Success Advice
10 Pieces of Wisdom You Can Find in Popular Young Adult Novels

We rarely find what we’re looking for in the places we expect to find them. Sometimes, when life gets us down, we look to our superiors for help. We barely notice that the guidance we are seeking may just be found in the most unexpected of places. The next time you go to your favorite bookstore, give the young adult section a chance. What you may have a hard time looking for in the business section, you just might find in a coming-of-age novel or in a science-fiction book about feuding interstellar families.
Here are a few golden nuggets of wisdom I have dug up from years and years of reading young adult books:
1. “I am what I am an’ I’m not ashamed. ‘Never be ashamed,’ my ol’ dad used ter say. There’s some who’ll hold it against you but they’re not worth botherin’ with.” – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
You don’t have to apologize for who you are. The world needs more of those who aren’t afraid to be true to themselves at all times. Yes, some people will look down on you for making choices they wouldn’t make themselves, but at the end of the day, it’s you who gets to make the choice about how to live your life.
2. “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get,” – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
We tend to glorify the fast-paced life a little too much. We quickly go through the motions so that we can get more things done and achieve more goals. It’s easy to forget that, when we’re always rushing about, we get disconnected from the things that matter the most. It’s okay to want to achieve a lot of things. Just don’t forget to slow down and relax knowing you don’t have to be in a rush all the time.
3. “Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” – To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
True courage isn’t about puffing your chest. It shows up when you’d rather hide inside your room and stay there till the storm passes, but you step out and do what you have to do anyway.
4. “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Got that?” – The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Ann Brashares
It’s easy to get hung up over a problem. You can spend all your energy looking for solutions, and if you don’t find the right solutions, you can waste away feeling bad for yourself.
That in itself is the problem. You set yourself back simply by looking at things as problems to be solved. What if these things you call problems were opportunities? What if they were simply experiences of another sort? Or what if they were just moments in the past that are no longer here? Problems stop being problems when you are willing to look at them in a different way.
5. “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eyes to see it path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” – Dune, Frank Herbert
Fear isn’t something to conquer. Fear isn’t even something to fear. It’s simply something that you must allow yourself to feel so that you can move on from it. Or more accurately, so that fear can move on from you.
The only reason fear keeps hanging onto you is because you keep refusing to look it in the eye. And for as long as you keep doing that, you keep being a slave to that fear even when there’s no reason to be scared.
6. “Coming back to where you started is not the same as never learning.” – A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett
Going back to square one can be one of the most heartbreaking things for someone with a goal. You give yourself fully into achieving your goal, only to realize you’ve been doing the entire thing wrong. You may need to start all over again, this time with much less enthusiasm than you had the first time. But this time you have a wealth of lessons learned from the mistakes you’ve made, and that’s something not even enthusiasm can compensate for.
7. “Nervous means you want to play. Scared means you don’t want to play.” – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie
When it’s hard to make a decision, listen to your heart. It always knows what to do. You can endlessly weigh the pros and cons of a choice, but your heart instantly knows the right choice for you. You can tell what that choice is simply by observing your feelings. When you’re nervous but want to do it anyway, go for it. But when you’re totally dreading the idea of doing it, that’s when you know it’s not for you.
8. “You’ll never know where you’re going if you go about what-iffing like that.” – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
We can ask all the hypothetical questions we want, but at the end of the day, we don’t get anywhere being armchair philosophers. It’s okay to reflect on the things you want to happen in life. What’s not okay is if you’re just going to sit there and think about doing things instead of actually doing them.
9. “‘Atticus, he was real nice.’ ‘Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.’” – To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
It’s about time we drop the idea that humans are savage animals. Aren’t you sick and tired of being deemed nothing more than a bag of flesh and bones with a brain that’s just slightly bigger than most primates? Humans are so much more than that. We have valuable talents and gifts to share with the rest of the world. We simply have to look beyond what the physical eyes can see so we can find them.
10. “I think you gotta be who you want to be until you are whoever it is you’re trying to become. Sometimes half of doing something is pretending that you can.” – Dumplin’ Julie Murphy
It’s not really what you do that matters, it’s who you’re being. When you’re being the person you want to become, you no longer have to worry about what to do. You just end up doing it naturally.
