Seventeen Life Lessons From a Dying Grandfather Who Lived to Be Almost 100 Years Old
These are not the typical tips you can find anywhere.
My grandfather was born in 1923 and lived until a couple of years ago, he never left Spain, but during his long life, he saw many things,
- The economic crisis after the First World War and the Spanish flu.
- The dictatorship of Primo de Ribera
- The Spanish Civil War
- The Second World War
- Franco’s dictatorship (almost forty years)
- The transition to democracy
- 1976. June 11th. First Rolling Stones concert in Spain ;-)
- Spain’s entry into the European Union
And during all that time, he was relatively happy despite the circumstances.
My grandfather was married to the same woman all his life and had eight children, 16 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren that he got to know.
Many say he was a lucky man. I don’t think so. He taught me that luck is either sought or not found.
A week before he died, he called me on the phone, and we talked all afternoon. He knew he had little time left, and he wanted to summarize the most important lessons that life had taught him in that phone call. So I wrote down the most relevant data from that call in a notebook. And I want to share those notes with you to help you on this challenging road called life.
Let’s start.
1. About life in general
Life is not a chess game; it is a game of checkers.
My grandfather used to say that life is not like chess: the most intelligent person doesn’t always win. The most daring wins, as in checkers, because from time to time, you have to be willing to let yourself eat a checker to eat twice as much in your turn.
2. About what is important
There are three things in life that you should not neglect,
- Family
- Your friends
- And your happiness
Invest time in that, and you won’t regret it.
3. About fear
Don’t let fear get inside you. The person who allows it starts by closing doors and windows and ends up putting locks on his heart, mind, and soul. And that is not life.
4. About striving
You have to go to the table hungry and to bed sleepy. But you will understand this when you try hard enough to fulfill a dream.
5. About work
The work you don’t see: it’s never valued, and it’s always the hardest. But you work hard even if no one values it and life will reward you.
6. About time
Everything has its time and place. The important thing is not to confuse the time to harvest with the time to sow, or you will go hungry in the end, and this applies to the field and the rest of the things in life.
7. About people
Learn to measure people by their values, not by their economy. Because he who has no heart, no matter how much you need him, will never open his wallet to you. Remember that money comes and goes, but principles stay.
8. About being an adult
You become an adult when you discover that you have to give the best of yourself to your loved ones without expecting much in return. Because doing the right thing is reward enough. And anyone who doesn’t understand this is a child, no matter how old they are.
9. About happiness
Being happy is simple. When something makes me feel good, I enjoy it, and I am grateful for it. But most of all, I take care of it, and if it breaks, I fix it. Your grandmother taught me that, and it works.
10. About cycles
In life, you will have happy moments that you will remember with sadness and sad moments that you will remember with joy. Because there will be difficult moments that will eventually make you laugh and beautiful moments that will ultimately make you cry. Never forget that.
11. On respecting elders
When you see someone older than you, you must never forget that indeed they have fallen and gotten up more times than you, by natural law. Experience is a degree that must be respected, and you should listen instead of judging.
12. On success
You can be a writer even if nobody reads your books. You can be a painter even if nobody buys your paintings. In life, you are what you do, and success is only a consequence of how hard you work. So fight for your dreams because they come true.
13. About self-esteem
For most people, your life is worthless because they don’t know you or need you. And if they did, maybe they still don’t care about you. It sounds harsh, but it’s true. So start loving yourself.
14. About sadness
All those fires that today the wind fans, tomorrow the sea will drown them. Nothing is eternal, although it seems infinite while it lasts. Heartaches are part of life, and days of joy will come if you balance and harmony.
15. About problems
Some people look for solutions to problems and people who find problems in solutions. It is better to be in the first group, to be busy than to live worried because the sooner you take care of a problem, the sooner you solve it.
16. On regret
If there is one thing I regret, I have wasted my time with fears and guilt because as you get older, you do not value your mistakes as much as your attempts.
17. About youth
Youth is in desire, not in years. But if we talk about maturity, it lies in having the ability to get up when you fall and face failures and damages, without letting yourself be defeated because in this life, if you do not learn to lose, you are lost.
My grandfather always told me, “I don’t want to see you fall. But if you fall, I’ll be there to help you get up. Because, among other things, the sound of your laughter for me is the most beautiful alarm clock in the world.”
Today he is no longer alive, but his lessons help me get up every time I stumble and crash to the ground. I hope that from now on they will help you too.
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