15 Things I Learned in 2013

I'm actually pretty excited to share this list since I've spent literally 365 days waiting to put it all together. 2013 has certainly been a year of much trial, failure and success. I can proudly say I've completed my 2013 New Year's resolution by writing at least one blog entry a month about what drives and motivates me to be who I am. I hope you enjoy. The below list is a synthesis of all of the major points of each entry I've written this past year.

We all have two lives. The second one begins when we realize we only have one. - Tom Hiddleston

Work hard everyday. Get addicted to fighting because as long as you keep fighting, you'll never lose. At the end of everyday, when you rise again in the morning, you'll know you're one day closer to who you want to become and are reminded of the person you already are.

The secret to happiness is acceptance. Stop comparing your life to everyone else's Facebook or Instagram highlight reel. Your movie is ridiculously awesome on it's own. Give yourself some credit.

Change your perspective Read. Listen. Trust the advice of your loved ones. Accept that you are not right in all that you do. When you learn to look at the same thing in your life through different lenses, you get to experience life on a thousand different planes (and most of them are really friggin' cool).

Get active. Go to the gym, go for a walk, go hiking, go snowboarding, Go do some freaky looking lunges that the guy on P90X does. JUST GO.

Lose weight. Stop eating so damn much. Really, it's that easy.

Invest in the real currency of life. Relationships make our lives richer; not the car, house, sneakers or watches you can buy. A steak dinner with the person you love is always worth the money. Flowers, too.

Don't curl in the squat rack. Squat in the squat rack.

Make a routine and don't allow yourself to make it an option. Adding more discipline in your life will always benefit you in the long run. It teaches you how to run a marathon, not a 5k. It teaches you humility, patience, the value of hard work, and the appreciation of what you get when you finally earn it.

Volunteer. A lot. Because wouldn't it be cool if you could say I helped change their life and wouldn't it be even cooler if you got to say wow, that changed my life.

Travel often. Because each place you go is like reading a single page of a big ass book, called The World.

Wear bright socks and buy a blazer that actually fits. then actually wear it. You've worked hard to get to where you are in life. Be proud and look the part. When you dress confident, you feel confident.

Do what you love and do the hell out of it. Commit to what drives you and enables your passion to soar. If you're not where you want to be, make a plan to get there one day and stick to it. Don't give your brain any room to ask what if.

Want really ugly things. When you're blessed enough to have nice and shiny things, do your best to use them for what they're intended for, a lot. What's the point of having a nice shiny car when you don't have any memories when you look at it?

Death is inevitable. Pain is, too. None of us apart from God have a choice in the matter, and even God chose to experience pain through His Son's death. Yet we all have a choice to allow our hearts to mend with gold or wither away with mud.

Love. Love your God above all else. Love your neighbor as yourself. In loving, we find life. There are no other greater commandments than this.