To Have Known Then All We Know Now

Tonight I hosted the female students that are in my Amy Rees Anderson Academic Entrepreneurs program at The Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University in my home for a dinner and some girl chat. I also invited two of my female friends from the business community to join me and the students tonight so the three of us could each answer questions the girls had and give them our differing perspectives and insights.

We sat around the firepit in my backyard talking for hours about things like work/life balance, overcoming fears, having children, setting goals, career paths, values, and learning to love yourself. It was so much fun to spend time with the girls tonight and I love that they are so eager to ask questions of us. I also loved getting to hear the answers from the other two women and the life lessons they’ve learned.

As we sat answering the girls questions the thought that kept going through my mind was, “Oh, to have known back at their age all the things we know now!” We three women have each been through so many hard things in our lives that have taught us so many valuable life lessons – lessons we’d learned the hardest way by having to go through them with their bumps and bruises and heartaches and pains that taught us each the lessons. Yet, how much more amazing could our lives have been if we could have had our wisdom back at their age? And here these students were, getting to hear the lessons learned without having to go through any of the actual pain of experiencing them…what a better way to learn!!!

Avoid having to experience all the bumps and bruises to learn life’s lessons…instead, seek out wisdom gained from those who have been there and lived through it and who are willing to share openly and honestly all that they’ve come to learn and understand. It’s a great way to jump light years ahead…and its as easy as asking some people to share what they’ve come to learn…best part is no bruising required 🙂

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )

1 Comment

  • Gloria Gross says:

    I have a daughter who listened to me when I shared with her my journey of bumps and bruises. She has been able to bypass a lot of them as she has journeyed along. She has also gained valuable wisdom from dealing with the issues she had and conquered as she listened to my advice. Her children have gained immensely. It’s like tossing a pebble into a pond of water–it ripples out.

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