Enjoy The Ride

You don't have to listen to the advice people give you. Hell, most of the time you probably shouldn't. When someone starts telling you the best way to chase you dreams or why you should do this over that or how to live a life of happiness, be wary. This may seem a bit ironic coming from someone who has built a blog on giving advice, but it's the truth. The life you are living is your life...do with it what you will.

You see, what works for me may not work for you. There's a good possibility what works for you won't work for me. You can listen to the what people say, but you don't have to embrace it. You can learn from the people around you, but you still have to figure out what works for you. No one has everything figured out, no matter what they tell you.

We all struggle through life, never knowing if we are making the right decision. They key to it all (and yes, I realize this is advice) is to never stop trying. Succeed or fail, as long as you are doing something, you are on the right track. No matter what happens, just never stop trying. Struggle, fight, fail, succeed, move forward, stumble back, fall down, get up...just do.

No matter what, enjoy the ride. If you don't enjoy (at least at some level) the life you lead, what's the point?

The Problem With Advice

Everyone you meet is going to have some advice to offer you. Every last one. They may tell you how to live a better life or be a better leader or do something in a different and better way. The thing is, you don't have to follow any of it. Listen, think about it and then do what you think is best.

All the advice people offer is from their perspective, not yours. They think they know what is best, but often forget what is best for them may not be best for you. What one person thinks is a great leader could be what another thinks is a terrible one. What someone else thinks is a great life may feel like prison to you. These people aren't trying to be mean. They are only telling you what they would do if they were in your shoes. They're not.

You are on your own path and doing what you think is right. There is rarely only one "right" way to do something. Between right and wrong, there is a vast spread of gray. What is right to you can very easily be wrong to someone else. This doesn't mean it has to be wrong for you, too. These differences are what makes life interesting. If there was only one right way, life would be incredibly boring and we would all be the same. We're not and you don't need to feel pressured to do things in a way others think you should.

Be yourself. Be unique. You may not be the greatest leader out there, but if you are leading your team well, does it matter if others think you are doing it wrong? Does it really matter if someone thinks the life you are leading is wrong? Because they think it, does it make it true? Following the path someone else thinks is right is only going to lead you to the destination that works for them. This isn't your path and only your path is going to lead where you need it to lead.

We have to stop worrying about what other people think and stop feeling as if we have to do something in a way others think we should. Do them in the way you think is going to work best as you are the only person who sees things the way you do. You have your own ideas and thoughts and know better than anyone else what is going to work for you. By all means listen to the advice of people you trust, but always remember this is your life. Live it is such.

It's Not About Perfection

During the last ten years, I have talked to a lot of people who are interested in adopting a plant-based diet. I have given everyone the same basic advice.

When you decide to switch to eating only plant-based foods, you can easily lose your mind and your will. You can read ingredient labels over and over. You can question every waitress in every restaurant about the animal ingredients in every menu item. You can constantly search the internet to find out where every ingredient comes from. You can easily become obsessed with your quest to be perfect.

It's not about perfection. Choosing to follow a plant-based diet is all about doing your best. If you slip up or accidentally eat something you did not want to eat, don't beat yourself up over it. Acknowledge it and move on. People are too worried about all or nothing. Ever little step you take to improve your diet is a win for you, the environment and the animals. It isn't about being perfect because no one is.

What if we utilized this advice in everything we do? How would we be different if we realized it isn't about being perfect, but about doing our best? How much more would we produce, ship or develop? How much better would our lives become if we were constantly striving to do our best instead of giving up every time something went wrong? What if we acknowledged mistakes, learned from them and just moved on?

Each of us has numerous things on our plate needing to get done. Many of us are terrified of not being perfect and don't do anything. I have heard from numerous people who haven't tried adopting a plant-based diet because they were scared they wouldn't be able to do it. There are tons of people who don't try any number of things because they are afraid they won't be good at them or they won't be able to do it perfectly. Don't let the idea of perfection hold you back from doing anything you really want to do.

Do your best...if you come up short or make a mistake or slip up, then acknowledge it, learn from it and start again. Don't strive for perfection, strive for doing your best. Every little bit counts more than you could ever know or measure.

Treasure Map

Living with passion. Following your dreams. Searching for your happiness. Think differently. Do something. These are all things I have written (some of them a lot) in this blog. As many people can guess, I am constantly trying to figure out what it is I want to do with my life. I have a good job, but I often wonder if there is something more out there. I know there are a lot of people who wonder this same thing.

As a community, I think the most important thing we can do is share our thoughts and help each other. We are all pushing through life asking questions and trying to find our meaning, our life's work, our sense of happiness. We all will struggle. We all will fail. If we keep pushing through these, we all will succeed. Your vision of success and my vision of success can be totally different. We can want opposite things, but the things we learn on our journeys are important and should be shared with others. Each person will not have all the answers, but collectively, we have way more than we do individually.

The things you learn along your journey may not be applicable to where I am in life, but I am sure the insights will come in handy along the way. You see, we are all in different points along our paths and while we will usually walk alone, it is good to have some advice saved up. This advice is our treasure map. While we may not understand everything there, as we continue to move forward it will start to make more and more sense. By all means, keep pushing forward, but don't forget about those of us who got a late start or are just now opening our eyes to the world of possibilities. We all could use a little advice sometimes.