The Ultimate Keys to Success!

by: Cedric Licuanan

There are only 4 steps to fulfilling happiness and success.

1) Specialized Education and Knowledge

The first step is to acquire specialized education, knowledge, and training in the field that you intend to succeed.

LEARN TO SUCCEED.

In other words, you must LEARN first, in order to SUCCEED next. Your mind and knowledge must ALWAYS grow upwards. Once we stop learning, we die mentally.

Someone tells you to build a house. So what do you do? Where do you start? The mentality of an unsuccessful person might cause them to respond, 'I can't build a house, I've never done it before, and I don't know how.'

However, the mentality of a successful person will cause them to respond, 'How can I build this house? Although I've never done it before, where can I start learning how?'

It all boils down to an extremely powerful 3-word question:

'HOW CAN I?'

Basically, a successful person will find a way to 'Figure it out.' He or she will do what it takes to acquire the specialized education and knowledge used in the house building and construction industry, and figure out, 'How can I?'

The successful person will also leverage his or her time by tapping into the knowledge of other successful people in the industry, hopefully experts in the house construction field. They say, 'No man is an island', or 'Two heads are better than one.'

As the successful person works on acquiring the assistance of other successful people, the otherwise daunting task of building and constructing a house is well on its way, while the unsuccessful person didn't even get the task off the ground.

Quite a difference that three-word question makes, doesn't it?

Not 'I CAN'T!', but instead 'HOW CAN I?'

'Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.' -W. B. Yeats

'The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.' - B.B. King

'Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.' - Malcolm Forbes

2) Specific Goals
The second step is to commit to specific, attainable, time-bound goals. As soon as you commit to your goals, it is important to simply share your goals with a supportive loved one.

Everybody talks about goals, and goal setting. There is an incredible amount of material on the purpose and reasoning for setting goals. There is just a tremendous amount of information available about goals, but the most important ideas that stand are as follows:
'
SMART'
Specific: Your goals must not be too general, and broad. Make your goals laser targeted and targeted.

Measurable: Your goals should be able to be benchmarked and calculated.

Attainable: Your goals should be obtainable and achievable within reason.

Reasonable: Your goals should be appropriate and consistent with the future that you have planned.

Time-Bound: Your goals should have a deadline - not just 'whenever I feel like it'.

You MUST have a burning desire in order to successfully attain your goals. Too many people have shortchanged themselves and their lives by setting goals for themselves, and not following through with those goals. That 'burning desire' does not seem to exist for certain goals that we set in our lives, heck I'm guilty of that same sin! However, with a strong burning desire, anybody could accomplish any goal that they set their mind's to.

No more excuses! 'If it has to be, it is up to me'. You have to take ownership and responsibility for your life. You have to stop the Blame Game.

The two main obstacles to setting goals is your personal Fear and Doubt. You may fear that you may fail, and therefore doubt that you could overcome these obstacles towards success.

F.E.A.R. = False Evidence Appearing Real. Doubt is the EXACT opposite of faith.
Avoid these 2 obstacles AT ALL COSTS!
Write down your Goals on Paper! 'I will.....' Always have your SMACT goals written down, easily viewable every single day. Review them first thing in the morning, during the day, and finally right before you go to bed.

Review your goals daily!
'Repetition is the Mother of Skill'. The repetition that gets accomplished when you focus on your goals every single day is incredibly powerful.

Use Visualization!
Always close your eyes and picture yourself actually achieving your goals. Picture the reward that you will receive as well as do everything that you can to pretend to 'feel' that incredible sense of accomplishment. Try to mentally connect that feeling with a sense of accomplishment of the past.

'What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.' -Zig Ziglar
'When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing -- then we truly live life.' -Greg Anderson
'You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be.' -Mark Victor Hansen

3) Focused Persistent Planned Action
The third step is to set up an action plan with FOCUSED PERSISTENT ACTION towards your goals. 'Plan your work, and then work your plan'. Start out with baby steps at first, then work your way up to large strides. Everyone starts somewhere!
The single most characteristic that is DIRECTLY related to success is Persistence. The ability to continue moving forward regardless of the obstacles placed in front of you is the essence of the characteristic of Persistence.

