Saturday, August 12, 2006

5 Life Lessons





Hand-crafted thank-you bookmark, front and back; see life lesson #5. These are just for fun, though. Wink.



LIFE LESSON #1

The reason it’s called work is because it isn’t play. If it was fun, employers wouldn’t have to pay us to do it.

This argument puts an end to many a whiner’s complaints. Perhaps it isn’t true for athletes, who don’t seem to complain much, but even movie stars rolling in cash complain about early film calls. I don’t blame them, as I put a high priority on sleep too. It's a worthy hobby.

LIFE LESSON #2

If you’re a woman, you will have to choose whether to be a doormat or a bitch in many situations.

I started telling gal pals this in the 1970s. Things have changed, but not that much. Sometimes you still have to choose.

LIFE LESSON #3

Saving money is saving money, and spending money means it’s gone – no matter how big the discount promised by the sales pitch.

Retailers love to tell us how much we’ll save. This isn’t true. We will spend less, but we still spend. Every dollar in the retailer’s pocket is a dollar plus the interest I might have earned not in mine. With this principle firmly in mind, it is easier to weigh temptation against delayed gratification.

LIFE LESSON #4

Water runs down hill.

This should seem obvious, but I failed to take it into account when I bought my first house, a sweet little A-frame that remains my favorite. The result was that the yard turned into a pond during heavy rains, which were frequent in that part of the country in the spring.

LIFE LESSON #5

Always send thank-you notes.

An email is better than nothing, but a hand-written thank-you note that arrives in the mail is special. Keep it brief. Make it personal. People love it. I spent some time today crafting a special thank-you bookmark card for my aunt, whom I visited last weekend.

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