IF I could tell you just one thing…
This weekend I took a trip up to Cardiff to help my son Cameron with a house move before he starts his second year of university. I was delighted to see how many books he had, as I have always tried to encourage my children to read. However, seeing all his books did also make me think about how little I have read myself in recent months. I love reading, but there always seems to be something more pressing to do than curling up with a good book.
Once I got home from Cardiff, I looked at my large pile of unread books and thought that now really was the time to pick one of them up. The first to get my attention was a book by Richard Reed called ‘If I could tell you just one thing’. It also has the added advantage of being full of short chapters, so you really don’t have any excuse for not finding the time to read at least a part of it.
The book is a collection of short encounters with people ranging from Simon Cowell to President Obama, the Dalai Lama and Dame Judi Dench. Richard has asked each of these people the same question. ‘Given all that you have experienced, given all that you now know and given all that you have learnt, if you could pass on only one piece of advice, what would it be?’
In the introduction to the book, Richard explains how on at least three occasions a simple piece of advice has changed his life, so he wanted to collect as many of these together as possible. I resonated with that as this has been my experience too. I still haven’t read the whole book, but just the idea of it made me ask myself the same question.
If I could pass on one piece of advice then what would it be? Try asking that question of yourself – it’s not as easy as you might think to try and boil all the wisdom you have accrued over time into just one thought or sentence.
I asked Cameron what, as a 20-year-old, his answer to that question would be. He thought for a while and then said that it was to see the positives in your current situation rather than spending time worrying about what might happen in the future.
My husband, who has recovered from cancer, said his advice would be that ‘whatever you are facing in life, you can overcome it.’ Minttu, my 10-year old daughter, said her advice was to ‘remember that family is the most important thing in life’.
Just asking this simple question led to an interesting discussion and also a new insight into what other people in the family considered to be their most important priorities.
In the end my own answer was influenced by all the people I meet and work with. Most are struggling with something and most present as confused about what they need or want in life. So my own advice would be this:
It’s normal for a person’s dreams and priorities in life to change over time. Never stop asking yourself what your own are and never stop believing that you can achieve them. Just remember to be always kind to others on the way.
Perhaps, if you have a spare moment, you could ask yourself and those closest to you that same question. Given all your life’s experience, knowledge and learning, what is the one piece of advice you would like to pass on? At the very least this question should make you stop and think – and it might give you some really valuable insight into what is really important to you and to those around you.