985. "Right now I'm just delighted to be alive and to have had a nice long bath."

"Right now I'm just delighted to be alive and to have had a nice long bath." Richard Branson


Often times in life we get so caught up to reflect on what is most important. This, of course, is still being alive. If you weren't alive, nothing else would matter. While it is important to be work hard, play hard, make new friends, etc. It is also important to take some time for yourself.


This time for yourself can be relaxing by taking a bath, perhaps escaping by playing a round of golf, or perhaps playing video games. When I need to take time for myself I often turn to blues music. Sonny Boy Williamson II is my personal favorite. The way he plays the harmonica inspires me, relaxes me, puts me in a good mood, and shows me what can be done with something so simple. 


I encourage everyone to take time for yourself. If you have the time, perhaps once a day. If you're a busy man, maybe once a week. And if you're a super busy person, at minimum once a month. Either find something that you love and that you enjoy doing and make sure to create time in your schedule for this activity.

994. "As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary."

"As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary." Ernest Hemingway


Think back to when you were a kid. Most of us had heroes, idols, or role models. I know I had many. I idolized Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones. Every chance I had, I tried to emulate these guys. I had Griffey's swing down pat, and I batted righty. I also looked up to Shaq. Since I was taller than everyone in 7th grade, I beasted the boards. The fact is, I probably wouldn't have been as good of an athlete if I learned on my own, instead of emulating this guys. So why stop having role models and heroes when we grow up? It's important to look up to someone at any point in your life. 


People who we regard as heroes are almost always great at what they do. They reached this point not without making mistakes either. So if we aspire to be them, we can possibly avoid the mistakes they made in their life. I currently have taken on a new role model, Richard Branson. The way he puts the customer first in his business endeavors is something I aspire to do (his ability to always leave room for fun is also something I admire). 


Role models and heroes don't have to be in sports, or in business, they can be anyone in your family, Mother Theresa, Christopher Columbus, etc. No matter what age you are, I encourage everyone to always have a hero and aspire to emulate aspects of their life. This will always give you a goal and something to strive for.

998. "It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish."

"It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish" -J.R.R. Tolkien

How many ideas have you had in your life that you thought were awesome? You thought you'd love to do this project. Perhaps building a new deck, or simply set up a lemonade stand. Than months later you realized you never even started it. I know personally to me this has happened often. Ive had ideas for websites, I wanted to write a book once, and even things as simple as cooking dinner Ive put off (thank you fast food).

To me this goes hand in hand with the old saying "why put off to tomorrow what you can do today." And I've also recently found how to answer this question. As stated in my first blog, #1000, I have started reading Richard Branson books, and the one I finished already is "Screw it, Let's do it". I really am starting to believe in this. Just the other day I was at a club with two of my roommates and some of my friends. All of a sudden my one roommate said "my cousin is having a house party in Philly, wanna go?" Everything inside me was saying "you know were already here, I'm comfortable here and Philly is 30-40 min away." However, I said screw it, lets do it! And it turned out that I ended up having 10x the fun I would have had if I stayed.

Not every decision you will make will turn out with a 10:1 worthwhile ratio, in fact some decisions might be worse, but if you never try it you will never know. You live life once, why not push yourself everyday? The more you turn those "no's" into "yes's" the more spontaneous fun you will begin to have. I know my life has become a lot more fun and interesting and I encourage all to start any ideas you might have in your head, just try them out. The sooner you start them, the sooner they will be complete and the greater the sense of accomplishment you will have.

1000. "You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over."

"You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over." -Sir Richard Branson


This quote is actually what inspired me to start this blog. I'm currently at a point in my life (senior year of college) where I am going to be faced with many challenges. I'm going to be entering the 'real world' for the first time, starting a new life soon wherever my job takes me, and meeting new people everyday. I started reading more books in an attempt to 'grow up'. Currently I'm reading 'Business Stripped Bare' by Richard Branson and I stumbled upon this quote.


This quote immediately stuck out to me. In order to get somewhere in life, you have to try. Your endeavors might not always be successful but if you keep at them, eventually you will learn. And that is the biggest take-aways from this quote. Challenge yourself, and don't be afraid to fail. However, when you fail you have to be able to pick yourself up and try again and learn from your mistakes. This quote doesn't mean that you should break the rules and be a rebel, but rather that you shouldn't be afraid of taken the path less traveled. You don't have to fit into a certain algorithm of successes. Learn from your mistakes, dive head first (with some research) into things, and continue to strive for excellence.


This is my first real blog, and I am certainly diving right in, so my posts might not always be great reads, or fancy, or edited properly, but I promise I will learn along the way, listen to my readers and hopefully by the end, will have something special to be proud of.