Be so good … they can’t criticize you.
Be so good … they can’t judge you.
Be so good … they can’t blame or shame you.
Be so good …. they won’t leave you.
Do so much … they won’t leave you.
Work so hard … to keep proving it.
Work so hard … no one could accuse you of being lazy.
Work so hard … it won’t fall apart.
Work hard for, protect, defend …. everyone you care about.
Make everyone else’s lives awesome. Or at least better.
Accept everyone else …. then maybe no one can hurt you. And everyone else feels loved and cared for. And stays.
When the shit hits the fan … always be there fixing it. And when you need to give it all … is that even a serious question
What could you have done to not let the shit hit the fan?
Run as fast & hard & far as you can … to get so far ahead of it… and maybe it won’t catch up to you.
If you let off the gas … it will catch you.
Bottle it up … so no one gets hurt.
Hold it in … so your fire doesn’t burn anyone.
Keep a tight lid on it … because they will see your depravity.
Hold it together, always… because well, the other option is just fucking dangerous.
When it erupts and scorches the earth …. whew, you really really fucked up.
Be the model, set the example, all the time …
When they are scared … be strength, be courage, be hope, be action.
When you’re scared … and you’re always scared … that’s called fuel.
If you let them see you worry … they will worry. That’ll compound yours and you can barely handle your worry.
When you’ve thought through all the scenarios & hit dead ends … bang your head like you did an old TV and expect it to work right again.
There are no dead ends … you just haven’t figured it out yet.
Never qive up … because people depend on you.
Wait …. quitting does not exist … it’s not an option …. why are you even thinking the word.
Keep it all together … so it doesn’t fall apart. You’re in charge.
Perfection is not pass/fail — you might get close enough to see it momentarily … and then it’ll move farther away. So just live in failure.
Deflect praise … because you could have done better or more.
Deflect praise … because you don’t believe it.
Blame? … that’s just another thing you didn’t think of or do.
Blame? …. scorch yourself with it so it might sting less when it’s true.
Always stay on guard … so nothing sneaks up on you. Or surprises you.
If you don’t … that’s when it’ll happen.
When it feels good … that’s the warning light saying it might slip away.
Prove you’re worth a shit … by doing it all, carrying it all, being it all, perfectly.
This wasn’t “hustle culture.” You will never have to tell me to hustle.
These were my own rules for living.
And …. yeah …. it finally crushed me underneath it all.
And I started 7 years ago … and continue today … to slowly rewrite them all … to include myself in my own life.
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