Every person has a limit to how much resistance they could handle before giving up, and the main difference between the successful and the unsuccessful is the amount of resistance that a person is willing to endure.

If Persistence is the number one action taken towards extreme success, the unfortunate action of giving up too quickly is the number one reason for dramatic failure. For example, imagine yourself taking part in a long-distance run in your city. At the very first sign of fatigue, you have 2 simple decisions: 1) You give up and stop now 2) You persist and continue forward.
If you chose the first decision.....well, there's not much to be said about this first decision. If you did not finish the race, then unfortunately you have to chalk this one up as a failure.
However, if you chose the second decision, your chances for success just dramatically increased.
MA=MR MASSIVE ACTION = MASSIVE RESULTS
'The race goes not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.' -Anonymous
'Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.' -Dale Carnegie
'Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.' -Thomas Alva Edison

4) Excellence
The final step is to do what you do extremely WELL. If you are going invest the time and effort taking action towards your goals, you might as well try to be good at what you do. Heck, why not become an expert at it also? When a person stands out in the crowd as well-known 'expert', AMAZING things happen in their lives!
Being able to excel at something is usually due to either progressive repetition, or pure talent.

When a person starts to succeeding in business, she notices that if all she did was focus on the characteristic of Excellence, she would succeed indefinitely.

Whenever she found herself having some down time: Waiting in line, waiting for the movie to start, commercial breaks on TV, etc. She would simply take out my wallet and read this document. This tiny act would literally take only 20 seconds, but it helped her TREMENDOUSLY. When your brain and mind gets exposed to positive messages repetitively, eventually the message sinks in. You want to have this 'Excellence Mindset' in all that you do. You want to be able to be able to excel and succeed in all the tasks of a successful person.

Become an Expert It is VERY important to 'become the Expert' in your particular industry. You want to be able set up a reputation for yourself as the 'go to' person. In other words, other people in your chosen industry always seem to turn to you with their questions and concerns, etc.

'Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise; risking more than others think is safe. Dreaming more than others think is practical and expecting more than others think is possible.' -Anonymous

'Excellence is never an accident: it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities.' -Unkown

'Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.' -Pat Riley
In Summary, 1) Do everything you can to attain the specialized education and knowledge in your field 2) Set specific goals and timelines 3) Put your goals and plans into PERSISTENT ACTION and finally 4) Do what you can to EXCEL in your activities!

Utilize the 4 Ultimate Keys to Success in ALL your endeavors, and get ready for an incredible ride in the months and years ahead!

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Why Is Your Happiness Important

by: Deanna Mascle

Have you ever wondered where you fall on the happiness scale? Are most people happier or less happy than you are? According to a Scripps Howard/Ohio University survey of 1,007 U.S. adults, about 52 percent of Americans say they are "very happy" with their lives, with 43 percent reporting they are "fairly happy," 3 percent said they are "not too happy" and 2 percent undecided. In Britain, Gallup polls show that only 36 percent claim they are "very happy" which is down from 52% in 1957.

Now that you know, I want to tell you that simply do not matter. Many people who are not to happy or only fairly happy struggle with personal happiness simply because they do not rate their personal happiness as very important. However, our personal happiness is very important and should rate among your top priorities. In fact, it really is not selfish to consider your own happiness as your top priority for the following three reasons.

You are important

It is true. You are an important person. I don't care about your profession, employment status, or income. You are important. Look back at your past. Think about how different the world around you might be if you had not been born. How has your life impacted others? Don't dismiss small contributions as unimportant because the truth is that it is often these many small changes that lead to a greater good.

Now think about your life right now. How many people depend on you among your family, friends, and community? If you stayed in bed tomorrow how many lives would be impacted by your absence?

Now think about your future. What potential exists for your life to impact the lives of others? Think about your home and family, your friends and community, and your professional life. Don't think about probabilities but rather possibilities. You have the potential to change many lives just by being you and living your life.

You are important because you are the sum total of all these effects: your past, your present, and your future. What you have done, what you are doing, and what you can do in the future are all the elements that make you an important and valuable person who deserves to be happy.

Your happiness affects your family and friends

While your family and friends should not depend on you to make them happy it is very true that if you are unhappy you can make it much more difficult for others around you to be happy.

