To celebrate my 31 birthday, I decided to share 31 lessons I have learned.

Some of these are ideas you may have read before; but the reality is "there is nothing new under the sun".

So here is a small glimpse of what I wrote in my journal.

1. Food is more important than you think.

I used to eat about everything, but as I become older I realize how important food is.

If you want to have real sustainable energy, it is not about how many coffees and Red bulls you drink, but the quality of food you eat.

2. Get enough sleep

Besides giving you energy; it will keep you sane, remove all your anxiety and help you through the day to make right decisions.

In fact if you have an addiction or bad habit you want to quit, you should start by auditing how much you sleep.

3. Don’t be afraid of silence

We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with news, notifications of all kinds and advertising.

Since we wake up the first thing we do is to grab our phones.

If we take a shower we listen to music, the same when we exercise, drive or go for a wall.

We don't let our minds free; We fear boredom, but boredom is actually when our minds get creative. when ideas are created.

Don’t be afraid of silence. Let your mind be free.

4. Awareness

Awareness has become a new word into my vocabulary, in fact if you had asked me 6 years ago about what awareness is, I probably wouldn’t know.

I was never aware of my actions and my thoughts.

I eventually learn to keep a constant watch over myself, my thoughts, reactions and actions.

The best way I have found to do this, it's actually journaling.

5. Have a role model

Having role models is important, it will help you to have a clear idea on how to achieve the things you want in life.

You can learn a lot from other people's experiences.

It does not have to be any famous person, it can be a family member. I personally have two Andrew Carnige.

and the philosopher Seneca .

What attracted me the most about them was their flaws, they were not perfect, but they always tried to give their best.

In fact went I first read “Andrew Carnegie Dictum”

* To spend the first third of one’s life getting all the education one can.

* To spend the next third making all the money one can.

* To spend the last third giving it all away for worthwhile causes.

I took it as my life homework because I live by this.

6. Learn a skill

Skills are what make you a valuable person in society, so make you have a couple of them under your belt.

7. Learn more than a language.

This is pretty simple, you will always have the advantage if you know more than one language, mine at the moment English and Spanish. I still haven’t decided on the third one.

8. You are worried and stressed because of your desires.

I have seen firsthand what poverty really is, not through pictures or through a viral video on Fb. But in reality.

I have traveled to third world countries, and I have seen kids that don’t even have a shirt to wear, that wake up thinking about what they are going to eat that day.

Heck, and we are here stressing ourselves about what restaurant we should visit next or how to get the new iPhone.

It’s pretty disappointing!

9. Nothing in life is permanent.

Meaning whatever bad situation you get yourself into know that it will eventually pass.

Life for me is divided in seasons.

There are good and there are bad, but neither one of them are eternal.

10. Move.

The body is created to be constantly moving, So make sure to exercise, go for a walk or swing.

11. Enjoy nature.

Go out. Disconnect yourself from the screen. Take a walk under the sun.

Go to the beach. Nature has its own ways to recharge you.

12. Colors influence more than you think.

This took me a while to figure it out. Black is my favorite color, and I dress in black 97% of the time.

I try to use black color in places like my office and bedroom. It did not work so well for me.

So I decided to change to happier colors, my office is mostly based in 3 color white, green and oak color which is my desk.

The mix of these 3 colors boost my mood through the roof.

13. Memento Mori

At the beginning of February I traveled to Nicaragua and visited my grandma as a surprise. It wasn’t planned. I just have the opportunities to travel and I did.

While the thought of going out and party crossed my mind during those 3 days, for some reason I decided to spend time with her.

Exactly one month after I saw her on March 17, she passed away from a heart attack. It was unexpected

Be present and enjoy your loved ones.

14. Have your own philosophy.

If you would ask me about philosophy, a couple of years ago I would have said that philosophy is boring.

But I came across Stoicism and my perspective changed.

Philosophy can be used as a tool to navigate life. There are many philosophies, choose the one that attracts you the most and use it as a tool in your life.

15. Always question everything.

Don’t believe everything you see, heard or read.

Question everything and develop your own opinions. There is always more to it.

16. Don’t seek the right person, it will appear at the right moment.

Don’t be afraid to be single and develop patience.

17. Money is the result of your actions and the amount of people you help.

I have been learning about making money for around 10 years.

I started to see results when I decided to stop focusing on myself and to provide solutions and value to others.

18. Read.

I have been reading since I was 19, yes I know; I start very late in life.

But reading has been the single and most effective habit that changed my life.

19. Forgive and move on.

A lot of people think they forgive, but every time they have the opportunity, they bring back past situations.

If you truly say you forgive someone, forget about the past, or simply forget about that person.

In the long term you will be happier.

20. Don’t hang out with the wrong crown.

If you try to grow as a person, to quick a bad habit or build new ones, make sure you are with the right crown. People that match your ambitions.

21. Don’t watch the news.

Watching news is one of the most toxic things you can do to yourself.

Keep in mind most of the news are things out of our control and are not worth it to worry about.

22. It takes years to build a reputation and second to ruin it.

Always take care of your reputation; it will help you to build relationships, businesses and more importantly give you peace of mind.

23. Don’t be people’s pleaser, you may lose yourself.

We often fall in this trap without even realizing it.

We may think we are doing the right thing by pleasing others. And in this process we may end up sacrificing ourselves, opinions and even our moral ethics.

24. Tell the truth.

I know sometimes telling the truth is hard and even painful.

But the truth has an immense power, it can save your marriage, your job, and for sure will make you a person of trust.

25. Protect your time is the most valuable thing you possess.

“People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”

― Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

This quote hit me as a brick, because I was in the habit of wasting my time.

Once you realize that time is the most important asset you have, your perspective changes and your time increases.

26. Follow your creativity.

Whatever caught your attention, always follow your creativity, even if it looks ridiculous to others.

27. Everything takes more time than you think.

Don’t fall for the garbage of the magic pill.

Everything will take more time than you think, the physics you want, the business, or learning a new skill.

Be persistent and patient.

28. Keep a clean environment.

Get yourself into the habit to keep a clean environment.

Believe me, it will help you to think clearly and to concentrate better.

29. Never choose a politics or religion over your family, respect their ideas and still love them as they are.

Sadly, this has become more common in the present.

But at the end of your life... In your death bed the only people that will be with you is your family, not a political or religious leader.

30. Don’t expect anything.
Give without expecting anything in return. Don’t let external factors ruin your happiness. Don’t expect from anyone.

31. Don’t overthink anything.

Get in the habit of taking action, the more you overthink fear becomes bigger, don’t do that to yourself. Be free.