Life Lessons Worth Learning

 

LIFE LESSONS WORTH LEARNING
By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, April 14, 2026

A word of explanation.  I wrote the following as I normally would. It was written to my grandson who was graduating from college; a graduation that circumstances kept from attending – my loss! The lessons do not apply to just college graduates; they would apply to anyone in any situation.  After I wrote what I thought was important, I requested ChatGPT to convert what I had written into a text style that FogHorn Leghorn might have written or have said. It gives the reader the image of an old rooster (me) passing on his well—gained knowledge to anyone in the barnyard that would listen. That is what I wanted to achieve. and I think ChatGPG and Foghorn did it. I hope you enjoy reading this Nugget and take away the lessons I hope it provides.

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I say, I say, lemme tell ya somethin’, BUD—there’s been a question rattlin’ around this ol’ noggin of mine for decades now, and I mean DECADES! Especially these last twenty years or so, it’s pecked at me like a woodpecker on a tin roof. If I had the chance—now listen here—if an 80-year-old Gymbeaux could sit down jaw-to-jaw with a 20-year-old Jim, what ONE MESSAGE, I say ONE MESSAGE, would I pass along that’d actually stick? You didn’t ask me, BUD—but if you had, well sir, here it comes loud and clear!

Back in the mid-1990s—yes sir, back when folks still read newspapers instead of peckin’ at phones—I came across a couple of studies that said fewer than 5%—I say FIVE PERCENT—of professionals ever read a single book about their own line of work. Now son, I was knee-deep in trainin’ real estate agents back then, and I’m here to tell ya, that 5% sounded downright generous! Most of ’em wouldn’t read a sales book if it came with a free steak dinner. Sales, relationships, motivation, contracts—might as well have been written in hieroglyphics to ’em.

Now picture this, BUD—imagine your heart doctor, scalpel in hand, about to tinker with your ticker… and he ain’t cracked open a book on surgery since he got his diploma. I say, that ain’t just bad—that’s “write your will” bad!

Now ol’ Gary Keller—sharp fella, co-founder of Keller Williams Realty—used to say, “You’re either knowledge-based or ignorant-based… choose wisely!” And I say, BUD, that man was right on the money!

So here’s the deal: if you wanna be a success—anywhere, anyhow—you best get yourself in the habit of readin’ NON-FICTION about your craft. I set myself a goal—three books a month, every month—and I stuck to it for decades. Don’t you tell me you ain’t got time, BUD! You got time—you just ain’t managing it right!

Now here comes the second nugget—lean in close, son—MAKE YOURSELF IRREPLACEABLE! I say, IRREPLACEABLE! You do that, and you’ll never be lookin’ for a job a day in your life. Your boss’ll look at you and say, “That boy’s worth more than two men and a pickup truck!” and they’ll bend over backward to keep you happy. And if you’re workin’ for yourself? Why BUD, you’ll soar higher than a hawk in a tailwind!

And another thing—bein’ satisfied? That’s a dangerous place, I say DANGEROUS! Stay curious! Stay adventurous! Get out there and see the world—even if it’s just a walk through a national park. There’s more out there than your front porch, son!

Now if I’d had the chance to tell my younger self all this, I would’ve laid it out just like I’m layin’ it out for you. Take it for what it’s worth—but I say it’s worth more than a stack of fancy diplomas! Most of what really matters—you learned before first grade. That’s right—your mama and daddy, they were your first and best teachers. Truth, right and wrong, good and evil—that’s the foundation, BUD!

So congratulations on your graduation, BUD! I tip my hat to ya! I hope one day this sticks in that brainpan of yours and you pass it down to your kids and grandkids. And if you’re wonderin’ where I’ve said all this before—well sir, it’s all tucked inside that book I co-wrote with Lou Vickery—Where Are You Going?

Now go on out there and make somethin’ of yourself, BUD—I’ll be watchin’!

Make Your Bed!

 

MAKE YOUR BED!

By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, April 4, 2026

 “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed!”

Admiral William H. McRaven, U. N. Navy 

Admiral McRaven gave the commencement speech to the University of Texas graduating class in 2014, over ten years ago. His classic message is just as valuable in 2026 as it was in 2014; even more so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBAqF00gBGk It is ONLY SIX MINUTES LONG!
 
Have YOU noticed or is it mathematically even possible for ME to be the ONLY one that has noticed? If you need a mental picture, you need to only take out a chair and sit in my front yard for fifteen minutes to an hour, it would be impossible NOT to see. I live on the corner of a 3-way stop. It is an intersection on a street with no commercial properties, only homes. It is a residential neighborhood. Visibility at the stop signs are NOT restricted by bushes or overhanging branches, they stand tall, extremely easy to see, and are exceedingly difficult to miss.
 
