Instructions for Living

  1. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
  2. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
  3. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
  4. Be gentle with the earth.
  5. Be kinder than you have to be.
  6. Be the first to say "Hello."
  7. Be tough-minded, but tender hearted.
  8. Believe in love at first sight.
  9. Call your mom and dad.
  10. Compliment three people everyday.
  11. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
  12. Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
  13. Don't judge people by their relatives.
  14. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
  15. Don't rain on other people's parades.
  16. Don't trust a lover who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss them.
  17. Don't waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
  18. Forget the "Jones's."
  19. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
  20. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
  21. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
  22. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
  23. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
  24. Keep your promises.
  25. Learn the rules then break some.
  26. Learn to show cheerfulness even when you don't feel it.
  27. Leave everything better than you found it.
  28. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
  29. Live beneath your means.
  30. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
  31. Marry a man/women you love to talk to. As you get older, his conversational skills will be as important as any other.
  32. Memorize your favorite poem.
  33. Mind your own business.
  34. Never give up on anybody; miracles happen.
  35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
  36. Never laugh at anyone's dreams.
  37. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
  38. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
  39. Pray: There's immeasurable power in it.
  40. Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.
  41. Read between the lines.
  42. Read more books and watch less TV.
  43. Remember someone's name.
  44. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
  45. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
  46. Remember that overnight success usually takes 15 years.
  47. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
  48. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
  49. Remember that winners do what losers don't want to do.
  50. Remember that your character is your destiny.
  51. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
  52. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
  53. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
  54. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
  55. Spend some time alone.
  56. Talk slow but think quick.
  57. Treat everyone as you want to be treated.
  58. Trust in God but lock your car.
  59. Watch a sunrise.
  60. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
  61. When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten everyone's day.
  62. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
  63. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
  64. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
  65. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.