Life’s Little Instructions
The poster that hung in my grandma’s house, and where it comes from.
For as long as I can remember, this poster was in my grandma’s house. It was always a refreshing reminder to me and I hope it may be for you.
Where the poster comes from
The lines on the Life’s Little Instructions poster come from Life’s Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown Jr. He wrote it in 1991 as a going-away gift for his son Adam, who was leaving for college: 511 short pieces of advice, the kind a father wants his kid to carry. It became one of the best-selling books of the decade, and the posters, calendars and little wall plaques followed. My grandma’s was the poster, and it did its job on a whole family.
Life’s Little Instruction Book
H. Jackson Brown Jr. · 511 suggestions, observations and reminders on how to live a happy and rewarding life
Get the book on AmazonA few lines I keep coming back to
The book opens with these, and they are as good a place to start as any:
- Compliment three people every day.
- Watch a sunrise at least once a year.
- Remember other people’s birthdays.
- Have a firm handshake.
- Look people in the eye.
- Say “thank you” a lot.
- Say “please” a lot.
- Sing in the shower.
- Be the first to say hello.
- Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen every day.
From Life’s Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown Jr. (Rutledge Hill Press, 1991).
What I love about them is how small they are. None of them asks you to change your life. Every one of them changes a moment, and moments are what a life is made of. That is why the poster worked from a hallway wall: you read one line on the way to the kitchen, and it stayed with you all day.
Where to find your own
The book is the real thing, and it is still in print: Life’s Little Instruction Book on Amazon. The poster versions come and go; a search for “Life’s Little Instructions poster” usually turns one up, and secondhand ones are easy to find. If you hang one somewhere people walk past, it will do the same thing my grandma’s did.