I've been thinking about what we learned in our first year of having the studio. Here are a few of the life lessons of 2005/2006. Some came naturally, some we learned the hard way, and some we're still figuring out. Here goes...
Don't give up! A lot of people will tell you something can't be done, until you do it. Then everyone acts like it was meant to be.
Listen to people. Usually 5 minutes of listening will help someone more than 25 minutes of you talking to them.
You are your community. Sometimes it's not enough to search for people who are on the same path as you. You have to carve that path out of the jungle and recruit a team to follow you in.
Keep it simple. Life is complicated enough. Whenever possible offer clear choices and real answers.
Knowledge is not a limited resource. Everyone loves to learn, if you have some knowledge that is useful for others, share it freely. The rewards will come back to you in one way or another.
Listen to Gandhi. He said, "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." Find a job that gets you closer to that sentence. Happiness is much more valuable than a big salary.
Stop paying too much for a haircut. You can get a really good one for 1000 yen! Girls too!
Learn things by doing things. Put yourself in situations where you must grow or you will fail. Faced with this choice, you will almost never fail.
Listen to your body. If you're tired, sleep, if you're working too hard, relax. Not much is important enough to neglect your one and only body.
Calorie Mate is not a food group.
Listen to Mark Twain. "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." Don't devote your energies to all the "what if" scenarios. Most of them never happen. Stay in the present and react to life with a fresh, nimble mind.
To all of our customers, friends, and family.
Thank you for a great year!
PatrickYoga Garden
