It was a week ago that Former President George H. W. Bush passed away. I have always had tremendous respect and admiration for George H. W. Bush and that only grew when I read this letter that was discovered by news anchor Bret Baier when he was combing through emails received during the coverage of the funeral this week. It was a letter that George H. W. Bush had sent to his close friend, former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano in which he shared what life advice he would pass on to future generations. The letter read as follows:

“I cannot single out the one greatest challenge in my life. I have had a lot of challenges and my advice to young people might be as follows:

1. Don’t get down when your life takes a bad turn. Out of adversity comes challenge and often success

2. Don’t blame others for your setbacks

3. When things go well, always give credit to others

4. Don’t talk all the time. Listen to your friends and mentors and learn from them

5. Don’t brag about yourself. Let others point out your virtues, your strong points.

6. Give someone else a hand. When a friend is hurting show that friend you care

7. Nobody likes an overbearing big shot

8. As you succeed, be kind to people. Thank those who help you along the way

9. Don’t be afraid to shed a tear when your heart is broken because a friend is hurting.

10. Say your prayers!!

-George Bush

What a great manifesto to live your life by!  And what a great life he lived. We can all learn from his example of serving others.

Have a fabulous weekend!

~Amy Rees Anderson