The Important Things In Life......

This weekend my mother (who lives in Madison, WI) was visiting me in Colorado.

She and I are from different generations of course (she is my mother after all)! We are not separated by only one generation ---- I am the youngest of nine (yes….nine) and was born when my mother was 45. We are two generations apart, with my older siblings representing the generation in between.


It’s no wonder I’ve had a life-long appreciation for generational differences.


During our most recent conversation the topic turned to thank you notes. Seems my mother is a little annoyed at one of the grandkids (there are 23 of them) for not having sent a thank you note for a gift she sent months ago. In my mother’s words “There are probably five really important things to learn in this world…..and the importance of sending thank you notes is one of them”. (In all honesty I think she is more annoyed that her children have not passed on the importance of thank you notes to their children after she spent so much time focused on this with each of us).


In any case…this got me thinking ---- if I had to list the five most important things in life to be passed on to my children (or, since I don’t have kids….to my nieces and nephews)…what would they be?


Here’s what I came up with….


• Do what you love and love what you do --- it makes the days much more enjoyable
makes you a lot easier to be around during and after work!
• Be involved – in your community, neighborhood, school, etc.
• Experience new things – see the world, experience and appreciate new cultures
and different ways of doing things – broaden your horizons.
• Be a great friend ----- and it will be reciprocated.
• And…for the sake of my mother….send thank you notes.


I’d love to hear what you might include on your list – please add your thoughts via the comment section or contact me through www.insightfulendeavors.com


Wishing you the very best with all your endeavors,


Nora A Burns, SPHR





Nora A. Burns, SPHR is Founder and President of Insightful Endeavors International, (IEI), Inc. IEI specializes in building innovative, sustainable teams to drive bottom-line results. In addition to working with corporations and associations, IEI offers public workshops across the United States. Fall/Winter workshops are being offered in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin – registration is available here.