to austin

Try being informed rather than just opinionated. Remember that confidence is quiet; insecurities are loud. Don't raise your voice, improve your argument. Make it simple, but significant. And sometimes you don't have to say anything at all. If you don't feel like you have anything substantive to contribute, abstain from polluting the environment with pointless noise emanating from your mouth.

Simple things become complicated when you expect too much. Life doesn't have to be hard. Focus on what you want, do what you can to make it happen, and trust the process. Be intentional. Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong. The more you love your decisions, the less you need others to love them. Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. Nothing was a waste of time if you learned something, and the only definition of failure you need to know is when you talk yourself out of becoming something amazing. It's not about perfect. It's about effort. But all the effort in the world won't matter if you're not inspired.

Your life is a physical manifestation of what goes on in your head. Look past your thoughts; don't believe everything you think, and be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening. You don't have to learn how to control your thoughts. You just have to stop them from controlling you. And know the power of your mind: By changing your mind you change everything.

Comparison is the thief of joy. Avoid the “Is-Ought” Fallacy: We cannot look to the way things are to determine the way they ought to be. Everything we hear is an opinion, not fact. Everything we see is perspective, not the truth, and what we see depends mainly on what we look for. Don't assume that...

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...hearing what isn't said. Don't answer the question, address the concern behind the question. 'Tact' is the ability to make a point without making an enemy. Choose your words carefully. Anything you say can and will be used against you...eleven months later, and possibly thrown back in your face with vicious sarcasm.

Communicate. Even when it's uncomfortable or uneasy. There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you and what doesn't kill you fucks you up mentally. The biggest communication problem is we do not listen with the intent to understand; we listen with the intent to reply. AND TEXTING. The worst distance between two people is misunderstanding, and texting is a brilliant way to miscommunicate how you feel, and misinterpret what other people mean. The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue. Do with that information what you will.