The document lists 18 principles for living purposefully and making a positive impact. It encourages the reader to play the game of life courageously, think outside the box, be different to make a difference, connect ideas and help others, give more than you take, keep your word, focus on actions over words, be intentional in your goals, encourage others, anticipate challenges and find solutions, trust intuition but consider facts, avoid blaming and be part of solutions, serve others unconditionally, and strive to better the world.

1. Eighteen Principles
James H. Gerberman, Ph.D.
Founder, Ideaist, Fruitionist
AARKENSTONE QUEST

2. 1. Play the Game
• Learn the rules.
• Play to win.
• Win or lose- be gracious.
“Life is the Greatest of all Games. Play it with courage, wisdom,
and loyalty.”
-- inscription on flirtation walk at West Point

3. 2. Be Unafraid of Thinking or Being
Outside the Box
• Be sure to consider the “not so obvious”.
“If you always do what you've always done, you're always gonna
get what you've always got.”
-- Old Texas Saying

4. 3. Be Different- Not for the Sake of
Being Different, But in Order to
Make a Difference.
• Trust yourself.
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far
they can go”
-- T.S. Eliot

5. 4. Connect the Dots
• Look for interrelationships.
• Match capabilities and needs.
“Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks, and I learned
much from both of their styles.”
-- Jimmy Buffet, Son of a Son of a Sailor

6. 5. Give More Than You Take
• Take the initiative in serving unconditionally.
• Others will follow when they’re ready.
“We find comfort among those who agree with us; growth among
those who don’t.”
-- Frank A. Clark

7. 6. Take Responsibility, Give Credit
• When things go well, spread the credit by
recognizing the contribution of others.
• It’s a team effort.
“Courage is the virtue that makes all other virtues possible.”
-- Aristotle

8. 7. Don’t Take Yourself Too
Seriously, But Take Your
Responsibilities Very Seriously
• What you’re doing is important to someone or
something.
“Always take your job seriously, never yourself.”
-- Dwight Eisenhower

9. 8. Keep Your Word.
Under-promise. Over-deliver.
• Set reasonable expectations.
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.
Your character is what you really are while your reputation is
merely what others think you are”
-- John Wooden

10. 9. Pay More Attention to Actions
Than Words.
• Talk is cheap.
• Whether it’s intentional or not, people seldom
mean what they say.
“Well done is better than well said.”
-- Benjamin Franklin

11. 10. Be Intentional.
• Have a clear idea of what you’re doing and
why you’re doing it.
• Think big.
“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high
and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
-- Michelangelo Buonarroti

12. 11. Be Encouraging.
• Help others.
“A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries
up the bones.”
-- Proverbs 17:22

13. 12. Look Beyond the Next Step.
• Anticipate the reactions of others.
• Plan for contingencies.
“Skate to where the puck will be.”
-- Wayne Gretzky

14. 13. Find a Way. Adapt and
Overcome Obstacles.
• Learns from mistakes.
• Keep the end in mind.
“Things work out best for those who make the best of how things
work out.”
-- John Wooden

15. 14. Analyze With Your Head,
Decide With Your Heart.
• Set the context.
• Get enough information to make an informed
decision.
• Trust your intuition.
“Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything
that can be counted counts.”
-- Albert Einstein

16. 15. Don’t Let Other People Do Your
Thinking For You.
•
•
•
•
Every has and is entitled to their opinion.
Listen to others.
Get the facts.
Decide for yourself.
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other
plans.”
-- John Lennon

17. 16. Be Part of the Solution.
• Avoid blaming others.
“It had long since come to my attention that people of
accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them.
They went out and happened to things.”
-- Leonardo da Vinci

18. 17. Love and Serve Unconditionally.
• Do things without regard for “what’s in it for
me”?
“People don’t care how much we know, until they know how much
we care .”
-- unknown

19. 18. Matter.
• To someone.
• To something.
• Leave the world a better place for having been
here.
“Be the change that you want to see in the world.”
-- Mahatma Gandhi