Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!
Dr. Seuss books were DEFINITELY my favorite as a kid! Looking
back at all the books by Dr. Seuss I found this "List of Lessons Learned
from Dr. Seuss". Simple lessons learned as a kid that I am posting
as simple, but important, reminders for adults.
21 Lessons Learned from Dr. Seuss. There are so many great lessons from
Dr. Seuss. Each of his book is such a treasure trove of ideas and
actions for a better life.
1. Be a thinker of great things. Dr. Seuss teaches us, “Oh, the things you can think
up if only you try!”
2. Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Sometimes you just
don’t know what you’ve got until after it’s gone. In Bartholomew and the Ooblek,
King Didd got what he wished for, but the sticky Ooblek goo was worse than the fog,
snow, sunshine, and rain that it replaced. The King quickly wanted his old weather
back and he learned to appreciate it.
3. Be your best you. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “There is no one alive who is
Youer than You.” Make the most of what you’ve got. In Yertle the Turtle, we
see “feather envy” and it’s a gentle reminder to be careful what you wish for and
appreciate what you’ve got.
4. Bend your world in wonderful ways. Nobody bends it like the Cat in the Hat.
From the metaphors you use, to the thinks that you think, you can shape your
world that’s right in front of you.
5. Don’t put yourself in a box. You’re only limited by your own imagination.
The Cat in the Hat teaches us how to let our imaginations run wild.
6. Don’t waste your time worrying who’s better than who. In Yertle the
Turtle, Dr. Seuss teaches us that “You have better things to do than argue
who’s better than who.”
7. Dream it and do it. You can move mountains when you put your mind to it.
Direct your life like a blockbuster and make things happen.
8. Edutainment wins over boring and ho-hum. With whacky words, wondrous
worlds, and fantastical characters, Dr. Seuss taught us the edutainment is how you
change a child’s life. Reading is only boring if you make it so.
9. Kindle your curiosity. Keep your mind open and your eyes peeled. Stay curious
and follow your growth.
10. Life happens in moments at a time. Don’t miss out on life by tuning out
the little things along the way.
11. Own your fun. There’s more to do than play in the rain. When you’re bored,
you’re boring. The Cat in the Hat teaches us to be the maker of our own fun. Make
each day your own special blend of whatever it is that best floats your boat.
12. Play at your day. You can play at your day, in every way.
13. Persistence pays off. Be relentless in your pursuit of things. In Green Eggs
and Ham, it was through persistence that Sam-I-Am finally got the unnamed
character to try the green eggs and ham. In real life, Dr. Seuss’s first children’s
book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times
before being published by Vanguard Press.
14. Treat people fairly and squarely. In The Sneetches and Other Stories,
Dr. Seuss shows us that we can’t judge people by their lot in life or whether they
have a star on their belly. In Yertle the Turtle, it’s a reminder not to climb over
people on your way to the top, because they’re same people you’ll see on
your way back down.
15. Try it … you just might like it. In Green Eggs and Ham, when the unnamed
character was surprised to find out that he actually likes green eggs and ham
once he tried them. You just never know until you try.
16. Saying you’re sorry can help make things right. In Bartholomew and the
Oobleck, when the king finally said the magic words, “I’m sorry,” and “it’s all
my fault,” he helped make things right again.
17. See the bright side of things. It’s a great day for up, when you can see
the sunny side of things. Sure sometimes you’ll have to work at it, but positivity
is a skill. Do it daily.
18. Setbacks happen. Deal with them and move on. Make trouble think
twice about messing with you.
19. Some people are much more unlucky than you. When you’re down in the
dumps and things get real bad, remind yourself that somewhere, somehow,
someway … somebody is much “more unlucky than you.”
20. Success is a journey and we all have our own paths. Make your journey
count. Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t let conventional wisdom stop you. Lead
the life you want to live, and when there’s no path, make one.
21. Your voice counts. In Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss shows us how one little
voice can tip the scale … after all, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