On April 3, 2026, over the course of less than TEN MINUTES, I observed TWO cars traveling at a speed faster than the 25-mph limit for the area. They COMPLETELY IGNORED the stop signs; they did not even attempt to slow down. Was it intentional? It had to be! Then, as we traveled one block to the next intersection, we STOPPED at a 4-way stop. The road in both directions was clear except for one young man on a bicycle that was approaching the same 4-way stop. I started to enter the intersection when I realized that the bicycle was on an E-Bike (electric bicycle) and he was traveling at least 30 mph. It became obvious that he had no intention of stopping. As he blew through the stop sign, I honked my horn and he was unfazed; did not even look up. Approximately one-half mile further down the road, we approached a railroad crossing and on the other side there was a traffic light. We were in the left-hand turn lane, and a car came over the railroad tracks without even slowing down but it did stop at the red light. By law, it was permissible to “turn right on red” and when I looked over, the driver was on her cell phone which is illegal in the State of Louisiana.
 
What is the point of writing about the Admiral’s commencement speech and FOUR different people on our local roadways totally ignoring the traffic laws of 2026? I am so glad you asked. At some point in the lives of these four people, they were taught or they observed people ignoring laws and/or authority figures. It is impossible NOT to have seen the protesters all over America physically and verbally abusing law enforcement officers. I am the parent of four children and as a parent, I could not help but ask, “what parent would teach their children to ignore laws and persons of authority or through their own actions and/or words set the example for their children that such behavior is permissible?” Would YOU teach YOUR children to ignore a stop sign? Would you teach them to drive while on their cell phones? Would you teach them to throw trash out of their car windows? The list of infractions is endless. Laws are not suggestions! They were written to achieve a purpose. The obvious purpose is the safety of the individual and all the individuals they may come upon, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN!
 
I conducted a very unscientific survey of the 3-way stop on the corner where we live. Over the course of ONLY ONE HOUR, I counted the cars that approached the signs from three different directions. If a driver slowed down and appeared to have recognized the stop sign but did NOT come to a complete stop, I credited those drives as having stopped. Even given that leeway, 40% of the drivers transiting our 3-way stop intersection DID NOT STOP, DID NOT SLOW DOWN AND TOTALLY IGNORED THE SIGNS!
 
Then came the kick in the gut when I learned that in the State of California, it was discovered that there had been an ongoing massive fraud scheme involving HOSPICE organizations. The fraud was estimated to be 1.5 BILLION DOLLARS! STOP! LET THAT SINK IN! Now do as I did. I asked ChatGPT how much the annual operating budget for the State of Louisiana was. ChatGPT informed me that it was 38 MILLION DOLLARS! STOP! LET THAT SINK IN! There is MORE fraud in just ONE organization in just ONE State than it costs the entire State of Louisiana to function for one year!
 
If YOU want to connect the dots, it all starts with the simple task of making your bed, EVERY MORNING! There have been mornings when I think that since no one is going to see my bed, why not just leave it as is? Then either my wife or I make the bed EVERY DAY! No one likes rules but rules are what makes our country function. Can you imagine the chaos if people, on their own volition, decided to drive on the LEFT side of the road instead of the RIGHT? It is bad enough that we have experienced people behind the wheel of a car that have been impaired by alcohol, drugs, cell phones, small children in the car acting up, or simply not paying attention. Except for a mechanical failure or a sudden medical emergency, most accidents on the roads are avoidable if only people paid close attention to what they were doing (driving) and obeying the laws.
 
Where do people learn that it is permissible to break the law or ignore authority? Where? It starts in the home when they are born and before they begin their formal school education. As they begin school, they are taught mostly by their peers. As I grew up in the 1950s, the peer pressure put forth by others to entice me to smoke cigarettes was at times unbearable. You did not want to appear to be on the outside looking in. Thankfully, I never picked up the habit of smoking. The same applies to the use of illegal drugs, underage drinking, sex, you name it. Peer pressure can be the best and the worst training in anyone’s life. That is why the following is so critical to understand:
 

“You become what you do. How and what you become depends on environmental influence, so you become who you hang around. Raise the standard your peers must meet, and you’ll raise your expectations of yourself. If your environment is not making you better, change it!’

 

Mark Twight

 
There is a famous quotation by C. L. Lewis that should be everyone’s guide stone! Some people refer to a guide stone as their life’s compass pointing them in the “right direction!” 
 

“Integrity, is doing the right thing, especially when no one is watching!”

 

C. L. Lewis

 
As Admiral McRaven suggests, if you begin by simply making your bed (doing the right thing), it sets the standard for everything you do. You made your bed even though no one was watching. You stopped at the stop sign, even though no one was watching, or so you thought! You use your cell phone while driving even though no one is watching or so you thought!
 
If you are so willing to break even the most seemingly insignificant of laws and rules, at what point do you stop obeying the rest of the laws? When does not making your bed and/or disrespecting your parents and teachers become embezzling the government for billions of dollars.
 

RESPECT in America is circling the drain, and no one is watching, 

or SO YOU THOUGHT!