In the past couple of years, there has been a lot of changes and new developments in my life, which has really got me doing a lot of thinking and self analysis. Most importantly, I tried to determine all lessons that life has taught me, one way or another. And while I’m still too young or haven’t been working long enough to pretend to have wisdom of any kind, I think there is still plenty of acquired knowledge through time. I want to point out that this is more “do what I say”, rather than “do what I do”. So here I post the most important ones that I can think of:

• Never commit to anything unless you are completely sure about it. In other words, learn to say no. I’ve damaged relationships with two friends I cared about because at some point I committed to something I either didn’t thoroughly analyzed first, or wasn’t completely sure about. And you know why? Because at the time I didn’t know how to say no. Regardless of how hard it seemed at the time to say it, I discovered it was much harder afterwards to deal with things that I didn’t want or couldn’t do.
• People who do not have complete understanding of the business should not manage those who do. I’ve been in both sides of the issue, and it has always been detrimental to the company. From the employee side, having a manager that doesn’t understand what you do, will most of the times lead to work overhead that shouldn’t be necessary, unrealistic goals and deadlines, hired employees that do not meet the requirements for the position, among many, many other things. And from the manager side, at least from my experience, no matter how hard you try, you will always have a feeling of playing catch-up, or having to prove yourself, that obscures the vision needed when important decisions are to be made.
• Always read everything you put your signature on. Whether it’s movie rental invoice or a bank contract for a loan, ALWAYS read everything before you put your signature on it. I used to think that since it’s a standard document that people sign everyday, it’s nearly impossible that something could go wrong, right? WRONG! I’ve encountered many issues in the past for thinking this way. All sorts of stuff can happen. You may later find out the document you signed specifies clauses that either make you loose money or make your life a pain, or the items or amounts specified are not what you really want. Companies don’t advertise those fine prints, and not many employess will tell you the whole truth, so the only salvation you have is understanding what you’re getting into before hand.
• Organizing your life will always be beneficial to you. Though I’m still struggling to lead a more organized life, the results are immediately becoming real. Even simple things like organizing your drawers can save you so much time spent looking for stuff at the last minute. Or more advanced, such as budgeting your earnings and sticking to it, greatly improves the value of your assets. Find ways you can organize or do tasks with a plan ahead, and the results will be notable.
• Never spend money you don’t have yet. Credit cards be damned for this. I’ll admit it: I’m a very impatient person.  When I want something, I either get it, or change my mind. This mindset has often made me spend money I did not have, simply because I just gotta have that. And the mind plays tricks on you, always trying to convince you that can get something when you actually don’t yet. There can always be things that go wrong or simply come up that you didn’t count on, and they cost you something, and often throw you off budget. Even when they don’t, it’s always easier picturing yourself paying a debt than it actually is doing it.
• Save! This has been said many times, by people a lot smarter and more educated than myself, so I’ll just reinforce it. Life is constantly changing, so don’t let it get you with your pants down. Whether it’s an emergency fund, down payments for a house/car, college money or whatever, just always put an amount aside. The more the better, and the sooner, better yet. Even small amounts can greatly increase thanks to compounding over time. You can never be too young to save, but you can certainly be too old to do it, so why not start now? Cut some fat in your expenses and put it away, and try to get the best interest rate you can get. It’s my observation that money somehow attracts more money, plus the peace of mind you get when you know that you’re prepared for what life throws at you is invaluable.
• If you don’t like what you do for a living, change your job or don’t complain. I’ve seen countless people always complaining about their jobs, but doing nothing to change that. It’s true that for certain people it’s not as easy due to certain factors, specially age nowadays, but I’m inclined to say that for most people there’s always something that can be done. Evaluate your options, your goals, your assets and your knowledge, and do what you can to improve your work life. Maybe you don’t even need to change jobs, just adopting a different mind set. If, after all this you decide that there’s nothing you can do about it, then stop complaining, and letting those complaints affect the quality of your work. Cause if this really is your only option, you probably cannot afford to lose it.
• Never schedule meetings unless it’s necessary. In my opinion nothing wastes more time in the business world than poorly planned meetings, and I know I’m not alone in this. While gathering people together certainly makes for easier collective transfer/sharing of knowledge, make sure there aren’t other alternatives to what you want to communicate. Is the meeting for passing information? Can it be just as effectively sent via email? Do you need everyone together to get status from each member, or could you just as well get it separately in shorter individual meetings? These are only a couple of the situations I’ve encountered, but I’m certain there’s bound to be a lot more. If, after all, you do need to schedule a group meeting, make sure the schedule and agenda is clear to everyone before hand, and try to stray away from it as little as possible.
• If life throws you lemons… Cliched, yes, but true nevertheless. Work with what you have, and try to make the best of it. Do you have an annoying manager that always has new tasks to do? Then try and be ahead of his requirements, or find ways to efficiently comply to them. Maybe even discuss the tasks and convince him otherwise. It can be done in many cases, and he’s the manager after all, so it’s either do it or quit. You have more debts than money to pay with? Find a way to reduce expenses, and get rid of the ones that generate the most interest. No time to do all you have to do? Schedule your time accordingly, and learn to say no when people ask you for things that you’re not really required to do. I don’t want to pretend that I have a solution for every problem, but the point I’m trying to make is that there’s something you can do about most situations, if you learn yo work with what you have.
• Be careful when asking for help or opinions. On several ocasions I have losts great oportunities for blindly trusting people that, while well more educated then me on the subject, were too negative and filled with prejudice to be helpfull. We need to research and make sure we have all the information from trusted sources, sure, but don’t just let those opnions dictate your ultimate decision. Think about it and make your own conclusion. Another thing is asking for favors. It sure is great to have someone to help when needed, but be careful with it. Sometimes you get bound to them, and cannot refuse when the favor is asked back, or worse, the other person assumes you will always offer help back, when you may not. I don’t know if it’s me, but I just hate feeling in debt with people. Also, when you ask for a favor and that person somehow messes up, you cannot complain about it, it was a favor.
• Skill only gets you halfway there, communication and personal relationships are just as important. The social aspects of life seem to be a little taken for granted, undermining it’s importance. In college, we’re taught how to program, build a house, cure diseases, whatever, but there doesn’t seem to be enough emphasis on getting along with each other, and acquiring and maintaining good relationships. It’s just sort of a given. And it’s kind of ironic, provided that most professions are very fond of the catch phrase “teamwork”. No matter how good you are at what you do, more often than not, the need will come to ask for information or assistance, pass information to others, or lead a group of people towards a goal. And I’d venture to say performing well at those occurrences is just as important as being really good at what you do. How good are you really, if you cannot sell it to others? In my opinion, having strong relationships based on experiences is better than any resume, and people will know first hand that you are in fact skilled.
• When passing important information, make sure you get understood. I cannot count the ways I spent time explaining something, just to be asked the same stuff again and again, or worse, people making assumptions on what I actually meant, and acting on their own (we all know what happens when people assume). Make sure your idea is expressed in the most clear and efficient way.
• In retrospective, put the pieces together. Everything happens for a reason, that’s the way I see it. No matter how bad things may have gotten in my life, I’ve found that something good or positive has resulted as a consequence. If anything, bad things can at least teach you how to avoid them or when to be careful. It’s just a matter of keeping an open mind and a positive attitude.

Comments, opinions, or any other lessons are more than appreciated.