1. HEALTH
Without it you've got nothing. My father used to start our conversations with "How's your health?" (And after that, "How's your car?") I brushed it off, but at this late date I know it's the only important thing. You can't be too scared to get healthy, that's what someone told me once, and I try to live by it. Don't be afraid of going to the doctor, don't be afraid of getting surgery, the other side is always better, even though the exceptions they tell you about before surgery, the odds you won't have a perfect result...for some reason I always fall into that camp.
2. LOVE
No man is an island, and no woman is either. At the core we are just animals. Here to eat and reproduce. I'll let you decide whether to have kids, I don't and I don't regret it, and I'll let you decide whether to get married, I've been with my girlfriend for 20 years and we are not, but you need someone in your life. That's what life is about.
3. WORK
Life is meaningful without it. You may think you want to sit home and lounge, but you don't. I get it if you retire from a job you hated, then again, do your best to find fulfilling work. Forget the old aphorism "Do what you love and the money will follow." That's complete horsesh*t. Not that work for cash is the only work there is, but the bottom line is you must have a purpose. You may think you want to be rich and live the life of leisure, but I know people like that and you don't. Too many devolve into alcohol and drugs and...
4. EDUCATION
It never stops. Learning is fun. You don't have to go to school to learn, and there is a plethora of information available for free at your fingertips on the internet.
5. PASSIONATE INTERESTS
a. Don't be a couch potato. Unless you're invested in television, which today is more fulfilling than movies and music. Just like people were addicted to film in the sixties and seventies, you can be addicted to streaming television today. But just like in that era there was tons of mainstream dreck, ditto re streaming television. But if you are a student of the game and do your research, there's a plethora of great stuff, especially foreign, subtitles are your friend.
b. Don't work out because you're supposed to. Some people love going to the gym and lifting weights, I find it boring. There is some physical activity that will titillate and entice you, find it. Not because your body is a temple, which it is, but because it will make you feel good! It's one of the few free highs. And you feel good about yourself. But don't believe you must run or swim or do what everybody else does, there's a physical activity built just for you, you've just got to find it.
6. NEW THINGS
They're de rigueur when you're a kid, but as you age too many people become complacent. Doing something different, going to different places is stimulating and educational.
7. EAT
This can be one of your passionate interests. In any event, never has food been better in the U.S. (and U.K!), both at grocery stores and in restaurants. Food can be a cheap high, but beware of cheap food. I'm not saying to never eat a doughnut, but the dirty little truth is when you get older you'll regret all that fried food you ate.
8. EMBRACE THE FUTURE
a. It's coming down the pike 24/7. This does not mean you must wear the clothing of the youth, but it does mean you need to keep up on popular culture and the news and... You don't want to be a Luddite, don't be proud of this. All the people who e-mail me they don't have a smartphone...the joke is on them, the smartphone delivers so much information and makes your life easier. And don't hate on social media. It's here to stay. People have a built-in need to connect, and that's what social media provides. Sure, bad comes with the good, the future leaves good things behind (vent windows in cars?), but generally speaking progress is just that, it goes forward. You don't want to age in place.
b. Be willing to challenge your precepts, don't be afraid to learn and change your mind. Those who are moribund are marginalized.
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