There is an old saying that frequently crops up on sit-coms and tee shirts, "If Momma Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy." This is often good for a laugh but we all know it is true. If a parent is unhappy then often the rest of the household will be unhappy too. It only take one bad apple to spoil the whole barrel, as another old saying goes, and this is true whenever any group of humans gathers together. If one friend or family member is not happy then their unhappiness can spread to infect the others in the group.

You deserve to be happy for yourself but you should also strive for happiness so if you are going to spread a mood then it will be a good one.

Your happiness affects the world

How many times have you been simply going through life, not really in a good or bad mood, and then someone took a moment to give you a smile. What happened to your mood? Did you smile back? Another old saying is that smiles are contagious and this may be a very powerful argument for your own personal happiness. Can you imagine possessing the power to spread smiles? You do not need to imagine it because you already possess that power. You simply need to get yourself into the habit of smiling. Smile at your loved ones, smile at your friends, and smile at strangers on the street, and soon you will be making a strong contribution to making the world a happier place.

Your happiness is important because you are a significant person, your mood impacts your family and friends, and your happiness affects the world.

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How Do You Define Happiness?

by: David Leonhardt

I ran a contest in "Your Daily Dose of Happiness" to see how people define happiness. I was stunned to discover that I am the only person who defines happiness as an extra helping of cheesecake.

There were other shockers, too.

We know that money can't buy happiness ... except, of course, when we are flat broke. But I figured several people would define happiness, at least in part, as a bulging bank vault or "financial freedom". Just three people cited money in their definitions of happiness.

I also figured many people would cite health as part of their definition of happiness, as in "health, wealth, and happiness". But only four people mentioned health.

No health? No wealth? How do people define happiness?

The top rated mention goes to family. It seems that we might be flat broke and deathly ill, but a loving family will make us happy just the same.

Altruism and kindness are also key. It seems we smile by making others smile. Isn't that nice? No health and no wealth. Just smile.

Faith scores big, too. This works out very well, because we can ask our loving family to pray for a speedy recovery and a big win in El Gordo next month (assuming we recover first).

What does this mean? It means the spammers have it all wrong. They keep sending us useless emails about making money.

A typical spam message says, "Get the insider secrets to making millions on the Internet. I will give you these valuable secrets for peanuts just because I love your smile so much. You could make $5,433 in the next hour if you act now. Hurry. Don't wait. This is the real thing. You can trust me. All the others are just scammers."

Instead, spammers should be sending offers like, "Get the insider secret to building a loving family on the Internet. I will give you these valuable secrets for peanuts (and a big virtual hug) just because I love your smile so much. You could love your kids, spouses, uncles, parents, pets – anybody! – in the next hour if you act now. Hurry. Don't wait. This is the real thing. You can trust me. All the others are just family planners."

Spammers also waste emails on replacing body parts we never had and enhancing body parts we could never have, when what we really want is to know God better.

Here is a typical spammer email: "Hair loss? We just released the miracle cure. Grow your hair back thicker than a wooly mammoth preparing for the next ice age. This is worth a gazillion dollars, but you get it free for just pennies a day. Give me your credit card number before midnight tonight. I can't afford to offer this price for long. Beware phony products that drip funny colors in your face or make hair grow in all the wrong places. This is the real thing!"

Instead, spammers should be saying: "Faithless? Book your luncheon with the Pope, dinner with the Dalai Lama and a one-on-one chat with Moses. Reserve your seat free for just a handful of pennies. Give me your credit card number before midnight tonight. Act now. I can't afford to offer this price for long. Beware phony reservations for meetings with Michael Jackson and other fake gods. This is the real thing!"

By the way, Mother Nature was also a part of many definitions of happiness. So take your family down by the river for a prayer. And if you can lend a helping hand to a chipmunk or a duck, you'll be the perfect definition of happiness.

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The Happiness of Others

by: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

Is there any necessary connection between our actions and the happiness of others? Disregarding for a moment the murkiness of the definitions of "actions" in philosophical literature - two types of answers were hitherto provided.

