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RULES FOR LIFE The 12 New Rules
By Frederic M. Hudson, Ph.D., President and Pam McLean, Ph.D.,
Vice-President
The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara.
Revised, June 2000
1. No one owes you anything-not the government, your employer, your
family, or your spouse. Although the world around you is less and less definite and
predictable, it is no less valuable and mysterious. To rejoice in living you must invent
your own future, entrepreneur your life, and expect
surprises.
2. Global change is the major force in your life, and in the lives of
everyone on earth. We are all in training for a new era for all
humanity. Don't whine about it. Take advantage of the expanding possibilities now
available to you in our world of constant flow.
3. You have no ultimate safety, security or guarantees, so don't expect
any. What you have are endless opportunities to rearrange your priorities for work, play,
and life. Choose wisely, and expect more choices to follow.
4. Your life is an adventure, a journey through time. There are no lasting arrival points
and few lasting endings. Everything is flow-you just keep
moving, day by day, and week by week, following your internal compass
for adventuring through the long haul of ninety years or more. You live on a
boat in a river, flowing in white water from the alleged reference
points of yesterday to the utter unknown of tomorrow. Learn how to say "hello"
and "good-bye" with grace and style.
5. Know how to recycle yourself. Live each chapter of your life fully,
then invest in a transition and begin the next chapter. Weave, unravel, and
reweave your life, over and over. No matter what your age or situation,
design your future as your manifest destiny.
6. The best way to guide your life through infinite change is to follow
your own values and vision. Like a rudder, your values will keep you on
a course your integrity prefers. Like a sail, your vision will pull you
ahead into legitimate expectations.
7. Your best future happens when you have the courage to be: reach,
learn, risk, dare, leap. Embrace the unknown ahead. Live on the outer edge of
your possibilities, not on the inner edge of your security. Be active, not
passive. Lean into the wind.
8. Here is how to conduct your journey: Have a long term purpose with
short-term goals. Be definite and flexible. Trust the ocean but stay in
charge of your boat. Ride the waves.
9. Refuse to be defined and consumed by your career work. It's an
important part of the whole journey, but it's not the journey itself. Your deepest agenda
is your soul's work, your holistic callings to create success and
caring in all the parts of your life.
10. Everyone on earth is linked to the same destiny. We share the same
air, water, food, and capacities for total destruction. We are in each
other's hands, one for all and all for one. Interdependence is our expectation.
11. Learn how to grow older and better. Achieve mastery as a human
being-model wholeness, wisdom, and caring. Rewrite the myths of aging
with your evolving presence and leadership. Be grateful. Leave a legacy that
makes a difference.
12. As you find better rules-and you will-replace these rules with them.
The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara, 350 S. Hope Avenue, A210, Santa
Barbara, CA 93105, (805) 682-3883, Hudson@silcom.com
"Coaching for Sustained Renewal, Resilience, and Performance" Visit The Hudson Institute
online.
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