Learn Life Lessons from Bon Jovi

Learn Life Lessons from Bon Jovi

 Jon Bon Jovi is a legendary¹ rock star from next-town-over-from-me New Jersey². At the same time he’s a songwriter, actor and accomplished³ entrepreneur. To put some frosting on the cake, Jon went from sweeping⁴ floors at a recording⁵ studio to selling over 120 million records world-wide.

Some people call it luck, some people call it talent, but I know for a fact that it is Jon’s out look on life that brought him every ounce of success that came his way. The beauty of life is that it is within all of us to adopt a paradigm⁶ that will bring us more happiness and success than we could ever imagine.

1. “Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.”

One thing that I think we can all agree upon is that when the going gets tough giving up is easy. Life is made as such that accomplishing easy goals is not nearly as satisfying as going through trials and tribulations⁷ acquire a well deserved prize.

That’s why for Jon it was important to trudge⁸ past all his failures and get back on his feet until he accomplished his goals. These trials came over and over again in his career and life, and I’m sure he has learned to look forward to the hard times because they are a sign of the rewards to come.2. “Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate⁹.”

There’s something inheritantly boring about the 9-5, which is why many people speak badly of it. Not necessarily because it’s too hard, or because we might fail, but certainly because of the fact that boredom¹⁰ kills off who we are.

Passion, in any way shape or form, is what sparks the vitality¹¹ within us. If we’re going to be spending the better part of our day working and earning a living (or making a fortune) we should at least be doing something that we love, so we’ll love our lives.

3. “Don’t get too comfortable with who you are at any given time - you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be.”

The infamous¹² comfort zone, oh killer¹³ of hopes and dreams. When our stomachs are full, and we’re totally satiated, we have no desire to go look for food. When we are comfortable enough with our living condition, we will most certainly not strive as hard to go after our dreams.

Going after your dreams, while exciting and fun, is designed to be hard. Laying around in the sack, stuffing ourselves with junk food, and numbing¹⁴ ourselves with alcohol is much easier, and is the trap that we must all avoid in order to experience a much grander journey to illustratious destinations.

4. “Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.”

My biggest pet peeve¹⁵ would have to be complainers. I know this sounds like complaining, but it breaks my heart to see people blinded to the beauty of life by putting all their focus on the negativity. Life has good stuff and bad stuff, and whatever we think about expands.

Part of our test, the one where passing leads us to a more fruitful existence, is becoming conscious of ourselves and of our self-talk. By concentrating on the positives, and letting the negatives hang by the way-side we are effectively making our overall experience and perception of life more positive. This is all done without actually changing what the rest of the world is like.

5. “Each one of you has something no one else has, or has ever had: your fingerprints¹⁶, your brain, your heart. Be an individual. Be unique. Stand out. Make noise. Make someone notice. That’s the power of individuals.”

On one hand, the one that looks at the grand scheme of things, we are nothing. Nothing compared to God and the vastness of the universe. On the other hand, we are just a part of a collective of people who are very much the same, and want similar things out of life.

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That’s why we have to stop looking at those hands, and create a universe where we can function in the collective, but do so with style and flare¹⁷ so that we may stand out and leave a legacy¹⁸.

6. “Map out your future - but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.”

Jon’s life was not written in stone, it was flexible and took many unexpected twists and turns. This makes him just like us. His ability to be spontaneous and comprise made his life more exciting.

While there is great merit to being a stand for what you want to do, and have an unshakeable commitment to a cause, there are many paths that will lead to that goal, some more fun than others. It’s your life, take the scenic¹⁹ view.

7. “The only enemy is ignorance.”

This comes out of you from nowhere, just when you thought ignorance was bliss²⁰. The truth is that it’s not a sin to be ignorant, but it is a sin to remain ignorant. Being closed off, and uneducated will lead one to live a shallow life where nothing more than carnal pleasures exist. That’s what Hitler’s goal was for every person in the world, to be nothing more than an animal.

By being open minded to any possibility, reading, learning, and fully²¹ experiencing life from all angles we are allowing ourselves to grow. We are allowing ourselves to make a positive influence on our neighbors and on shaping and changing the world.

Go ahead and study the great, successful, and happy men of history. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel and there’s a good chance that anything you could come up with has already been thought of before. Use their knowledge to take your life experiences to the highest level.

1 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

4 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

7 tribulations   

n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦

参考例句：

• the tribulations of modern life 现代生活的苦恼
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence. 这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 trudge   

v.步履艰难地走；n.跋涉，费力艰难的步行

参考例句：

• It was a hard trudge up the hill.这趟上山是一次艰难的跋涉。
• The trudge through the forest will be tiresome.长途跋涉穿越森林会令人疲惫不堪。

9 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

10 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

11 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

12 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

13 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

14 numbing   

adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Watching television had a numbing effect on his mind. 看电视使他头脑麻木。
• It was numbing work, requiring patience and dedication. 这是一种令人麻木的工作，需要有耐心和忘我精神。 来自辞典例句

15 peeve   

v.气恼，怨恨；n.麻烦的事物，怨恨

参考例句：

• She was in a peeve over it.她对这很气恼。
• She was very peeved about being left out.她为被遗漏而恼怒。

16 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

18 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

19 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

20 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

21 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。