WHAT I HAVE LEARNED TODAY

What you find out in life is that it is very humbling and that you never stop learning.  You grow from your mistakes and that no matter your age you continue to make them unfortunately.  I am not sure who reads this blog and although it pertains to networking there sometimes aren't ways to seperate it from life in general because it is all intertwined. 

Always remember when dealing with emotional situations to step back, catch your breathe and wait a day before sending out any communication.  In this day and age of social media it is far too easy to send out immediate communication about a topic before you have had time to find out all of the facts or before you have time to collect your thoughts.  What you put out in Twitter, Facebook, etc. is seen by many who don't know or understand the context of the issue.   All people are getting is one side of the story and your responses may not truly be indicative of the message you are trying to convey. 

Make sure you thank the individuals in your life who give you enough leeway to make mistakes and learn from them.  It is far more beneficial when making a mistake to be punished and given another opportunity then to be jettisoned to the curb and never given another opportunity. 

Communication is critical to success and you will need to be able to express yourself effectively to everyone you encounter at all levels.   Most items that become issues are a result of poor communication and people intepreting things the wrong way. Remember that the best way to gain the truth is directly from the individual and not someone else's interpretation of partial facts.

It is easy to let the wrong items take priority in your life so make sure you periodically review your personal and professional priorities to make sure you are on track and focusing on the right things.  Make sure that your priorities match up with your values because that is an easy way to keep things in line. 

Identify individuals to emulate because we hopefully all are a combination of traits we have acuired from many wonderful people over the years. 

Be humble.  No one goes through life without any set backs and being cognizant of that is important to your overall growth as a person.