Top 20 Lessons From My Friends and Family

There are two ways to learn.  The first method involves trial and error.  The second method is less painful because others teach you how to avoid the same mistakes they made.   I'm thankful for all the people in my life who inspire me daily.  Consider this list a Reader's Digest version of important lessons from my friends, family and others who play a role in my growth.  Enjoy...

1. Grandma Mary:  "Save a portion of your earnings.  We paid cash for our home during the Great Depression because we managed to save money, even in tough times."
2. Grammy Alice:  "Laugh.  Tell jokes.  Always be cheerful."
3. Grandpa Victor:  "Get an education."
4. Granddad Victor:  "Don't ever stop learning."
5. Dad:  "Embrace new technology."
6. Mom:  "Stay in touch the old fashioned way:  face-to-face."
7. Cousin JM:  "Acknowledge, move on."
8. My siblings:  "Never give up."
9. "S'nora":  "Learn new languages."
10. My daughter:  "When you fall off the horse, get back on the horse."
11. My sons:  "Exercise."
12. My wife:  She brings this verse to life... "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
13. Captain Kirk:  "There is no such thing as a no-win scenario."
14. Mr. Spock:  "Live long and prosper."
15. My business partners.  William Wallace summarizes them best: 
    "I am William Wallace. And I see a whole army of my countrymen,
    here in defiance of tyranny! You have come to fight as free men. And
    free man you are! What will you do without freedom? Will you fight?"
    "Two thousand against ten?" - the veteran shouted. "No! We will
    run - and live!"
    "Yes!" Wallace shouted back. "Fight and you may die. Run and you
    will live at least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now,
    would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for
    one chance, just one chance, to come back here as young men and tell
    our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never take
    our freedom!" 
16. My Kindergarten teacher:  "I think he can do better."  Note to mom:  Thanks for saving this report card for 40 years!  I'm using #7 for this one.
17. Theodore Roosevelt:  “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” 
18. Tommy Shaw of Styx:  "You see the world through your cynical eyes
    You're a troubled young man I can tell
    You've got it all in the palm of your hand
    But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest
    And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
    You're killing yourself if you don't believe it
    Why must you be such an angry young man
    When your future looks quite bright to me
    And how can there be such a sinister plan
    That could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man
    And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
    You're killing yourself if you don't believe it
    Get up, get back on your feet
    You're the one they can't beat and you know it
    Come on, let's see what you've got
    Just take your best shot and don't blow it"
19. Mother Teresa:  “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” 
20. Jesus:  "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." ~ John 14:6

Feel free to add to the list in the comments section below.  Please share who inspires you and what lesson(s) they teach you.