Principles are the basis of life. That means that what you do not know will hold you back. What you know will catapult you to success. If you learn critical life lessons late in life, you get little or no fulfillment in life.

For you to get early success, you have to learn life lessons early. The earlier, the better. These 9 critical life lessons form the basis of a fulfilled and happy life.

9 life lessons people learn too late:

·     The effort you put today will surely pay off in the future.

·     All challenges are temporary.

·     Health is more important than wealth.

·     Family is more important than friends.

·     People treat you the way you treat yourself.

·     Everything you need for success is inside you.

·     Quality is better than quantity.

·     Kindness will always pay.

·     Fulfillment is a product of service.

1.   The effort you put today will surely pay off in future

In life, you do not get what you want but what you deserve. What you deserve is what you have worked for. This means that effort is a prerequisite for success.

If you want a better life tomorrow, you have to put more effort today. It is insanity to do the same thing and expect different results.

The life you have today is a product of the effort you put yesterday. If you are content with that life, then you can put the same effort. If you want a better life, you have to put more effort.

The effort you put today will shape your tomorrow without fail. Mind what you sow because you will surely reap.

2.   All challenges are temporary

No challenge lasts forever. All of them are temporary.

For you to be fulfilled and happy always, you have to understand and believe that what you are going through will pass. It is always a guarantee.

This will give you faith. You will ignore the challenges and focus on your goals.

Without this understanding, you will focus on what is supposed to pass. You will give your time, thoughts, and energy focusing on what is not supposed to last.

According to the law of attraction, you always attract what your mind focuses on most of the time. If you keep focusing on poverty, disease, pain, worry, lack, etc. you will attract them. Keep focusing on your goals and you will attract them.

3.   Health is more important than wealth

Wealth is important but not as important as health. Many people understand this so late in life. They trade their health trying to get wealth. After they have wealth, they spend all of it trying to get their health back. Always make health a priority.

The other day, I had an aching tooth. I could not sleep the whole night. There were no painkillers in the house and I had to bear with the pain till morning. The night was so long. At 6 am, I could not wait; I rushed to the shop to get painkillers.

If you have ever been in such a situation, I know you now understand the importance of being whole. It cannot be traded for anything.

However, why not get both. You can get wealth as you take care of your health.

4.   Family is more important.

Your family is more important than friends. You only realize it when you lose it. Never take your family for granted.

People take advantage of their loved ones and regret when they are gone. Have you ever felt the pain of losing a loved one? It is more than anyone can bear.

Instead of crying when they are gone, appreciate, and treat them well today.

Most friends do not have your best interest at heart. They may never cry when you are gone. Their lives will move on normally. Do not betray your immediate family to please friends.

5.   People treat you the way you treat yourself

No one can respect you more than you do. If you despise yourself, everybody else will take you as a joke. On the other hand, you can act big and people will start seeing you as big.

People just copy the picture you have painted for yourself. This means that if you want to change the way people treat you, change the way you treat yourself.

6.   Everything you need for success is inside you

You do not need anybody to succeed. Let no one act like they have the key to your destiny. Everything you need to make it is in you. It is hidden deeper than anyone can get to.

If you need success, just take the key and unlock it. Do not look outside yourself, just focus within because that is where the answer is.

Let everything else people give you be a bonus. Believe that you do not need the people who left you and let them go. Do not keep begging people to stay. You do not need anyone that leaves.

7.   Quality is better than quantity

Someone with several cheap Toyotas is still behind one with one Ferrari. This is what most people forget.

Bill Gates is richer than Richard Branson. Richard Branson has over 400 companies on the Virgin Group while Gates is only known for Microsoft. This is quality over quantity.

Successful people focus on quality rather than quantity. It is better to write 1 good book than 100 bad books. It is better to focus on one business than try to grow 10 of them together. Have just 1 quality spouse rather than 5 stupid ones.

If you want to succeed, focus on quality, and not quantity.

8.   Kindness will always pay off.

Many view kindness as being old-school. They take kindness for weakness. Such people do not understand life.

In life, kindness will always pay off. Helping one person in need will attract even more kindness to your life. Keep on being kind. Even when people do not appreciate it, keep being kind to them. It will come back to you, bigger and better.

9.   Fulfillment is a product of service

You will never be fulfilled unless you serve. You can work and never get fulfilled. This is because of one simple reason; you only work for yourself.

When you start working for others, you start feeling an overwhelming fulfillment. When you start impacting people’s lives, you can never be unfulfilled.

Final thoughts on life lessons people learn too late

There are many life lessons. However, these 9 are the most important. As important as they are, people learn them too late in life. This is why they get late or no success.

You do not want to learn with your own experience. Just understand the 9 life lessons and keep them in your heart. They will guide you in the journey of life.