On the occasion of my 40th birthday, here are 40 things I’m pretty much mostly sure about:

1. Your legacy will not be about what you did for yourself.
2. No one really cares about your problems.
3. Everyone has something uniquely valuable to contribute.
4. Chucks are only tolerable with insoles.
5. I love the work I get to do.
6. You probably won’t do it later, so do it now.
7. People need to know how you feel about them.
8. Relationships are the entire point.
9. Your problems aren’t special.
10. The struggle is the best part.
11. People were meant to work.
12. Grace isn’t just a great thing to receive, it’s a great thing to extend.
13. Waffles might be the answer.
14. Expressing your gratitude has the potential to change you as much as the other person.
15. To remove the possibility of failure is to remove the possibility of doing meaningful work.
16. I’m waaaaay more afraid than you think.
17. You are not a victim.
18. Music is basically the very best thing ever.
19. Money is important, but not as important as people.
20. You will never arrive.
21. It’s cool when businesses see the potential of their profits.
22. Being a husband and a father are the most important gigs I will ever have.
23. It’s really difficult to be grateful and selfish at the same time.
24. Taking the stage in front of hundreds of people is far less nerve-racking than talking to a single stranger after the event.
25. Every day is another chance to change.
26. Natalie Hemby is the truth.
27. What you’ve accomplished is less important than who you are becoming.
28. The things you choose to think about become the things you see.
29. Someone needs the help you have to offer.
30. It’s okay to be happy, but it’s not okay to expect to be happy all the time.
31. Possibility is where you look for it.
32. Every office needs a gigantic white board.
33. You matter a great deal. You aren’t that important. It pays to get comfortable with that tension.
34. It’s okay if some people don’t like you. It may even be desirable.
35. Facebook is a tool people use to make their lives look more interesting than they really are.
36. Every once in a while it’s okay to just put the iPhone down.
37. You will never regret giving someone you love the gift of your complete attention.
38. The way your desk looks speaks volumes about you.
39. Authority and credit are hard to come by, but anyone can take responsibility.
40. Compromising is different than settling.