It was my birthday 4 days ago at the time of writing this post.
In 2015, I turned 27 on my very first World Race in Mongolia with V-squad and a chocolate cake. In 2016, I turned 28 while attending CGA in Gainesville. In 2017, I turned 29 while attending my 10-year class reunion back home in Iowa. In 2018, I turned 30 while facilitating a debrief for O-squad in The Philippines. In 2019, I turned 31 while facilitating a debrief for Z-squad in Peru. This year, in 2020, I turned 32 in Westminster Colorado, working at Amazon, living with my coaches from both O and Z squads, and preparing for G42.
It brings me some perspective when I look back on where I was and what I was doing in the last few years. Time has a way of blending our days together to the point where some moments that happened years ago feel like yesterday and some moments that happened yesterday feel like years ago, so to speak. My last birthday, only a year ago, feels like a few years have gone by since that day. The amount of change and transition in my life that has happened between then and now is staggering. I won’t get into the details. That’s not the point of writing this. However, these thoughts of how our perception of time is different depending on so many different factors and variables, using my past experiences as signposts of how I have progressed with age, and pondering what the journey ahead may hold begs the question “What have I learned?” To take it a little deeper “what is the legacy I want to leave behind?” or “If I knew I was going to die tomorrow, what would I wisdom would I impart to the world before I go?”
I tried to do something like this With my leadership team last year but only made it to 17 and never finished. When I say “Wisdom” I don’t mean things like Pinterest quotes or inspirational ideas or sentiment. I mean real wisdom that has come from life experience. Things that people can really relate to. Some of it you may have heard before and some of it you might not. There will likely be a few quotes that communicate a piece of wisdom better than I can say right now. In any case, this will only be a list and I won’t break any of them down. I’d be writing a novel at that point, although, I’m not necessarily opposed to the idea in theory. You may disagree with some of them and that’s okay. In whatever way the things on this list land I hope you find them helpful, encouraging, even a little challenging. If nothing else, I hope they make you ask yourself “what have I learned?” and “what do I have to impart to the world?”
Side note* – These aren’t in any particular order. I am just writing them as them all out as they come to mind.
So here we go.
32 pieces of wisdom for 32 years:
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The person that you believe yourself to be is the person you become.
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Failure is not final and can be your greatest teacher
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You will never be fully known unless you allow yourself to risk being fully rejected
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You will never learn how to forgive unless you have been wronged
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You will never learn to trust unless you extend it
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Why you do something will always be the heart of what you do and how you do it.
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Purpose and fulfillment are greater than success and security.
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Peace something you fight for not something you run to
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Truth is absolute, not relative
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Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about caring for those in your charge(Simon Sinek quote)
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Discipleship is relational, not transactional
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Love is a choice, not a feeling
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You can only love others to the degree that you have experienced love
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Fear is rooted in pain and insecurity
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Humility is a strength, not a weakness
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Comparison kills creativity
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Emotions buried alive never die ( similar to a book title by Karol Kuhn Truman).
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Be yourself even when no one is looking
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Your identity is not determined by the perceptions and opinions of others
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Knowledge without understanding is arrogance
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Truth without grace is condemnation
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Grace without truth is enablement
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To be perfect as Christ is perfect does not mean to be flawless. It means to be complete.
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Your past does not dictate your future
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Mature faith does not waiver through season and circumstance
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Nothing will sustain you like a well-worn path to the tree of life (a slight variation of a quote from Gary Black)
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Thankfulness is the key to contentment
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Joy is constant. Happiness is circumstantial.
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Measure your wealth, not by money, but the things for which you would not take money ( a quote from Dave Ramsey)
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God Does not conceal himself to Hide. He conceals himself to be found and he delights in our delight when we find him.
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Progress over time is better than instant gratification
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Not all hills are with dying on.
And there you have it. 32 pieces of wisdom. Thanks for reading. Thanks for indulging me and my brain for a moment. Peace and blessings!
Fundraising update: Have currently raised $533 of the $10,900 That I need for G42. If you would like to support me and would like to know how to do so, contact me on Facebook messenger, On Instagram (IG handle: Kirbaliciousdef), by email ([email protected]), or you can call me! message me or email for my Phone number and we can chat one on one! I would love to connect with you!
