Free Rule of Life by Richard Templar Page A

They have no one to really love them. Inside they are sad and lonely and frightened. Those who go around sharing a bit of love and kindness get rewarded with the same coming back.
    It’s a bit like the old adage that “You are what you eat.” You are what you do. Look at the faces of those who spread joy, and you will see laughter lines and smiles. Look at those who like to bully, get their own way, and are arrogant or demanding or vicious, and you will see etched lines of misery and fear and frowns where there ought to be lightness. These lines won’t ever be taken away by face creams or suntans or plastic surgery. They are what they do, and you can see it in their eyes—and the state of their bed, of course.

    R U L E 3 1
    So be careful how you make your bed. What goes around comes around. There is instant karma. What you sow you reap. Better to stand up and be counted right from the start.
    Do the right thing every time. You know what it is. Then when you get in the bed you’ve made, not only will you be able to sleep at night, but you’ll sleep the sleep of the just.
    D O T H E R I G H T T H I N G
    E V E R Y T I M E .
    YO U K N OW W H AT I T I S .

    R U L E 3 2
    Life Can Be a Bit Like
    Advertising
    Someone once said that half of the money he spent on adver-tising was wasted, but he didn’t know which half.* His point was, of course, that if you can’t tell which half, then you have to keep on doing the whole lot, fully aware that not all of it will produce rewards. Life is a bit like that. Sometimes it seems so unfair. You put in loads of effort and get nothing back. You’re polite to people and everyone seems rude back.
    You work up a sweat and others cruise it. Well, you have to keep on doing the 100 percent because you don’t know which bits will pay off. I know it isn’t fair, but then life isn’t. Your efforts will be rewarded eventually, but you’ll probably never know which efforts are being rewarded—or for what—and which aren’t.
    We tend to think we are being lucky sometimes when actually we are just being rewarded for some bit of effort long ago that we have forgotten about. We have to keep going. You can’t give up on the grounds that you’ve had a setback or two, because you don’t know which setbacks are the ones that count and which ones aren’t. I suppose it’s like the number of frogs you have to get acquainted with before you find your prince (or princess). Or the pile of oysters you’d have to open to find a pearl.
    But whatever you do, don’t lose heart because things don’t seem to be panning out. Only by keeping up the effort will rewards come in eventually—and you’ll never know from which bits come the best reward.
    *Lord Leverhulme, I believe.

    R U L E 3 2
    Most well-balanced and happy people will also tell you that sometimes you have to work at something without looking for a payoff—apart from the immediate payoff that we are being kept busy and thus can’t get into trouble. Always looking for success, rewards, a payoff can be detrimental to our well-being when things don’t pan out. Sometimes it’s OK to do things just for the sheer enjoyment of doing them. I love painting minia-ture watercolors—tiny, tiny landscapes. Once in a while someone will come along and suggest I put them into an exhibition or sell them commercially. And every time I do it fails miserably, and I give up for a while. Once the dust has settled, I always go back to them. I have learned it is a personal thing, and no longer will I try to sell them or show them. They are a not-for-profit part of my life and immensely rewarding. No, you can’t see one.
    YO U ’ L L N E V E R K N OW
    F R O M W H I C H B I T S O F
    E F FO R T C O M E T H E
    B E S T R E WA R D .

    R U L E 3 3
    Get Used to Stepping Outside
    Your Comfort Zone
    Be prepared to be a little bit brave every day. Why? Because if you don’t you’ll grow stagnant and moldy or curl up and wither. We all have a comfort zone where we