Life’s Little Instruction Book Pt. II
- Win without boasting, lose without excuses.
- Don’t confuse mere inconveniences with real problems.
- Show extra respect for people whose jobs put dirt under their fingernails.
- Hold your child’s hand every chance you get. The time will come all too soon when he or she won’t let you.
- Send your mother-in-law flowers on your spouse’s birthday.
- When you see visitors taking pictures of each other, offer to take a picture of their group together.
- Think twice before deciding not to charge for your work. People often don’t value what they don’t pay for.
- Just because you earn a decent wage, don’t look down on those who don’t. To put things in perspective, consider what would happen to the public good if you didn’t do your job for 30 days. Next, consider the consequences if sanitation workers didn’t do their jobs for 30 days. Now, whose job is more important?
- Never tell anyone that they’re losing their hair. They already know.
- Never say anything uncomplimentary about your spouse in the presence of your children.
- Don’t say anything on a cell phone that you don’t want the world to hear.
- When you’re the first one up, be quiet about it.
- To help your children turn out well, spend twice as much time with them and half as much money.
- Be the first adult to jump into the pool or run into the ocean with the kids. They will love you for it.
- Don’t use your teeth to open things.
- Protect your enthusiasm from the negativity of others.
- When someone tells you that they love you, never say, “No, you don’t.”
- Watch reruns of “The Wonder Years.”
By H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
