“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car and the house that you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” Ellen Goodman
Normal: In this short article, Jaime reflects on how we should live our life from his International best-selling book The Sh!t I Wished I Learned in College.
I am not defined by what you think I am. I will not fall into your predetermined plan. March to the beat of your own drum. Think freely. Avoid becoming a uniform part in a uniform system where you are replaceable by the person standing next to you. Just because everyone else does it that way or someone else tells you that is the way to do it does not mean that is the way for you. Maybe it is, maybe it is not.
Be unique
Be yourself. Do it because you want to do it. Do it because it interests you. Do it because it lights your spark. Think for yourself. There is no need to copy other people just because. Be original. You are unique. Be unique. Learn from others, especially from the mistakes of others, but do for yourself. Help others. Live life on your own terms and avoid letting other people dictate how you live your life. Sometimes we need to forget the box life is trying to put us in. Forget what the world thinks of you stepping out of your “predetermined” place.
Paint your own life
Think your best thoughts. Speak your best words. Work your best work. Be the best version of yourself. Do your best deeds. Look to your own conscience for what you know is right or wrong. We all too often accept without hesitation or questioning what to think, believe or accept because this was imprinted on us by others. This can be both good and bad. Not good if we simply choose to accept what others frame for us. Dare to think for yourself. Create your own thoughts. Create your own life. You decide. You choose. You be. You are. You paint your own life. You create life. What story are you going to create? This is your masterpiece. The story you paint for yourself has ripple effects on others.
Help others
The best way to help yourself? Help others. Make yourself better by helping make our world a better place, one step at a time, one action at a time, one person at a time. There is no place for hate, vitriol, or animosity. It just steals energy and focus, and we only have so much energy and focus to go around. So, use that energy wisely, work hard, sleep well to gain, and preserve more energy and put that energy to good use for you and the world.
Buy the book
Read more inspiring quotes by Jaime Jackson by downloading his international best-selling book here: The Sh!t I Wished I Learned in College ebook (no Kindle needed to download online).