Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings. -Arthur Rubinstein

Well yesterday afternoon, life brought to me and my computer a virus that was supposedly a few hours away from crashing my whole system (from what I was told by a customer support rep at Dell). I definitely wasn't too happy about that, and am currently still trying to be accepting of the $260 I have to pay for having it fixed... BUT I did realize a few important things from this experience.

1)Always, always always remember to back up anything that's stored on your computer that's important to you!!!!!! And back it up often!!!

2)This one is way more important, by the way: We all need the help of others and we all need to help others. Not just want or anything else but NEED.

Last night before I got my computer fixed, I realized that the first few things I thought of saving to CDs in case my computer did crash were the files that contained either a) work that I had done for other people or b) tutorials and examples and videos that other people created in order to help people like me.

And today, even though it is his job to, a guy helped me out over the phone for over an hour. He fixed everything for me. Without his help, in all honesty, I would've been out a couple grand having to buy all the design programs I've installed, redesigning AND recreating all the work I've done over the past few years... I mean, I can't even imagine how long a process that would be. Thank GOD I don't have to now because of the help I got.

A couple weeks ago, I came across a great quote/mantra from the Dalai Lama on another blog (Zen Habits- best blog ever!). It says, "Everyday, think as you wake up, 'Today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can."

It's perfect. It's so powerful to me whenever I read it, and especially whenever I take another minute out of my day to really commit to what I'm making myself read. It's so true... I am so fortunate for all of those things, and I HAVE to use my energies to do those things if I want to live a good life.

I know it might sound a little ridiculous or stupid or whatever to be realizing this stuff more and more, all because my computer almost broke down and because a guy fixed it for me, but whatever. Maybe in a weird way, I needed that to happen to me and stress me out, and almost cause me to breakdown, because I was losing a little sight of what all that quote means. If it never happened, I wouldn't have been as appreciative as I am now for helpful people.

Everyone needs a helpful person in their life, no matter what stage of life you are in, and no matter what age you are. Even before we're born, we needed the help of our moms to make sure we were healthy. We need the help of all kinds of other people to teach us right from wrong; At any age, troublesome or "bad" people teach us what we shouldn't do and the "good" people set the example for what we should do if we want positive results. So either way, in order to learn anything, we need that sort of help from ALL KINDS of people around the world. No one is excluded in life from being capable of helping someone when we think about things this way.

So yeah, I guess helping and learning are closely related then, too. As I'm thinking about things right now and writing them out, I realize that everytime someone has helping me do something, I have learned from them. When Ryan helped me change my bike tire for the first time, he taught me how to do it for the next time. When I watch a Flash tutorial, the guy teaching it is helping me by teaching me things, obviously.

I don't really know why I decided to write all this on here, but I do know that I learn more and more as I grow older that my dad hit the nail on the head when he said that the main reason we're all here, living our lives, is to help people. And that's the only reason. And it makes sense. It makes sense because everything that we all enjoy doing typically involves helping other people. Loving the very act of loving someone else so often involves helping the person or people you love. Loving your job almost always involves having to help other people- I love designing. I design for other people to help their business grow. My mom loves nursing. No further explanation there! Even athletes who love their job- you can't love what you do if you weren't providing the entertainment for other people who watch you, or helping out whoever your competition is by playing against them and giving them the opportunity to practice and get better. The truth is, a lot of the time, we can't get around helping others if even if we tried, and I'm pretty sure that's the way it's supposed to be. That's part of the plan. Part of THE plan. The BIG one.

Anyway, I'm just really happy that I was helped the way I did today. And now, more than ever, I can't wait to return the favor by using all the goods I have on my computer to help other people.

I found this from my old blog, and I think it relates a lot to what I'm saying about the way we learn things from all kinds of people:

-EVERY thing’s a teacher-
-EVERY one’s a teacher-
There’s always a lesson to be learned.
Some are obvious, some are confusing, some hidden under frustrations.
But they’re always there.

>Your kids, your disobedient dog, your defiant niece.
-Your cowardly brother, your upset parents…
+Your old, beat-up car, your lost cell phone, your dying plants.
~Your English teacher, your pastor, your therapist.

Every thing and every one’s a teacher.

>They’ll teach you love, teamwork, patience.
-They’ll teach you appreciation for your friends and family, to not be satisfied with something short of your absolute, full potential.
+They’ll teach you to work harder, simplicity, commitment.
~They’ll teach you to read and write at the least, to serve, to let go.

There’s a teacher for everything in this world.

Every thing and every one can be brilliant if they’re only open and willing to learn from each teacher.
There’s no such thing as a bad teacher.
Learn something from everything!

Even some of the best teachers have the worst methods.