Top 5 Lessons I learned in 2014

Hope the New Year Brings you tremendous blessings.  As the hour approached to midnight, I started thinking about all the lessons I had learned this year and this is what I came up with.  Make this year an amazing one!

Top 5 Lessons I learned in 2014

1) I'd rather stay myself and lose everyone then become someone else to please everyone. Be careful who you back because often they'll turn theirs and even if you had their best intentions at heart, they will become a direct reflection of your integrity. Set boundaries, rise above the noise and choose carefully.

2) You'll stand up for people, you'll back them, heck you might even pour your whole heart into someone and they may just walk away like nothing ever happened. That's ok though because if it offends you, it was always about you in the first place. Let them go. Wish them well in your heart. You did what you could while you had the chance. You learned a lesson and you just may have changed and inspired a life forever.

3) You'll stand alone often if you stand for something. And you will be tested. No doubt about that. It will sometimes feel like the world is crashing down on you. Really your strength is being tested and your character is developing for a greater mission you don't understand in the present, but you will in the future. You'll be slandered against, criticized, but in the end the only question that matters is: At the end of the day and when you wake up, Are you happy with the person staring back at you in the mirror?

4) Faith is just about the most important thing we have. It guides us forwards and it's often the only thing that understands us. It's the light when all that surrounds us is darkness. It's what carry's you forwards when circumstances are tough. Lean not on your own understanding. Trust in something greater than you.

5) We are not in control of everything. We never were. We are only in control of ourselves, of our own choices and our own actions. If you aren't happy, change. You have the opportunity every single day. You don't always have to explain yourself, but it's always important to be yourself. Let faith win that battle and let fear take the back seat.

Quote to take you into 2015

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. It somehow already knows what you want to become." -Steve Jobs

Cheers to 2015! Make it the best damn year ever.

Semper Fi. Stay True.

- Jeff