It’s kind of scary how quickly 2011 flew by….
I’m hardly prepared for 2012. Like every year, I have a couple lessons to share…
1. You know him at the beginning…
A man tells you who he is unwittingly. He says he’s cheated in the past. You see that he spends money beyond his means. Always take note of your initial impressions and don’t sugar coat the truth because you like him.
2. Demand what you want!
I learned this one from a French girl…and then from an Irishman.
4. Plan goals for yourself and stick with them.
If you outline your most sincere goals, and spend 30 minutes a day toward their fruition, you will be astounded by the progress after just a couple of months, and find sincere gratification.
4. Set standards for yourself.
Work where you feel respected. Date men who give you what you want. Live where you feel comfortable. You’re worth the very best.
5. Recognize the illusion of love.
Unable to move past a breakup, I read Dr. Helen Fisher’s studies on the way your brain functions in love. It’s an addiction, not unlike a dependance on cocaine.
6. Demand a relationship on your terms.
It’s not easy, but if you set your standards and put them into practice, it is possible to have a relationship that is 50-50.
7. Save money for a rainy day.
If you put away 10% of every check you receive, you’ll be surprised by how much you have at the end of the year.
8. It’s always fun to splurge, but it’s even more fun to save.
I spent $500 on those Tory Burch boots that I won’t shut up about, only to find out that they had been on sale three months early. So the next month I went to a vintage store and bought a whole bunch of “new used” designer shirts. I felt much better.
9. Find comfort in the small things.
Buy flowers every few weeks to give your apartment a fresh look and feel, try to make your bed in the morning, find a creamy body lotion that smells delicious through out the day. These things make life worth living.
10. Separate your values from society’s expectations.
Many of the things that you want, may only be because people expect it from you. Consider what activities in your life make you happy, no matter how trivial, and what makes you indifferent – or even miserable.
11. Hot > Everything else.
The good thing is “hot” is very manipulable and doesn’t have to be skanky. (we’ll discuss this in detail later.)
12. Baiser au début is officially okay.
It’s taken me three years to accept it. But I finally decree that it doesn’t matter as long as everyone is comfortable.
