Here are ten lessons I learned from "The Little Prince":

1) “Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Listen to your heart because in the end that’s all that matters. In the end it won’t matter what your spouse looks like, what you drove, how big your house was, it all goes away. In the end all you have is your character, what you put into the world, and the memories you made with others. So spread goodness, spread joy, and most of all love.

2) “It is lonely when you’re among people, too…”

Sometimes you can feel just as lonely in a room full of people as you do when you’re completely alone. So learn to be your own friend and focus on those who ensure you never feel lonely.

3) “In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing when you look at the sky at night…You-only you-will have stars that can laugh.”

When my great-grandmother passed on she had the most beautiful funeral not just physically, but mostly because of the amount of people that loved her. She has always been one of my biggest role models and she left more love than I could imagine to leave in this world. I read this at her funeral but it wasn’t until I was 18 that her message to us was clear. The stars are us. From the moment they’re formed they are filled with light and beauty, in the end they may be gone but there’s still a beautiful glow from all the stars around that star. When people remember people you touched, they remember you in a sense, and in that way we are forever shining.

4) “All grown-ups were children once-although few of them remember it.”

We forget that we were once kids. It is not only okay to have a childlike spirit but it should be praised.

5) “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

This quote is often associated with pets but I see this as a lesson for people. The moment you show love for a person is the moment you become responsible for them. By spreading love we can gain more and more friends and friends, as discussed before, are your legacies.

6) “Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But that is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.”

Forgive and forgive. You have to be just as ready for the pain as you are for the joy. You can’t have one without the other.

7) “It is the time you have waited for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

Love is worth the wait. I truly believe that everyone has a chance at love, you just have to be willing to wait for it. In the end the wait is what makes it so valuable.

8) “Make your life a dream, and a dream, a reality.”

Dare to dream. Live your dream. You have to have the courage to dream, dream big.

9) “You are the drawing of a boa constrictor eating an elephant. Misunderstood and forgotten, you have great truths within you if only anyone would bother to look…”

Get to know everyone before you judge them. I believe everyone has a gift to offer the world they just need someone to take the time to show them that. Be willing to understand everyone.

10) “For I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars to be acquainted with the butterflies.”

Never let a single person determine your joy in life. Only you have the power to decide your happiness. You have to deal with some shitty people but in the end you’ll be surrounded by people who love you, everyone has their own “butterflies,” how many you have depends on how much joy you put into people’s lives.