30 Years of Living, 30 Items of Lessons Learned

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30 things I have learned in the exactly 30 years I have lived:

  1. Good family and friends makes a big difference
  2. Laugh every goddamn day
  3. Be a nice person and people will usually be nice back
  4. I will always quote Dumb and Dumber, Tommy Boy, Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, and Forrest Gump no matter how old I am.
  5. Enjoy both work and your life. Otherwise, one of those will get to you eventually.
  6. Giving to people is better than receiving.
  7. Failing my first calculus class freshman year of college was one of the best lessons of my life. It taught me to work my ass off (my entire meteorology program taught me that actually)
  8. Be grateful every goddamn day.
  9. If you predict your life 10 years from today you will be wrong most of the time. Was I planning on being a web designer 10 years ago?
  10. Being a meteorologist turned web designer always turns some heads
  11. Helping people out is why I have enjoyed working in the fields I have worked in.
  12. You’re only as old as you feel and act. Hell I act 15, so therefore I’m 15.
  13. Never stop trying.
  14. Never stop learning.
  15. Never feel sorry for yourself, because there is always someone out there in a worse situation.
  16. Force feed positivity into negative situations.
  17. Quit it with your damn temper, Ian. My wife taught me a lot about dealing with that.
  18. 30 is the first start of a decade where most people aren’t in the same situation. Some are single, some married, some with kids, some struggling to make ends meet, some successful, some posing with Buddy the Elf cardboard cutouts.
  19. Go with the flow, but create your own path at the same time.
  20. I’m a better listener than talker.
  21. If you’re not happy change it.
  22. Luck plays into your life occasionally. Sometimes it’s bad luck, though.
  23. Do what you enjoy doing. I love hiking and basketball. I will never stop doing that stuff because it makes me happy.
  24. Make people laugh. I hate serious situations or really fancy restaurants because it makes me uncomfortable. Crack a joke or quote, “Lieutenant Dan ice cream!” at your fancy dinner.
  25. Exercise. I used to take 4 hour naps freshman year of college, then I found lifting weights.
  26. Indulge every once in a while.
  27. See the world. I’ve been very fortunate to do this and it teaches you a lot about yourself and society.
  28. Stop comparing yourself to others. You control your fate, not anyone else.
  29. Hockey is the best sport to watch on TV and live. I thank my college roommates for getting me into it. P.S. Let’s go Pens!
  30. Be yourself, just don’t be an asshole. People will like you for you. If they don’t, they’re not worth putting an act on for.