10 Life Lessons From Three People I Admire * Spotlight My Health

Most of us have people that we admire, but have we learned any life lessons from them? Some are people we know. Some are well-known. And even though we may never have met them personally we still look up to them or follow them to see what they have to say.

It recently came to me that the three people that I’m going to write about have said several things in common about life. That is what I’m going to share. Each had their own way of sharing these insights but when I looked at their insights about life, I realized all three have basically come to several of the same conclusions.

My three influential people are Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou and Dr. Wayne Dyer. I’ve read things each has written and also listened to them on radio and TV like many of us have, but some things have stood out to me. First let me introduce each of them in case there is someone you don’t know.

Oprah Winfrey

An American talk-show host, actress, author, tv producer and a philanthropist. Oprah is known world-wide and has her hand in many things. And all of this despite her growing up years being full of hardship.

She just continues to move forward with whatever it is she is doing through hard work, breaking through any adversity she comes across and she doesn’t let fear of failure stop her.

Maya Angelou

Maya also had much hardship in her life, but perservered by writing about her experiences in poetry and novels. She was a historian and a civil rights activist that worked for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. Ms. Angelou also received her share of Grammy Awards, a Tony and a Pulitzer Prize.

Dr. Wayne Dyer

I enjoyed listening to Dr. Dyer whenever I found any of his motovational talks to listen to. He was extremely popular and whatever he was talking about seemed to be just what I needed to hear at the time I was listening.

He spent many years in the spotlight as an author and a spiritual/motivational speaker creating a positive impact on those that listenend. He’s no longer with us and he viewed his death as his next big adventure. He will be missed.

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Life Lessons From All Three People

Now that they have been introduced, let’s get down to the nitty gritty with the life lessons that each of them has shared on more than one ocassion. I’m not quoting them directly except where I’ve indicated. Otherwise, its my take on what the three have said or written on each lesson.

1. Work Hard

There isn’t anything wrong with good hard work. It’s not luck that brings you what you want, but work. And for some, that’s a hard life lesson to learn. Some learning may help, but remember whatever you are doing, do a good job, no matter what.

People may not say anything, but they do notice the difference between a good hard worker who has pride in the job they are doing and those workers that don’t. I can attest to this as I’ve heard this in different places where I’ve worked.

2. Everything is Temporary—Including Life

If there is one thing, learned along the way it’s that everything is temporary. Good times and bad times alike. Neither last forever. When something horrible is going on in your life and causing hurt and/or stress, know that it will pass. Maybe not fast enough for you, but it will pass.

The same goes for the good times—so really take the time to enjoy and embrace the good times you may be going through at any given time.

The trick is to not get to wrapped up in the stressful things going on around you and re-read #7 when necessary.

3. Failure is an Illusion

The only people who fail are those that don’t try. None of us like to fail, but many times that failure is only in our own mind. Not trying means you never succeed.

Bobby Bones, a well-known Nashville DJ and was also on and won Dances With the Stars, wrote a book about how he became who he is. The name of that book is “Fail Until You Don’t”.

How’s that for the name of a book. He failed so many times he stopped counting. But he kept on trying because he knew what he wanted. Remember, fear or what you fear has no power until you give it power.

Oprah basiclly did the same because she believes that when you suppress any part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are ignoring the owner’s manual your Creator gave you and destroying one of his designs.

be amazing-life lesson from 3 people I admire

4. Have an Attitude of Gratitude

“Each morning, when you open your eyes, think three things: thank you, thank you, thank you.” Dr. Wayne Dyer

When you are grateful for even the smallest things in your life, it changes your attitude and your life. Gratitude changes your vibration toward the things you want to see in your life. See my post on Raising Your Vibration or Law of Attraction .

According to Dr. Dyer our natural state of being is joy. Imagine adding gratitude to that. How you could change your life. To get out of life what you want, you need to change what is inside and that starts with gratitude. It’s because when you change the way you look at things, you begin to change the things you look at. What a life lesson.

5. Forgive Everyone, Including Yourself–An Incredible Life Lesson

Most of us have been hurt by something or someone in our lives. And that hurt was so bad that you may have wanted to pull back from the world or do something drastic to get back at the one who hurt you.

But, you know what? Chances are that person has no idea how you feel. And you know what else? They really may not deserve your forgiveness but that’s not your call. However, the really remarkable thing about forgiveness isn’t for them—it’s for you.

You deserve to feel the gift of how forgiveness works. You deserve to feel better and have the toxic grudge you are carrying around disappear because it’s truly hurting no one but you. Forgive them and yourself, if necessary, and feel the freedom of forgiveness.

6. Be generous and kind and show respect to everyone.

The way you treat people has nothing to do with them but certainly says a lot about you. Each and every person we come across deserves respect.

