Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old
    Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old
    Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old
    Ebook176 pages2 hours

    Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old

    By Christopher Deal

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Forty days prior to turning forty years old, author Christopher Deal journaled the top forty lessons he has learned throughout the past forty years. He posted one each day on Facebook. In Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old, he shares those postings in book format.

    In this memoir, Deal reflects on a host of life experiences and explains each lesson, an eclectic list that includes:

    the importance of happiness in life; thoughts on living life in ones twenties and thirties; toxic friendships; the cheating relationship; water sports; take your mom on a date; know your college discounts; the drug years; anyone can change; party details; confidence and class; go with your instinct and dig deeper; and many more.

    Including Facebook screenshots, Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old narrates the stories of Deals life offering inspiration for others.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateApr 5, 2017
    ISBN9781532018022
    Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old
    Author

    Christopher Deal

    Christopher Deal is a Florida native, but he currently resides in Tennessee, where he is an elementary administrator. Deal earned his Ed.S. in Education from the University of Tennessee

    Related to Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old

    Related ebooks

    Personal Growth For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      HW60 # Her World Her Story

      May 26, 2020

      HW60 # Her World Her Story
      13 min read

    • Article

      HW60 # Her World Her Story

      May 26, 2020

      HW60 # Her World Her Story
      13 min read

    • Article

      The Life Of RYANN

      Nov 22, 2022

      The Life Of RYANN
      4 min read

    • Article

      Drama Queen

      Jul 21, 2021

      Drama Queen
      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A: Judith Warner

      May 15, 2020

      Why this book? To find answers to questions that kept running through my mind while my daughters were in middle school: Why is this phase of life so incredibly hard—for parents? Why is everyone (parents again) looking so unhappy and acting so weird?

      2 min read

    • Article

      Q&A: Judith Warner

      May 15, 2020

      Why this book? To find answers to questions that kept running through my mind while my daughters were in middle school: Why is this phase of life so incredibly hard—for parents? Why is everyone (parents again) looking so unhappy and acting so weird?

      2 min read

    • Article

      Dreams Fulfilled

      Sep 16, 2019

      Dreams Fulfilled
      4 min read

    • Article

      Samuel Leighton-dore

      May 16, 2024

      My mental health journey has been a long and complex one. I was lucky enough to grow up in an incredibly nurturing and open-minded home environment; we had a dress-up box and I often left the house wearing long satin gloves and colourful skirts or dr

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Life Of RYANN

      Nov 23, 2022

      The Life Of RYANN
      4 min read

    • Article

      Munroe Bergdorf

      Mar 14, 2023

      Being an adult is… Discovering that everyone is trying their best. If someone could reveal your future, would you want to know? No, I don’t like spoilers. Are you brave? Yes, I think anyone who lives a life outside of what society deems the norm is b

      2 min read

    • Article

      MY SECOND life

      Jun 17, 2019

      MY SECOND life
      5 min read

    • Article

      ‘I Have A Cheer Squad Of Two!’

      Oct 3, 2024

      ‘I Have A Cheer Squad Of Two!’
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dad’s Army

      Jul 7, 2021

      Dad’s Army
      4 min read

    • Article

      Beneath The Surface

      Dec 11, 2019

      Beneath The Surface
      11 min read

    • Article

      Reaching Out

      Dec 21, 2021

      Reaching Out
      5 min read

    • Article

      Choosing The Right Path As An Adolescent Is Stressing Me Out

      Oct 18, 2024

      I’m 14 and dreading the return of feelings that school brought last year. It was a rollercoaster, and just the tiniest thing – or sometimes even nothing – had me depressed for an entire day. Sometimes I zoned out so much that I would forget where I w

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ask Dr Louise

      Dec 8, 2023

      QI’ve recently completed my first year at university and I’m studying a BCom. My grades are good, but I hate my studies and I think I would hate to be a chartered accountant or even a normal accountant. I began my studies because I didn’t know what c

      3 min read

    • Article

      Kate Baer Poet Author Mother

      Jun 2, 2022

      Kate Baer Poet Author Mother
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Forty Lessons I Learned on My Way to Forty Years Old - Christopher Deal

      Copyright © 2017 Christopher Sheldon Deal.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      iUniverse

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-5320-1801-5 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-5320-1800-8 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-5320-1802-2 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2017904857

      iUniverse rev. date: 04/04/2017

      Thank you to all of my friends, family, and especially, Brandon for supporting me with the postings and writings in this book. Your patience and love is beyond appreciated.

