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12 life rules your kids need to understand before they leave home:
In a few months, my second child will leave home.

The day will come when your kids leave too. Sooner than you think.

You'll be left wondering:

Did I do enough?

There's no time to wait.

Here are 12 life rules I've spent years driving home.

Steal them (or make your own list):
Hard Work Is Never Wasted

I want my kids to see hard work as an end, not a means.

Even if you don't hit your desired outcome,

The act of doing the work is formational.

It strengthens who you are.

When you love putting in the work,

There's nothing you can't accomplish.
Great Leaders Start As Great Followers

I want my kids to be great leaders.

But, as a leader of others myself,

I know they'll never be trusted to lead well if they can't be trusted to follow well.

Learn to put your agenda aside and give full support to someone else's vision.
Being Smart And Talented Is Overrated

My kids are smart and talented.

They're valedictorians, captains of sports teams, and beloved by peers.

Which earns them nothing in life after high school.

Many smart people accomplish very little.

You win with humility and hard work.
Goodness > Greatness

I want my kids to accomplish great things.

But it means little to me if they're not good people.

Genuine goodness is in short supply in our world today.

If my kids become adults who care more about who they are than what they accomplish,

I'll die happy.
Process > Results

Results are lagging indicators.

Outcomes are overrated.

When they miss expectations, we lose heart or change course too soon.

Take what you're trying to accomplish and break it down into parts.

Find the parts you love.

Focus on them.

Results will follow.
Be Careful What You Look For

When I played sports, I learned that your body follows your eyes.

That's true in all of life.

You find what you go looking for.

Look for disappointment and you'll find it.

Look for joy, beauty, or hope and it's there too.

Your eyes lead the way.
Fear Is A Mile Wide But Paper Thin

I want my kids to put fear in its place.

No one gets to live a life free of fear.

Yet some choose to be controlled by it and others choose to push through it.

Fear is never as strong as it appears.

When you push it, it always falls over.
Nothing's More Important Than Family

You can't quit being a brother, sister, father, or mother.

All other roles and responsibilities come and go.

Family remains.

The older I get, the more I see families divide over petty squabbles.

Get over yourself and love your family.
Limitations Are Good

We've all been created with limitations.

And that's a good thing.

Limitations mature us.

In fact, it's our attempt to ignore them that causes problems.

You don't find yourself in debt or out of shape because you don't have enough.

Love your limits.
Authority Is Good

There's plenty of bad or abusive authority in the world.

But abuse does not rule out proper use.

Authority can be a powerful force for good.

Instead of raging or rebelling,

Take notes.

When the day comes that you're put in charge,

Use it for good.
Things Are Going To Work Out

Some of the worst experiences of my life became the foundations of who I am today.

I wouldn't trade away the pain because of what it produced.

Things aren't going to go your way.

But a day will come when you'll be glad they didn't.

Give it time.
No One Lives Consequence Free

Everyone's chasing a consequence free life.

It's a fool's errand.

Each choice has consequences, a combination of gives and takes.

When you start evaluating decisions by the consequences they produce,

You've finally taken ownership of your life.
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