Everyone has an email addict for a friend. You know . . . the ones that send dire warnings that would take two minutes to debunk on Snopes or threaten,

“You will have seven years of bad luck if you don’t forward this email to ten friends in the next five minutes.”

Whenever I get those, I always think, “Gee . . . thanks for thinking of me.”

However, yesterday my friend, sent me a forward that truly made a positive difference in my day. It was a list titled “45 Life Lessons and 5 to Grow On” by Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer.

The list starts off with this:

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 in August, so here goes:

Then follows 50 lines of absolute gems of wisdom, one of which is enough to ponder for a day.

As I read through the tips, there were several that hold true for businesses as well.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

While you need to have a plan for your business, it is important to remember that the plan is for the long-term. It doesn’t have to be done all at once. Many times when I talk to a business owner about their marketing, they are overwhelmed with all of the avenues available.

You don’t have to do it all and not all at once. Prioritize and then take the next step.

13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

So, so, SO true, for life as well as your business. In a past article, I talked about the pitfalls of making business decisions based on what others were doing.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

Even a great idea coupled with an awesome plan will experience obstacles. If you believe in what you are doing, you not only have to go after it, but continue to plug on even when you feel like it is not going your way.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

You can’t control everything and life will just happen. Plan as well as you can and then have the flexibility to adjust the plan when the unexpected happens.

48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Be specific about what you need and what you are asking for. Suzie Cheel with the Abundance Highway is currently in the middle of achieving a goal she has set for herself. She clearly delineated what she wanted to happen, why it was important, and how others could help her achieve it.

If you’ve been following her blog, you know that the results weren’t immediate. She set her plan and started the actions, but it took a little while for the results to start manifesting. There were times of discouragement, but she kept following the plan and then her results started to snowball.

If you’d like to read the rest of the tips, visit Regina Brett’s column.