Emmy Award winner Patricia Heaton's most inspiring tips for a great life

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'Everybody Loves Raymond' star's 'Person of the Year' pick goes viral

Patricia Heaton made her own suggestion on social media after TIME's Person of the Year announced its shortlist, offering up actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise. Heaton's choice was well-received online, with more than 30,000 people sharing her opinion.

Actress Patricia Heaton is well known to millions of Americans as an Emmy Award-winning television star whose endearing — and enduring — roles in "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996-2005), "The Middle" (2009-2018), and, most recently, "Carol's Second Act" (2019), have kept her very much in the public eye. 

There's much more to this winsome star based in Los Angeles, however. She launched the homewares line Patricia Heaton Home with Walmart after creating her Emmy Award-winning Food Network series "Patricia Heaton Parties." 

Her first cookbook, Patricia Heaton’s Food for Family and Friends, came out in 2018.

She's also a dedicated tweeter with a personal profile that reads this way: "Mother, daughter, sister, lady actor, boy breeder, sparring partner to David Hunt, and non-imbibing bourbon lover. Jesus saves." 

Patricia Heaton starred as Debra Barone in the hit sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" (which still can be seen in reruns). She's an accomplished author as well. In this photo, she and co-star Ray Romano are shown during a taping of "Everybody Loves Raymond" at Warner Brothers studios in Burbank.  (Photo by Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

In addition, she and her husband, David — married in 1990, they have four sons, Samuel, John, Joseph, and Daniel — run a production company called FourBoys Entertainment. 

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To top it all off, she's the author of the book Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention, a collection of essays and advice that came out from Simon & Schuster last year.

The book is chock-full of wise and memorable guidance — and not just for those seeking a "second act." It's for anyone looking for a combination of common sense and joyful encouragement no matter what their personal and professional goals might be. 

Patricia Heaton is shown during the 2019 CBS Upfront at The Plaza on May 15, 2019, in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)

Here are a few of Patrica Heaton's spot-on tips from Your Second Act.

(And if you've been meaning to read this book but haven't yet, these lasting takeaways might inspire you as a new year beckons.)

Read these wise and memorable Patricia Heaton quotes about living your best days, from her book 'Your Second Act'

1. "Be open to inspiration from unlikely sources."

2. "If you have an idea in your head and your heart, consider creative ways to test the waters."

3. "Your gifts are the foundation of your purpose."

4. "It's never too late."

5. "Follow your interests."

Patricia Heaton in a photo from August 2019 during the TCA Summer Press Tour 2019 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Ca. (Photo by Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images) (Francis Specker/CBS )

6. "Try new things … Who knows what might be in store for you?"

7. "See your trials as a path to discovery."

8. "Be willing to accept what you cannot change."

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9. "View life's interruptions as interruptions, not ending points."

10. "Optimism helps." 

11. "Look for ways to give others what you never had."

"On the other side of the unknown is adventure, satisfaction, and the wonderful sense of fulfillment."

— Patricia Heaton in ‘Your Second Act’

12. "Take some time to freely dream: Oftentimes, we set our focus on the limits we see in our lives instead of the possibility. Sometimes, a simple shift in focus is all we need to see an open door of opportunity."

13. "As crazy as it sounds, when you aren't really certain what to do next: Just. Go. Do. Something."

14. "On the other side of the unknown is adventure, satisfaction, and the wonderful sense of fulfillment."

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15. "Travel is a wonderful way to stimulate your mind and expand your outlook … Be spontaneous! Don't just dream of getting out of Dodge, make a plan and make it happen."

Patricia Heaton's book from which these quotes are drawn is called Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention. It's also available as an audiobook.