Charles Sykes: 14 Rules of Life They Don’t Teach in School

Here are the top 14 rules of life excerpted from 50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School by Charles Sykes:

Rule 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it.

Personally I believe life is very fair. It returns to you exactly what you give out. — John Kremer

Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

Don’t worry what the world thinks about you. Just do your best. And share it with others. — John Kremer

Rule 3: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn’t.

I believe everyone is a winner. It’s simply a matter of how you view winning and losing. Don’t be a loser. Think like a winner. — John Kremer

John Kremer on Winning: I believe everyone is a winner. It's simply a matter of how you view winning and losing. Don't be a loser. Think like a winner. — John Kremer

Rule 4: You will not make $60,000 a year right out of high school. And you won’t be a vice-president or have a company car. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn’t have a designer label.

There are certainly exceptions to the above rule. But most of us have to grow into our success. We have to earn it. What are you doing today to earn your success? — John Kremer

Rule 5: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. When you screw up, he’s not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Bosses are tough. Decision makers are tough. Readers are tough. But none should be as tough as you. Just do it! — John Kremer

Rule 6: It’s not your parents’ fault. If you screw up, you are responsible.

And if you are successful, you are responsible. Some may help you but the ultimate responsibility will always sit with you. — John Kremer

Rule 7: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

I’ve flipped burgers in my life. And pancakes. And eggs. I’ve also raked leaves, mowed lawns, shoveled snow, mopped floors, shampooed rugs, cleaned bathrooms, trimmed trees, painted houses, and much more. I enjoyed them all in those moments, even though I’ve always had bigger dreams, many of which I am now living. You can too. — John Kremer

Rule 8: You are not perfect, and you don’t have to be.

Perfection is over-rated. Do your best. That is what you need to do. Don’t short-change those around you by doing less than your best. — John Kremer

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Always, no matter what, find things to do that you love to do. Earn your way in life by doing things you love, whenever you can. When you have to do something yucky, find a way to fall in love with that activity. You always can. — John Kremer

Rule 10: Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Advice to book authors: Writer’s block is not real life. Sit your butt down and begin to write. The words will come. Trust yourself to come up with the words. You will. — John Kremer

Advice to book authors: Writer's block is not real life. Sit your butt down and begin to write. The words will come. Trust yourself to come up with the words. You will. — John Kremer

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

We are all nerds in some way. And it is my hope that we all end up working for ourselves. That is what I’ve done for many years. It works for me. — John Kremer

Rule 12: Life is actually more like dodgeball than your gym teacher thinks.

There are times in your life when it will play like dodgeball. And there are also times when your life will play like sailing in light winds. Honestly, it’s most often your choice on how your life plays out. — John Kremer

Rule 13: Don’t forget to say thank you.

Always and everywhere, say thank you. Get in that habit. And don’t say thank you just with your mouth. Say thank you with your heart. Say thank you with your actions. Say thank you with your life. — John Kremer

Rule 14: Enjoy this while you can.

If you don’t enjoy what you are doing — no matter what it is — you will not do it well. Uncover the joy in everything you do, and you will find success in all that you do. — John Kremer

[Check out 14 Rules They Won’t Teach You in School by Charles Sykes. Good rules to live by!]

Excerpted from 50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School by Charles J. Sykes. Commentary by John Kremer, author of this blog.

14 Rules of Life They Don't Teach in School

About John Kremer

John Kremer is author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, the Relationships Matter Marketing program, and many other books and reports on book marketing, Internet marketing, social media, and book publicity. -- .

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