Submitted by Rodolpho Arruda

rodolpho arruda is a 33-year old training specialist from são paulo, brazil; he believes that life is unique, and needs to be well experienced with great passion and clarity.

Here are Rodolpho's "Five Rules For Life":

1.) Believe the cup is half full, always!
It is said that most of the Auschwitz survivors believed they could get over it despite all the suffering. We are living in hard times because of the economic crisis, and this might be the beginning of a series of other small crises to come. It is more important than ever that we learn to see the good side of things, because it's always there.

2.) Have contact with nature.
We have become more urban than ever in history. Most of our modern tensions are born and evolve from living in big cities. Take some time off, go to the woods, and take a walk around. Look, hear, smell, and touch nature. You will be stunned with the things you can learn from it in just a single day of walking.

3.) Use your body.
Unfortunately we are living up in our heads; they are integrated to our computers and phones, and through them to the Internet. Too often we forget we have a body to take care of...and it needs us! Forget the gym and iron pumping, do activities that will enrich your body consciousness like yoga, dance, and martial arts.

4.) Develop your social intelligence.
The way the job market evolved in the knowledge society suggests that knowing "whom" is better than knowing "how". Do the best you can to expand and improve the quality of your professional network. People hire people they trust, period. People buy from people they trust, period. Be a people person, period.

5.) Love something or someone.
To explain this I will borrow from Nietzsche's thinking. Imagine yourself without any form of love inside of you...you cannot love anything from now until your last day of life. Isn't it terrible? So love something - a pet, a hobby, a place, a food, or a person - a relative, a friend, a partner. Think about that love first thing every morning from now on.



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