1. When your Grandma cooks you food, eat it without any questions asked. Even if the meal will break your diet. It will make her happy to know that she can be of service to her grandchildren by cooking them delicious food.
2. Commercial relationships have an agenda. Be mindful of the agenda for each person you interact with internally and externally.
3. If money brings happiness, then the richest people would be the happiest people in the world.
4. It takes two people to make a baby.
5. Live in the present moment and follow your intuition.
6. You can only control your own actions, not others people reactions. Do what you think is right, regardless of how you think other people will think of you.
7. In a social setting (bar or club), men think with their eyes and women think with their ears.
8. You only get one first impression. Dress your best and let your happiness shine through with a smile.  You can always dress down to the occasion if appropriate at the time, but you can never dress up once you leave the house.
9. Remember to always blow out your candles before leaving the house.
10. The first half of our life we learn how to ask questions, the second half we learn how to answer them.
11. It is easier to make friends than to keep them – I got this one from a fortune cookie at lunch today.
12. Never put down someone’s idea in a brainstorming session. One negative comment can interrupt the flow of creating something extraordinary.
13. If there is no gas in the car, then the car will not drive. It doesn’t matter if you have a nice paint job, chrome wheels and leather seats. If you run out of gas, then the car will not move. This is a metaphor for cash flow in startup companies.
14. The way you look at things is the way things are ~ Wayne Dyer
15. Edison discovered 1,000 ways how not to make a light bulb.
16. You will be learning until the last day of life. Your grave is your diploma for this lifetime.
17. If you get overwhelmed, write down everything that comes to mind on a piece of paper. Clear your head. Take a breath. Write down the baby steps needed to complete each thing on the list. Prioritize in order of importance, and start implementing away.
18. Turn off your cell phone and email alerts when you are working. It is much easier to respond to these incoming distractions at a later time.
19. Never walk with both hands in your pockets.
20. You only get this lifetime once, so make the most of it!
21. In order to eat an elephant, you have to start with one bite at a time.
22. Plan out your day the night before.
23. Listen more, talk less. Observe the tone in people’s voices as they talk about certain subjects.

Brian Frankel was the fifth installment in the “Things I Have Learned” series, running each Thursday on Newvine Growing. Previous lists have come from:

• me
• Margaret Yang
• Amanda Hirsch
• Scott Daris

Each person’s list is their own. Life teaches us all different lessons, even when we face the same experiences. I’m honored to share this series of life lessons in each contributor’s voice.