Mendel: Importance of Sharing Life Lessons
By Ed Mendel
I recently had the pleasure of going to Grandparents Day for my grandson’s class, and Mr. Yates, the headmaster of the Atlanta Speech School, shared a quote with us that every time someone dies, it’s like a library burns down.
He then said that it does no good in life to have all the knowledge in the world if you don’t share it with people. Which brought me to think about the covenant of G-d and the Jewish people. There are many different stories on this topic, but the one that sticks with me the most is the story I learned growing up.
G-d offered the Torah to nine other tribes before He offered it to the Jewish people. The other tribes offered financial rewards, but the Jewish people instead offered a guarantee that they would teach their children and their children’s children from generation to generation. That concept you may know as l’dor vador.
With that background in mind, here are 16 life lessons that I would like to share from my library:
- If you don’t go to bat, you can’t hit a home run.
No one ever became successful in what they were going to do. Just do it.
- If money can take care of something, it’s not a real problem. We all know people who have real problems.
- Don’t ever start believing that your sweat is perfume.
- Be nice to everyone you meet.
But stay away from toxic people; they will bring you down.
- If you argue with an idiot, you only end up talking to yourself.
- When you make a mistake, admit you made one and get on with your life.
- The more things you own, the more they own you.
- Learn to accept the things you cannot change.
- If you get indigestion, lie on your left side.
- Find people who know things in a blink and hold them dear. This includes doctors, electricians, car mechanics, etc. Read “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
When you need to hire professionals for either personal or business reasons, always seek out experts in their respective fields. Do not hire generalists. For example, when it comes to lawyers, doctors or financial advisers, seek out someone who has a narrow focus to get the best possible advice.
- The more people yell and scream, the guiltier they are. Like the old expression: The chicken that squawks the loudest usually ends up at the company picnic.
- Cybersecurity is a real problem. Don’t be lazy; change your major passwords every three to four months.
- Winners win; losers make excuses.
- The people who are successful in life and make the big money are those who make decisions.
- Like most shortcuts, it was an ill-chosen route
- Don’t ever miss a chance to tell someone that you love him or her.
If you like the above advice, please share this with your friends and family. And tell them that you love them every day!
Ed Mendel co-founded Ned Davis Research Group and Davis, Mendel & Regenstein, is a philanthropist and a limited partner in the Atlanta Falcons, and serves as life trustee at the Marcus Jewish Community Center and Pace Academy.
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