#237: Life Lessons (Friday, July 15)

There are some life lessons that cost you your life or your quality of life.

Failure to visit the doctor on a regular basis could mean you discover a terminal illness when it's too late, or after you've had to amputate a body part, or lost your sight or some other necessary function. This is a tough lesson to learn the hard way, but it's also a lesson that will inspire those closest to you to be more proactive and do things differently.

There are some life lessons that cost you your time.

Staying at a company for years and being continually overlooked for promotions, and having your potential ignored. This may teach you to be more agressive to get what you want, but if you're also learning while you're being overlooked, you're amassing new knowledge that is transferable and also makes you more marketable.

Or being in a relationship for many years before realizing that you're not compatible, or you want different things from life. This is a valuable life lesson; it's simply preparation for the right person.

And there are some life lessons that cost you money.

For example, starting up your own business. When I started my magazine, it was the realization of a dream. Two years and $40,000 later I had to close it. I've never regretted doing it, and if I had to do it all over again, I would; it was worth every penny. The lesson I learned: I CAN do anything I set my mind to doing. 

Or what about this ad that I've been seeing in the NYC subways, which is part of the NY Consumer Affairs Protect Your Money series. At first glance, I thought "Why would this man pay $6000 to someone to fix his credit? Why wouldn't he just pay that money towards his bills? But losing that money probably taught him the valuable lesson that there are no quick fixes to getting out of debt and also led him to a Financial Empowerment Center where he can develop good LONG-TERM money management skills that he can also pass onto others. 

The bottom line: There's no price that you can put on an experience that will change your outlook on life, or that will make you a better person. If you come out of a situation even a little changed than when you went in, it's worth the cost.