Life Lessons Learnt From CEOs, Billionaires And Patients

The more I interact and speak to clients and patients from all across the world, different walks of life, different age groups – the more I learn. No matter where you are today in terms of health, wealth, career, relationships – these life lessons hold true for everyone and will never grow old. It is thus so important for us to realize those lessons and use them to grow and prosper.

Life lessons and values that we learn and develop over time are life’s treasures. It is important to sit back and reflect on these life teachings because no book can match the wisdom that comes from parents and experience.

Here are the top 32 (out of so many) life lessons that I have learnt through my practice, career, being a parent, through my childhood and upbringing:

1. Have a mind of your own. Do not get blinded by what others think. Have your own perception towards things.
2. Use the power of your imagination. Observe a child’s imagination skills. They can build a castle out of a cardboard. There is nothing wrong in imagining. Imagine – big and freely!
3. Teach money and wealth management to yourself and your children. Have it all, but learn how to manage your wealth.
4. Kind over cool. Kindness is a superpower. Being rude, arrogant, dominant is not.
5. There is abundance of love in this world. There is no scarcity of love, but it also depends on how you want to define love. Revisit your definition of love.
6. The human body heals itself. The healing mechanism is within us. Drill this into your kid’s subconscious mind as well.
7. Everyone is unique in their own ways. Embrace your uniqueness. We do not have to be the same.
8. Teach one another to “share”, even kids. Share without expectations. Happiness and fulfilment that comes from giving back is unmatched.
9. It is okay to say NO. Saying no doesn’t make you a bad person. It will only save you from draining your energy.
10. It is okay if you have a few good friends with solid and meaningful relationships. Prefer quality over quantity friends.
11. Respect your elders. They may make mistakes at times but that doesn’t deserve disrespect in any way. If you like to be respected, give respect to others too.
12. Teach yourself and your children that challenges make one stronger. Nothing comes easy in real life.
13. All human beings make mistakes. Perfect doesn’t exist. Aim for excellence.
14. Hard work always pays off. There is no shortcut or an easy way out to achieve anything in life.
15. Learning never stops and you can never know it all.
16. Teach yourself and your kids to say – thank you, sorry, please. These are basic etiquettes.
17. Do not choose power over peace. Build power without compromising on your peace.
18. Do not only look for wealth in money alone. Look for wealth in real love, relationships, peace, joy. (not virtual)
19. Listen to your body and its biofeedback. Your body is always talking to you.
20. Learn to listen more than you speak. Also, there is a huge difference between listening and hearing. Listening reveals a lot about the person, even emotions.
21. Never get into victim mode. Failing doesn’t mean we develop fear and build walls within us and stop moving ahead in life. Never hold on to a failure. It could be just one odd incident.
22. Use your gift. Every human being is gifted with a unique ability/skill/quality/trait. Identify and use it. We lose what we do not use.
23. Know and realise your life purpose. This will only happen when you know your own self and what do you really really want.
24. You are complete and whole. You do not need anyone else to complete you. Your partner can complement you, but to make you feel complete is your responsibility.
25. Learn to respect everyone and in an equal manner – whether it is our neighbour, servant or a shopkeeper. This holds true for everyone – no matter how young, old, rich you are.
26. Live life with curiosity, wonder and imagination. This is the key to open doors for learning, progress, growth and living a vibrant life.
27. You are not entitled to anything or anyone particularly aspects beyond materialistic things. You reap what you sow irrespective of status or power.
28. Avoid negative people like the plaque. They are energy drainers in your life.
29. If you have to change your friend circle in life after a point, it is okay. As you grow, you need to vibrate with people who match your frequency.
30. If people let you down, and if it affects you, then you are at fault. Never put an unreasonable expectation that no one can upset you.
31. Respect and love start from you. Only when you fill your cup, can you offer love and respect to others. It first starts with us and then others.
32. Everyone has a different path of happiness and each of us must respect that. Do not try to change anyone’s path, even your kids.

We must learn these life lessons as early as possible to mould the way we operate in life. I was fortunate enough to learn this through my patients and I choose to share these with you.

These are powerful because they do not come through books, they come through real experiences from consulting, end of life patients, young patients, patients gone through an emotional trauma in the past, parenting, successes, achievements and even failures. Life will continue teaching us new lessons every day. Let us learn how to hold onto them. They are valuable and priceless.

A lot of you may already be knowing this, but are you using them? Use these life lessons to create a high-quality life.  Reflect and recognise life lessons that you have learnt through your experiences and childhood too. Pass it on to your kids as well. These are the real life’s treasures.

Videos to watch:

Values and Life Lessons – Part 1

Values and Life Lessons – Part 2

Values and Life Lessons – Part 3

• Luke Coutinho