Sentient Beings (referred to, in this essay, as "Humans" or "persons") seem either to limit each other - or to enhance each other's actions. Mutual limitation is, for instance, evident in game theory. It deals with decision outcomes when all the rational "players" are fully aware of both the outcomes of their actions and of what they prefer these outcomes to be. They are also fully informed about the other players: they know that they are rational, too, for instance. This, of course, is a very farfetched idealization. A state of unbounded information is nowhere and never to be found. Still, in most cases, the players settle down to one of the Nash equilibria solutions. Their actions are constrained by the existence of the others.

The "Hidden Hand" of Adam Smith (which, among other things, benignly and optimally regulates the market and the price mechanisms) - is also a "mutually limiting" model. Numerous single participants strive to maximize their (economic and financial) outcomes - and end up merely optimizing them. The reason lies in the existence of others within the "market". Again, they are constrained by other people’s motivations, priorities ands, above all, actions.

All the consequentialist theories of ethics deal with mutual enhancement. This is especially true of the Utilitarian variety. Acts (whether judged individually or in conformity to a set of rules) are moral, if their outcome increases utility (also known as happiness or pleasure). They are morally obligatory if they maximize utility and no alternative course of action can do so. Other versions talk about an "increase" in utility rather than its maximization. Still, the principle is simple: for an act to be judged "moral, ethical, virtuous, or good" - it must influence others in a way which will "enhance" and increase their happiness.

The flaws in all the above answers are evident and have been explored at length in the literature. The assumptions are dubious (fully informed participants, rationality in decision making and in prioritizing the outcomes, etc.). All the answers are instrumental and quantitative: they strive to offer a moral measuring rod. An "increase" entails the measurement of two states: before and after the act. Moreover, it demands full knowledge of the world and a type of knowledge so intimate, so private - that it is not even sure that the players themselves have conscious access to it. Who goes around equipped with an exhaustive list of his priorities and another list of all the possible outcomes of all the acts that he may commit?

But there is another, basic flaw: these answers are descriptive, observational, phenomenological in the restrictive sense of these words. The motives, the drives, the urges, the whole psychological landscape behind the act are deemed irrelevant. The only thing relevant is the increase in utility/happiness. If the latter is achieved - the former might as well not have existed. A computer, which increases happiness is morally equivalent to a person who achieves a quantitatively similar effect. Even worse: two persons acting out of different motives (one malicious and one benevolent) will be judged to be morally equivalent if their acts were to increase happiness similarly.

But, in life, an increase in utility or happiness or pleasure is CONDITIONED upon, is the RESULT of the motives behind the acts that led to it. Put differently: the utility functions of two acts depend decisively on the motivation, drive, or urge behind them. The process, which leads to the act is an inseparable part of the act and of its outcomes, including the outcomes in terms of the subsequent increase in utility or happiness. We can safely distinguish the "utility contaminated" act from the "utility pure (or ideal)" act.

If a person does something which is supposed to increase the overall utility - but does so in order to increase his own utility more than the expected average utility increase - the resulting increase will be lower. The maximum utility increase is achieved overall when the actor forgoes all increase in his personal utility. It seems that there is a constant of utility increase and a conservation law pertaining to it. So that a disproportionate increase in one's personal utility translates into a decrease in the overall average utility. It is not a zero sum game because of the infiniteness of the potential increase - but the rules of distribution of the utility added after the act, seem to dictate an averaging of the increase in order to maximize the result.

The same pitfalls await these observations as did the previous ones. The players must be in the possession of full information at least regarding the motivation of the other players. "Why is he doing this?" and "why did he do what he did?" are not questions confined to the criminal courts. We all want to understand the "why's" of actions long before we engage in utilitarian calculations of increased utility. This also seems to be the source of many an emotional reaction concerning human actions. We are envious because we think that the utility increase was unevenly divided (when adjusted for efforts invested and for the prevailing cultural mores). We suspect outcomes that are "too good to be true". Actually, this very sentence proves my point: that even if something produces an increase in overall happiness it will be considered morally dubious if the motivation behind it remains unclear or seems to be irrational or culturally deviant.

Two types of information are, therefore, always needed: one (discussed above) concerns the motives of the main protagonists, the act-ors. The second type relates to the world. Full knowledge about the world is also a necessity: the causal chains (actions lead to outcomes), what increases the overall utility or happiness and for whom, etc. To assume that all the participants in an interaction possess this tremendous amount of information is an idealization (used also in modern theories of economy), should be regarded as such and not be confused with reality in which people approximate, estimate, extrapolate and evaluate based on a much more limited knowledge.

