anytime you set a goal to do anything, make sure your environment supports that new goal. If you seek out for a stable marriage, befriend people who are enjoying a stable marriage. 2013 taught me that, one is the average of the 5 to 6 people he associates with the most.
7. Be here now, enjoy the moment
I learned to stop living my life in the future or in the past, because the past is already gone and the future is but an illusion. I began to make the best out of the moment and get fully engaged in the present. It’s called BE HERE NOW. I learned to be present in all I did. Because life is what happens when we are busy making plans for how it should be.
8. I have the right to be wrong
2013 taught me that I have the right to be wrong, to make mistakes and learn from them. So I stopped being a perfectionist and I gave myself the right to fail at times, fail once again, rise up, fail again, go broke, go rich. I realized this was a core right.
9. Follow the Path With A Heart
I learned to begin questioning many of the areas in my life. I learned how to make decisions in life. And I learned it’s always about me in any decision. So everytime, I ask myself, does this relationship have a heart? Does the job I am doing right now have a heart? Does this friendship have a heart? Does this article have a heart? If the answer is no, then I change the path and look out for the path with a heart.
10. Intuition is More Important than Logic
I learned to trust my intuition, I learned to follow that still small inner voice. Even when logic sometimes says it’s wrong, I have found intuition to be right even when it’s wrong. So for now, I am a slave to my intuition, I have learned that the more I listen to it, the louder it becomes.
11. Learn to say NO
I learned about the power of NO. Sometimes, much of our misery comes from failing to say NO. Failing to say NO to a birthday party you don’t wish to attend, failing to say NO to bad habits. So, 2013 taught me to cultivate the power of saying NO. When we say NO, we create space to say YES to the things we really want.
12. Create a Lifestyle Business
2013 taught me that my business should rotate around my lifestyle not the other way round. And this is one of the reasons I went out and ventured to create the First PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT and PICK-UP ARTIST TRAINING website akawww.ortegaian.com It is a description of a business that’s rotating around my lifestyle. It’s a lifestyle business.
13. Time is Money
I learned that every hour of my day matters, that with every minute I plunder, that’s a coin lost. So I began to question how I was spending my time and the things I was spending my time on. Time is the greatest asset in life, you can use it to do great things, you can use it to pursue your dreams. If someone wants your time, let them pay you a higher price for it. So 2013 has taught me that in 2014, I will charge my time, I will charge to reply an inbox, I will charge to write an article, I will charge to share ideas. My time, my time is my money, my time is my life.
Now that you have my 13 lessons I learned from 2013, what are your 13 lessons?
Connect with me
Twitter: @OrtegaUganda
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ianort
Facebok: www.facebook,com/ortegaiancom
Email: ortian@gmail.com
“[katogoaward]”
