6 Things I Wish I'd Known 20 Years Ago

6. What I wish I had known about life: Be generous when you're hungry. Some of the best advice I ever heard was from author and marketing guru Seth Godin, who said: "It's difficult to be generous when you're hungry. Yet being generous keeps you from going hungry. Hence the conflict."

I try to remember this every day. Here's the refrain I created for myself: Generosity inspires generosity, so I'll give when I'm hungry. It's not what I need; it's what I provide. I'm in the business of giving, not extracting. I'll focus on the resources I have, not those I lack. I'll care about relationships, not transactions. True partnership creates prosperity.