You might feel like an impostor at first, as though you’ve stolen someone else’s identity. But the more you get used to being that person, the more it becomes easy for you to do the things she does. Remember, you can be whoever you want to be. You only have to choose to be that person every day until you no longer have to choose.
Out of the 10 quotes above, which one is your favorite and why? Share your thoughts with us below!
Success Advice
5 Things You Can Learn From The 5am Club by Robin Sharma

It has been said by Robin Sharma, “5 AM is the time of least distraction, highest human glory, and greatest peace.” This also happens to be the central idea or the core value he has discussed in his book, ‘The 5 Am Club.’ Speaking of early mornings, at what time do you wake up? Are you annoyed by the fact that you wake up on the edge of time and then rush to work in haste?
The life lessons put forth by The 5 AM Club are exactly the learning and motivation you need to challenge your complacency. In your race against time, you may not have the time to read this fabulous book. So, we have summed up the key book’s takeaways for your convenience.
1. The vigor of waking up early
This is what the book’s most fundamental advice to everyone is. Waking up at 5 am every day can work wonders to avert failures and make success a natural habit. When we wake up at 5 am, we have more time on our hands than others. Besides, this is when we have minimum interruptions and maximum powerfulness of the mind.
To add, the early morning peace is priceless! You can schedule your most important tasks of the day between 5am, and 8am. This book teaches us in the simplest way, how we can train our mind and strengthen it to deliver the highest productivity by waking up early. This energy that you have when you wake up in the morning and the few additional hours in your day are what serve as perfect ingredients for success.
“The secret to productivity is simplicity.” – Robin Sharma
2. The power of finding the right balance in life
The book talks about a precious lesson of finding the right balance within. We often talk about the need for mindfulness and achieving the right mindset to perceive things. But this book goes a few steps ahead of our usual approach to life. It highlights the vitality of mindset and introduces the concepts of heartset, healthset, and soulset.
These terms may seem new, but they are self-explanatory. The idea of heartset endorses the essentialness of emotional stability and well-being. Next, the perspective of healthset indicates the need to look after physical health. At last, soulset is an attribute of spirituality. As explained in this book, success prospects can be enhanced big time by achieving the right balance between these internal virtues.
3. The iconic 20/20/20 modus operandi
What is the first thing you will do if you start waking up at 5 am every day? Did you ever spare a thought about it? This book has the answer to this question, and you will be convinced that it is a great way to begin your day!. The author suggests that you should split the first hour of the day into three equal parts of 20 minutes each.
In the first 20 minutes of the day, you should prioritize your physical fitness and exercise. In the next 20 minutes, you should energize your soul and spirit via self-reflection and soulful meditation. This will prepare you for the rest of the day and will enable you to bolster your commitment and focus. In the last 20 minutes of the first hour, you should read and learn. But what are you going to read about in those 20 minutes? Read about successful people and their inspiring journeys to the pinnacle of success.
4. The significance of a proper sleep schedule
In this book, there is a mention of ‘a ferocious global sleep recession’, which is intriguing and enlightening. It hints at the state of sleep deprivation that this world is sinking into gradually. We often associate success and hard work with the notion of staying up all night and testing our endurance beyond limits. But that is not the right approach to accomplishing success, or rather, it is a flawed methodology.
Sometimes even if we do not have any critical work, we keep whiling our night time on social media or television. What are we gaining from it is the real question, and I am afraid the answer is nothing! We learn from this book that it is critical to look after your sleep cycle and start your day at 5 am afresh. Sleep and rest are indispensable for mental and physical well-being, or your productivity will decline.
5. The art of evolving
The book sheds light on the need to be spiritual and master self-reflection. However, do you realize the purpose that the routine of reflection each morning serves? The idea is to keep learning, keep reflecting on the mistakes and keep evolution an ongoing process. You should evolve every day and strive to be a better version of yourself every day. So, one of your primary goals after waking up should be to reflect on your actions and missed opportunities of the previous day.
To recapitulate, The 5 AM Club is a must-read book if you are a passionate reader. It has the prowess and charm to refurbish your perception of life altogether. Even if you cannot read the book for some reason, make sure you incorporate the above key takeaways into your life. By starting your day at 5 am, you can rediscover your lost soul and enthusiasm, and you would not have complaints to make about the lack of time. If you can own your mornings, you can go places on the ladder of success, for excuses are only for those who are not committed to their goals.
Success Advice
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Success Advice
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