Live Alive, Not Just a Life: Guidelines for Rebelling Against "Reality"

1. Be daring.
True living is more than just keeping your heart beating and a roof over your head. Don't fool yourself into thinking that is “just how life goes.” There are way more possibilities, and, yes, IT IS WORTH GOING AFTER.

2. Be confident.
We get so upset when others blow off our ideas and desires, but we have no problem doing it to ourselves. Take your ideas, feelings, wants, wishes, yearns & urges seriously: those are your only true guide. Other people have no idea what's best for you, so stop seeking their validation.

3. Be inquisitive.
Stop doing everything by the book: it's time to start drafting your own revised edition. Rules don't always exist in the name of the greatest good; more often than not, they exist because someone wants to establish or maintain power. And that's just not a good enough reason.

4. Be deliberate.
Life is a series of choices. You choose every single direction that your life takes. Use that to your advantage. –

5. Be brave.
There will be people out there who won't support what you're doing. Who cares?

6. Be introspective.
Figure out what you value, and make the necessary changes to align your life with those values. If you value time more than money, stop working 60 hour work weeks. The only way you'll get more time, is by doing less. (MATH.)

7. Be prudent.
Speaking of money, IT ISN'T AS IMPORTANT AS WE'RE TAUGHT TO THINK IT IS. Money comes, and money goes, and it provides little value itself until you actually exchange it for something that is valuable to you. So, ask yourself that question. What do you value? That's where the majority of the money you spend should be going.

8. Be zealous.
No one ever won any awards for having good intentions.

9. Be panoramic.
In the scheme of things, if you're going to be late to work, it doesn't really matter. If you don't get an A, it doesn't really matter. If you're proven wrong about something, it doesn't really matter. Relax, and enjoy the ride. Will this matter in 100 years?

10. Be lighthearted.
The world is not judging you as much as you think they are. Most people are too wrapped up in themselves to even notice what you're doing.

11. Be stimulated.
Perhaps one of the greatest goals we can seek for ourselves is exhilaration. Are you enthralled by your life? –

12. Be thoughtful.
Thinking about canceling on an invitation to a friend's baby shower or birthday party because you have too much work to do? Don't. Your friend is more important; work can always be done later. Nothing is that urgent. Relationships, however, are your foundation.

13. Be relentless.
You don't just need to love yourself; you need to respect yourself, too. And the way you garner that respect is by doing the things you've set out to do.

14. Be courageous.
Being content with your life and being proud to call it yours are two different things.

15. Be delighted.
Last but not least, wine should be drank with meals. Preferably Malbec. It's freaking delicious.