Late To My Own Party...

My best friend from high school and I have the same birthday.

In elementary school, our moms would coordinate cupcakes and punch for our classroom and we'd celebrate on stylish styrofoam and the "fancy" napkins. (Ahh, those were the days, weren't they? Before we all felt overwhelmed by guilt of disposable wares.)

In high school we celebrated our 18th annual candle-blowing bonanza by having a luau...in the middle of January...in Ohio.

When I texted her last month to wish her a happy day, she asked, "How is it possible we're almost 40?!"

"I dunno," I said. "I swear just last month I was 25."

"Me too!" she said.

We had a good laugh and joked some more before resuming our own (separate) celebrations (she with her homemade pizza, pajamas, and progenitors and me with my work—two diverse but highly characteristic depictions of Capricorns celebrating their birthday in fashion).

Jokes aside, somehow an actual month has gone by and I haven't done my annual birthday reflection.

I kept thinking I'd get around to it...and then I remembered how being 7 and 3/4 was a really big deal and thought to myself, Who says I can't make a big deal out of being 38 and 1/12? I mean, it is MY birthday after all.

So, here I am, one moon into 38 and finally sitting down to meditate on just how rich 37 was.

37 was a fine vintage. I'm talking '08 Cristal level of good (which scored a perfect 100 on multiple wine ratings lists and I personally rank the most delicious bubbles I ever tasted).

For the first time since 2008, I didn't have a mantra to guide my year. And for the first time in eight years I didn't set a single goal (I normally set 108).

It was the Year Without Any Goals—and still so much happened.

My business finally took off, I saw and did things I'd been talking about seeing and doing for years, I fell in love (put a pin in that one for later), and I solidified so many potent lessons.

So, without further ado, here are my 37 lessons from 37 years:

1. People are gonna judge you no matter what you do—might as well make it worth it.

2. Movement is medicine.

3. Knowledge is NOT power. Knowledge is just information. What you do with that information is where your true power lies. That's called wisdom.

4. Life is hard. Orgasms help.

5. It may not be your fault, but it's always your responsibility.

6. Clichés exist for a reason.

7. Those we love and care deeply about deserve our willingness to have uncomfortable conversations.

8. You're gonna have to do shit you don't wanna do.

9. Everything is either medicine or poison. Literally, every. single. thing.

10. Just because something is common doesn't mean it's normal.

11. No number on any scale will ever determine your worth.

12. Forgiveness is not a one-time act.

13. Construction projects are never completed on time.

14. The answer you're looking for is almost always the simplest one. But simple rarely means easy.

15. You can either be in the middle of the dance floor tearing it up or standing around the edges watching those who are and wishing you were brave enough to be out there with them.

16. The only condition for which there is a 100% mortality rate is being alive.

17. People will always shock you—in good and bad ways.

18. You gotta learn to separate the art from the artist.

19. Love is sometimes a feeling, sometimes a choice.

20. Faith is sometimes a feeling and sometimes a choice.

21. Being resourceful is infinitely more valuable than having a ton of resources.

22. Your feelings are valid, but that doesn't make them real.

23. When people feel ashamed, they usually act very poorly.

24. There's no such thing as right or wrong decisions. There's only what you choose to do and what you choose not to do.

25. No amount of humaning will ever make up for the fact that you are also, at your core, a wild animal.

26. Nobody's winning any awards for being the richest person in the graveyard.

27. Working IN your life isn't the same thing as working ON your life. Both are necessary if you want to live a life you love.

28. Empathy isn't a superpower.

29. When it gets hard, remember your why.

30. Be a heartbreaker. Just make sure the heart you're breaking isn't your own.

31. Creativity is not optional; it is alchemy for life.

32. Life is a compliation of pardoxes. The sooner you learn to live in and embrace those contradictions, the happier and more at peace you'll be.

33. What happens isn't what matters in the end. What truly matters is how you decide to tell it.

34. Words are powerful. Choose them wisely.

35. Your mind is either your most powerful ally or your worst enemy. And you get to decide which.

36. If you haven't rejected at least one core tenant in your life, you're doing something wrong.

37. No matter how good of care you take of it, your body will eventually fail you.

Which of these lessons stuck with you the most? Comment and let me know.

Learning lessons since '88,

Chazz