1. Go to bed early and get up early.
2. Stop at any lemonade stand operated by kids 8 and younger. Only exception is if they are running a debit card reader. Or forgot to shave.
3. Hold the door open for any woman, no matter what age.
4. Say yes ma’am and yes sir. And if somebody says it to you, don’t be offended. You’re going to be old some day, so you might as well be respected on the way out.
5. Clean your workstation before you go home. You never know when mom will come for a visit.
6. Removing the clothes from the dryer means much less of a chance of ironing.
7. Apply the Golden Rule to everybody, including people acting like jerks. Especially to people acting like jerks.
8. Science has shown that changing lanes repeatedly during rush hour won’t help you get there any faster.
9. Make your entrance into your house after working all day the most positive thing you’ve done, even if you have to fake it. At the very least, it will make you look better than mom.
10. Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.
11. Take a deep breath during unfolding train-wreck customer service nightmares. Remember the kid behind the counter hasn’t even passed his driver’s test yet.
12. Take the extra five minutes and fill out a positive comment card for a deserving employee. It might be the only good thing they’ll hear all day.
13. Make it a point to read a John Wooden quote each day. Then you’ll know how the rest of us feel about the coach who has inspired us with his life and his teachings.
14. At the grocery store, buy two extra cans of food every time you shop. They might come in handy some day.
15. If the words from her mouth don’t seem to make sense, try focusing on the meaning of her heart.
16. Try silence for a change.
17. Know a little about enough topics so that your conversation menu includes more than the Dollar Menu.