      When I thought about writing this book, I had originally came up with the idea of writing a book called 365 Days of Dysfunction. I still have a plan to write that book, but over the past few months, some reoccurring questions have kept coming into my mind as I am approaching forty. What are some things that I learned about the past forty years of my life? And, What are some things that I still continue to learn? So, I decided to take the forty-day mark prior to turning forty years old and start posting things on Facebook regarding lessons I learned in life over the past forty years. Why not have others share in the experience of my life’s lessons?

      Then it hit me: I can elaborate in a book on some of those experiences that I posted about on Facebook. I could go more into detail, have a little bit deeper conversation, and just have a good time with this birthday year. This is where it all started. And if you are turning forty years old, have turned forty years old, or know someone who is turning forty years old in the near future, all of these lessons can apply to you.

      Some lessons you may see eye-to-eye with me. Some other lessons you may question. For me, it’s all about intent. My intent is to help others through some of my life’s lessons. Whether it is to help bring a smile to your face or make you think deeper, I just want you to read with an open mind and enjoy the lessons. Some you may make quick judgments, but all I ask is for you to make every attempt to understand. Understanding helps reduce frustration and anger. But more importantly, it increases your ability to regulate your emotions.

      Now, I have spoken to some friends who are aware of a few chapters that are in the book. We joked about what the potential outcome could be for sharing certain experiences. With these experiences/lessons, I don’t regret going through any of them. I know some people will not agree with my mentality on some specific lessons, but that’s the great thing about life: We don’t have to agree. But if we make every effort to understand, then frustration and confusion is limited. With that, enjoy these lessons!

      Contents

      Happiness

      The Twenties and Thirties

      Toxic Friendships

      The Cheating Relationship

      Glow-in-the-Dark Guy

      Water Sports

      Black Eye

      The Pee-er

      Take Your Mom on a Date

      Know Your College Discounts

      The Drug Years

      Anyone Can Change

      Party Details

      Confidence and Class

      Go with Your Instinct and Dig Deeper

      Act of Kindness

      Reading versus Television

      Reacting

      Misery Loves Company

      Being Authentic

      Tattoos

      Always Pick Up the Phone

      Tyra Banks Run-In

      Do Your Eyes Light Up?

      Allowing People to Speak to You the Way They Do

      Guns

      Be Honest about Money

      The Feeling in a Relationship

      Weed Out the Competition

      Showing Off

      A Mother’s Love

      Things Are Not Always What They Seem

      Face the Truth about Aging

      Inner Circle

      Be Yourself

      You Can’t Control Everything

      Test-Drive Right before a Huge Snowstorm

      Say What You Mean to Say

      Amy

      Body Image

      Happiness

      W hen I thought of daily postings to share on Facebook of a forty-day countdown on my way to forty years old, I decided to start posting things that were truly a defining aspect of who I am. For me, being happy is probably the single-most important thing in my life. I don’t know if that is self-centered, but whatever it is, it is something that I need to be. Happiness can be defined in many ways.

      In my life, happiness is the ability to realize your smile belongs to you. You had it before any bad situation, any stressful situation, and any unplanned situation. When the moments of life come your way when smiling doesn’t appear to exist, you just always have to remember how to find that smile within you.

      I remember growing up as a child and just being extremely happy. It didn’t matter if I was having a bad day or having a good day. I just wanted to be happy. Be that as it may, that happiness was surrounded by factors that were continuously trying to diminish the smile. Throughout my schooling, I realized kids and teenagers could be cruel.

      They would poke fun at me for various things. I was too fat. I was too dumb. I spoke a certain way that was too high-pitched. I was too feminine. I was not man enough. With all of those things, I’m not going to say they didn’t affect me in a negative way, but they made me hungry to just figure out what I needed to do in order to be happy.

      I could have easily been sad and depressed each time others would try to break me down. For some reason, I really wasn’t. I wasn’t one of those kids who came home and cried. That just was not in my nature.

      I remember something my second-grade computer teacher told me that I never forgot. She said, Christopher, you have a beautiful smile that lights up a room. Never stop smiling because people need your light to brighten their day.

      Those few words have had such an impact on me and are rooted in why happiness is truly what I need in my life. With happiness, I smile.

      One of the greatest lessons

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1