What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

Verbatim recurring item in The Guardian Q&A; two fully readable publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Bruno Tonioli said elsewhere, not written here
Follow your dream and never give up, because it’s not over until the fat lady sings. Ride the adventure!

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 April 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

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That there is time. I doggedly prioritise and pursue tasks, and the day seems to open out and everything does get done. Chill.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 August 2025 source ↗
Bill Clinton 42nd President of the United States, 1993–2001
Now, what did I learn from it? I learned that there were people, mostly in the other party, who believe in free trade but didn’t really believe in doing anything for people who lost jobs. That is, every trade deal produces winners and losers, so this was going to work for us in a lot of ways because the Mexicans had much higher tariffs than we did. And because, if you’re a wealthy country, the jobs trade creates pay above the average wage, and often the jobs that are lost pay below. But it’s always assumed that all those people will be retrained and that there will be incentives to invest within driving distance of where they live to create new jobs. And we lost the Congress in ‘94, and I couldn’t get the money, and there was no interest in it until my last year as president when we passed something called the New Markets Initiative. So if I had it to do again, I’d get the money on the front end, and I’d say, “No, no, no, no. I need more money to help the people who will lose the jobs.” I just assumed, I think probably because I had — the Congress was the majority of our party, and also because the people that were for NAFTA, I couldn’t imagine that they wouldn’t want to help the people that wouldn’t be winners.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview source ↗
Edward Enninful Ghanaian-born English editor and stylist
That there is no ideal life. Disappointments sit around every corner, so enjoy the here and now.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 December 2022 source ↗

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