We should all be more generous and kinder to our fellow man. Not saying that it will always be easy. But if it becomes a goal and you work on it, then it will become a habit rather than the grumpy ole you that you may be right now.

And won’t life be much more fun! Maya has said that we shouldn’t go through life with catcher’s mitts on both hands, you need to throw something back sometimes. In other words, spread the generosity.

Respect, kindness and generosity can go a long way.

I also heard Maya say one time that people may not remember what you said to them or what you did, but they will almost certainly remember how you made them feel. This has stuck with me for years because it’s so true.

For example, I stopped at a McDonald’s on the way to work this morning to get coffee. I could tell the first person I heard on the speaker didn’t really care whether she helped me or not.

When I pulled up to the window to pay, there was no “how you doing, today?”, so on to the next window to get my coffee. The same at that window. Even though I said thank you when I was handed my coffee, I didn’t even get a “Your welcome.”

I was affected by the way I was treated and thought about it the rest of the way to work. I was affected so much by what I felt was rudeness that I said something to my co-workers at work. I wasn’t rude and it just didn’t feel right the way I was treated.

This is an example of how we can affect someone and not realize that we did. I will use how I felt as I drove away for a long time to remind me how not to treat others. Think of some time that someone made you feel really bad, use that feeling to ensure that you treat others differently.

“When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

grateful-life lesson from 3 people I admire

7. Your Reaction Becomes Your Life

Life can be hard at times. But it’s usually your perception of what is going on with your life that makes it seem hard. It’s how we react to what happens that counts and can make life seem harder than it really is.

If there is a lot of negativity in your life, don’t look to others to blame. Rather, look at the energy you are creating to attract what is happening in your life at any given time. Believe it or not, how you think about your life creates your reality. A very hard life lesson to learn.

“You create your thoughts. Your thoughts create your intentions, your intentions create your reality.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

Your reaction is everything because it is what you can control. You can’t necessarily control what happens to you, but you DO get to control your reaction. Just remember to be flexible and open-minded. It can make all the difference in the world.

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou

8. Keep Re-Inventing Yourself

Every single one of us learns who we are and what kind of person we are as we grow into adulthood. But, it shouldn’t stop there. We need to keep an open mind, continue learning and re-inventing ourselves. This is a process that should never end, even if you make it to 100 years old.

“When you trust in yourself, you are trusting in the wisdom that created you.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

9. Accept Your Past and Yourself

Per Oprah, we all need to find the courage to step out of our history and past so that we can live our dreams.

We all have a past and have done things we are not happy about, but we must remember to forgive ourselves (re-read #5). The Divine says so, so it’s true, right? Forgive others as we forgive ourselves. Then take it one step further and accept yourself.

Ms. Angelou says “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.” I believe this comes from someone who has learned to accept herself.

You also need to get rid of your inner critic and be kinder to yourself. (Re-read #6). Being kind and generous to others also includes you. Besides, your inner critic is really just your ego trying to get its way. See my post on Ego vs. Intuition.

Another way to think about realizing it’s ok to accept yourself, foibles and all, is to remember this. When you don’t accept yourself, you are in essence turning your nose up at what the good Lord created and in his eyes you are perfect. Don’t do that to yourself. Show the world who you are and see what happens! Amen!

Let your music out-life lessons from 3 people I admire

10. Don’t Die With Your Music Still In You

This actually goes toward us appreciating and living each of our days to the fullest. Our lives are not a rehearsal, so live each day as if it’s your last. Let your true self out and live the life that you want. Do the things you want and spend time with the people you want as you will only regret what you don’t do or leave behind.

Appreciate what is happening right now at this very moment.

Final Thoughts on Life Lessons

I think these are pretty good lessons to live your life to its fullest. I would just add one more to the batch that I use in my life and that is:

11. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

I’ve learned that I need to listen to that little voice in the back of my head. If there is any question from that little voice, about what I’m doing, want to do or what is happening, I stop.

I learned this a long time ago when someone I was dating asked me to marry him. He was a catch and had everything going for him and I was tempted to say yes. But there was something that told me that I should not say yes.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, I thought I loved him and saying yes would have been the easy thing to do. But I just couldn’t bring myself to say yes, so I didn’t. I know I hurt him, but I had to listen to that little voice.

A year later, someone else asked me to marry him and I said yes immediately, with no hesitation. There was a difference in how I felt and that little voice was just as happy as I was—no questions at all. I’m still with that man, over 35 years later.

Lesson learned and like I said, I listen to that little voice, even when the situation is just a small thing or really no big deal. If that voice has any hesitation, I stop because it is telling me my truth. It has always played out correctly for me.

I’d love to hear if you have any life lessons that you live by that may be different from the eleven, I’ve presented. If you share, who knows, you may just help someone else that needed to hear what you have to say right at this moment. So, send me a comment and take care!