Life lessons from Jesus of Nazareth.

“What the sun is to the moon, today is to tomorrow.”

Aside from being the Savior for Christians and even a prophet for Muslims, Jesus was a revolutionary figure who challenged traditions, religion, and beliefs. He was one of the first thought-leaders who inspired the world. Whether you are a Christian or not, here are 12 life lessons you can learn from Jesus:

• 1. BE CLEAR WITH WHAT YOU WANT.
  Do not bargain with God, ask directly what you need, no hocus pocus! The statement above is an attempt by me to paraphrase Jesus’s words in Matthew 7:7–8.

Try to remove the word God above and replace it with Life. Ask from life what you want from it, say it and make sure you write it down.

• 2. ALWAYS DO MORE THAN IS REQUIRED.
  Jesus tells us also in Matthew 5:41; and whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

Always go the extra mile—in your career, in your business, in your relationships, in your service, in loving others, and in everything you do. Pursue excellence in all your undertakings.
Do more than you’re paid and soon you will be paid more than you do.

• 3. kEEP YOUR PROMISES AND ALWAYS PAY YOUR DEBTS.
  In Mattew 5:37, Jesus tells us "let your YES be YES and let your NO be NO.

There’s an old proverb saying, “Before you speak once, think twice.” Your words have power over your life and the life of others. Always be truthful in what you say and be trustworthy with your promises. What people judge us with most times are our words. Build trust with people with your words in business and every other sphere of life.

• 4. YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN OTHERS!
  "Don't pich on people, jump on their failures, criticize their failts— unless, of course you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomerang." Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:1-2.

Stop Judging that you may not be judged. It is still a very strange thing that this statement came from Christ. No much talk, Stop Judging!

• 5. FOLLOW THE GOLDEN RULE.
  "Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them." Jesus tells us in the 12th verse of the 7th chapter of the gospel of Matthew.

This is all the life lessons from Jesus combined. In fact, this is probably Jesus’s most popular lesson for Christians and non-Christians alike. What do you want others to do to you and for you? Do the same to them and for them. No matter what you believe in, you can never go wrong with the Golden Rule.

• 6. YOU CANNOT PLEASE EVERYONE, MOVE ON!
  "If they don't welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way. Matt 10:14.

Here, jesus was speaking to his disciples when he sent them out to preach. I’ll put this in a very colloquial way; it is never by force.
No matter what you do or no matter how hard you try, you cannot please everyone. Not everyone will believe in you. In fact, the people closest to you may also be the people who do not believe in you the most as well. Move on and spend your best energy and your best effort for people who do. It might hurt at first, but that’s better than slowly letting yourself and your dreams die.

• 7.THE ONLY TIME IS NOW.
  This Jesus explains in the 6th chapter of the gospel of Matthew. "Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy about life, what you shall eat or drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater in quality than food, body and clothing? Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror gotten taller by so much as an inch? Give your entire attention to what God is doing NOW and don't get worked up about the future.

These verses I believe, are self explanatory. In my words, "what the sun is to the moon, Today is to tomorrow. "

• 8. IF YOU WANT TO BE GREAT, SERVE!
  Do you want to stand out? Then step down , be a servant. Jesus tell us this in Matthew 23:11.
  Jesus's life reflects this statement of his too.

Think about the great people who lived like Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, and Gandhi. They are forever immortalized because they lived their lives in service to others and to what they believe in. Also, the greatest companies in the world like Apple and Walmart are the ones that serve the most through their products. The more you serve, the greater you will be.

• 9. LET GO OF DIFFERENCES IN RELIGION AND BELIEFS.
  If he's not an enemy, he's an ally. Mark 9:39.

I always try to explain this further by saying; The fact that we disagree on one or two things doesn't mean we can't agree on a thousand and one others. Can one be all? Can all be one?

• 10. DON'T LOVE MONEY.
  In Matthew 6:24 Jesus tells us; we cannot serve both God and money.

Money is not the root of all evil but the love of it. When we love money we do silly things for it and if care isn't taken our lives become miserable.

• 11. USE IT OR LOSE IT.
  The harshest statement attributed to Jesus was in Matthew 25:29, this economists refer to this as the Mathew's effect. "For everyone who has will more be given and will have in abundance. But from who has not, even what he has not will be taken away.

This is from the popular parable of talents. The more you use your talents, the bigger they get. You refuse to use them you'll soon forget you ever had them.

• 12. LOVE!
  The entire work and life of Jesus of Nazareth can be described in one word –Love!. It can be said that Jesus is the greatest preacher of LOVE of all time. Jesus summarized all the 613 jewish commandments into two. He knew that in the end, all that matters is love. Just like the golden rule, you can never go wrong with love.