This is Alex and Sheila Coutinho with their first born, Neil. I love this picture. And I love them. They are my Ugandan parents, and they are incredible people. Wise, generous, and present. The day I left Uganda Alex sat with me in the airport and gave me these pearls of wisdom...for life. They are worth sharing with as many people as possible. Enjoy!- Wisdom is a product of knowledge, experience, and reflection. And wisdom is comfortable with ambiguity. With the passage of time, ambiguity will mature into reality. Time is an essential ingredient to understand the meaning of things.
- Money, in and of itself, will never make you happy. Its happiness comes from the power it has to make others happy.
- You exist because others exist, and recognize that you exist. That is the principle of “ubuntu”.
- Your humanity is your greatest asset. It’s expressed in ways that don’t need any words/sign language – it’s just there. People will recognize your humanity – even just through your eyes. And if you give up your humanity, you might as well die, go away.
- Love is the highest expression of humanity. Don’t be afraid to give or receive love. When you’re in love is when you will feel most alive. BUT when love hurts, you wish you were dead.
- Respect can only come from others. It’s a gift given back to you as a reward for the respect that you give to others. (Respect is like a boomerang; throw it and it comes back to you.)
- It is better to trust than to lead your life in a self-imposed prison of distrust. Sometimes the trust is misplaced: you trust them and they break it.
- If you have nothing good to say, keep quiet.
- It is easier to say no than to say yes. Create opportunities, then make a choice. Don’t wait for the right thing to come along, CREATE opportunities.
- Time is the greatest healer. Who remembers or really cares what happened a year ago?
- You friends will often stand by you when your family doesn’t. So, make your family your friends.
- However miserable you think you are, you are probably better off than 80% of the world.
- If you look hard enough, you’ll find good in everyone.
- Happiness is not a single cataclysmic event. It’s a series of small episodes recognized and appreciated.
- Sunrise and sunset are the most inspiring times of day. Don’t sleep through them.
- You can never learn everything there is to know. But that doesn’t stop you trying. The broader your knowledge pool, the easier it is to make connections and sense out of detail.
- Deep emotions like love, anger, concern, and frustration should never be interpreted at their face value. They usually mean someone cares. These emotions are only expressed when there is a relationship.
- Sometimes we have to do things we don’t enjoy doing because they form the bridge to those things that we really enjoy doing.
- “Your circle of concern should always be greater than your circle of influence.” – Steven Covey
- Silence, meditation, and reflection are good for the soul. That is my spirituality.
- The most useful words in the English language are: please, thank you, I’m sorry, and I love you.
- The more you give, the more you get back. I’ve never figured out how it works, but it does.
- When you’re in a hurry, it’s safer to use the stairs than the lift.
- Don’t take yourself too seriously; it gets in the way of enjoying life.
