Sating #6:

When people are asked to think about a message or lesson that they may want to leave for their children or grand children they often become overwhelmed with the possibilities.  Trying to synthesize a life worth of experiences into something succinct is hard.  For me, this saying says it all.  

The Way I lived My Life Is My Message

Complete alignment. Full of joy. Broad and deep.

Saying #5:

This saying encapsulates an interesting fact about the way this world has been designed.  It appears that the thing we call evolution is built into the laws of the universe.  A force that permeates everything to move forward, to discover, to explore, to design, to build, to make things happen.  This saying simply encapsulates what it takes to align with the universe:

The World Belongs to the Bold

Those who take the risks, those who embark in the hero's journey, those who stand tall with new opinions and perspectives, those who see the world differently, those who visualize new better ways and take action to make them a reality seem to fare better in this world than others.

Saying #4

This is an incisive saying, in Spanish, that speaks to the futility of trying to change things we do not like in other people ... and highlights the implication that we should care for people just the way they are.

Si yo que soy yo, que quiero, necesito, coopero, y me dejo ... no puedo ... como se me ocurre que puedo cambiar a otros

This is hard to translate but roughly it says something like this:

If I who is me, who wants to change, who needs to change, who cooperates, and who would let it happen ... Can't ... where in the world do I get the idea that I can change others

Saying #3

This saying is a great reminder of the power that love and the power of doing the right thing have on our overall life experience.  Struggles, hardships, challenges, accomplishments, success, love.

I believe that if we are good people, we may have a chance to go to heaven if it exists ... but if it does not, we then had our own heaven here on earth while we were alive

Saying #2:

Nobody really tells you what a monumental life event it is to have grandchildren. You not only rediscover the meaning of real and eternal love but now you do it with all the wisdom you have acquired over the years.   This combination is an incredible joy multiplier.

Many of the sayings in these posts are specially targeted to my grandchildren as they begin to incorporate into the world as children, teenagers, and, eventually adults.

This one will be very helpful. Very thought provoking.

Never care about what others think of you, but always care about everyone

Saying #1:

I saw this banner while riding my motorcycle in the mountains around Medellin, Colombia, in the back of a very old, rickety, and colorful bus struggling to climb a steep hill:

Life! I will live you intensely regardless of what you throw at me!

Joy, sadness, tragedy, wealth, poverty, happiness, love, despair, peace ... it does not matter, for this gift we call life, I promise, I will live you with all my heart, intensely, fully, for as long as I am alive.

Sayings and Life Lessons

For the next few months, I will post a series of quotes that I have collected, developed, and cherished as I travelled the world with my family and on my motorcycle.  

They not only capture incredible wisdom in their simplicity but they also nicely align with my worldview as it has evolved over the years.  

Some are serious, some are funny, some are incisive, some are simple ... but they all require a little bit of reflection and thinking.

Why do some people seem luckier than others?

Perspective and proactiveness

There is no such thing as luck in the universe. Researchers at a number of universities have actually studied the subject, arriving at the same conclusion.

There is, however, a broad perception that some people are generally luckier than others. Apparently, some people seem to go through life always exposed to the best opportunities and experiencing the best outcomes in most random situations the world throws at them, while others seem to be constantly hit by unfortunate events.

These lucky individuals seem to have an innate ability to develop a “perspective” of upcoming random events as a way of life. These individuals foresee multiple potential outcomes in a given situation, developing favorable solutions to each of them just in case one happens to materialize at the last minute.

Regardless of the actual outcome, these “lucky” individuals are able to react promptly and thoughtfully to potentially negative situations because they were prepared. Anticipating solutions to a number of potential outcomes is what appears to create luck.

On top of that, being proactive in the creation of multiple potential outcomes for a given situation is also a well-developed ability of these lucky individuals. When a random situation is developing, proactively working on creating more possibilities generally increases the probability of a good outcome in an otherwise seemingly random universe … applying to multiple universities instead of just one, anticipating and resolving several possible scenarios for a complicated traffic situation just ahead, or developing multiple solutions to a number of possible outcomes in a difficult negotiation.

At the end of the day, perspective and proactiveness will simply make you happier and more prepared to deal with any random situation the universe throws your way.