Two examples come to mind:

Aristotle described the "Great Soul". It is a virtuous agent (actor, player) that judges himself to be possessed of a great soul (in a self-referential evaluative disposition). He has the right measure of his worth and he courts the appreciation of his peers (but not of his inferiors) which he believes that he deserves by virtue of being virtuous. He has a dignity of demeanour, which is also very self-conscious. He is, in short, magnanimous (for instance, he forgives his enemies their offences). He seems to be the classical case of a happiness-increasing agent - but he is not. And the reason that he fails in qualifying as such is that his motives are suspect. Does he refrain from assaulting his enemies because of charity and generosity of spirit - or because it is likely to dent his pomposity? It is sufficient that a POSSIBLE different motive exist - to ruin the utilitarian outcome.

Adam Smith, on the other hand, adopted the spectator theory of his teacher Francis Hutcheson. The morally good is a euphemism. It is really the name provided to the pleasure, which a spectator derives from seeing a virtue in action. Smith added that the reason for this emotion is the similarity between the virtue observed in the agent and the virtue possessed by the observer. It is of a moral nature because of the object involved: the agent tries to consciously conform to standards of behaviour which will not harm the innocent, while, simultaneously benefiting himself, his family and his friends. This, in turn, will benefit society as a whole. Such a person is likely to be grateful to his benefactors and sustain the chain of virtue by reciprocating. The chain of good will, thus, endlessly multiply.

Even here, we see that the question of motive and psychology is of utmost importance. WHY is the agent doing what he is doing? Does he really conform to society's standards INTERNALLY? Is he GRATEFUL to his benefactors? Does he WISH to benefit his friends? These are all questions answerable only in the realm of the mind. Really, they are not answerable at all.

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Choose Happiness

by: Donald Schnell

It's a beautiful spring day in Beverly Hills, California. I'm looking out my window at elm trees in full leaf and roses in full bloom, and thinking about the people who helped me get where I am today.

Mark Johnson was the kind of guy some people love to hate. He was always in a great mood and always had something positive to say. When he saw you, he enthusiastically boomed, “Hello, my friend!” When you asked him how he was, he nearly shouted, “I'm on top of the world!” I was sometimes a little embarrassed by his noisy exuberance, but I was glad he was my friend.

Mark was a unique worker at the Phelps Dodge Copper Mine in my home town of Ajo, Arizona. The miners followed him around. Because of his attitude, he was a natural motivator. If one of the guys was having a bad day, Mark was there to help him see the bright side of any situation. Once I remember him taking one of the men to the bank with him after work. I later learned that Mark had personally given over half his check to help that man cover his family's medical bills. It wasn't the first time Mark had done this. Many could testify to his generosity.

And those were tough times for copper miners in the 1970's-with only a decade left before the mine would close, and Ajo would turn into a ghost town

Mark Johnson and I worked in the Smelter-the OVEN. Hot enough to melt gold. Hot enough to melt your shoes…it was Hell.

Mark's positive approach to life made me curious, so one day I asked him, "I don't get it! Everyone grumbles and complains about the hard work, the heat, and the low wages. Everyone but you. No one can be a positive person all the time. How do you do it?"

Mark had a quick answer, and a quicker smile, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Mark, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' Don, I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. Don, I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. Don, I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Mark said. "Life is all about choices. Every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to each situation. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: it's your choice how you live life."

My job in the mines that summer was challenging. I was only 19 years old after all. I was home for the summer to try to make enough money for my sophomore year at Arizona State.

Challenging? That is a major understatement. My assignment: to shovel from the top of the OVEN the metallic soot that would build up on the roof. It took a shovel and an industrial strength vacuum cleaner to do the job. Life threatening? Yep!

That OVEN had to be clean or it might collapse. We worked in crews of two-man teams. For safety, we strapped wooden platforms beneath our shoes. As we worked we kept an eye on our platforms, and if they started to smoke, we jumped off the OVEN before our shoes caught fire. The top of the OVEN was the hottest, because heat rises. I resented when Mark was transferred to the ICE HOUSE. He was going to work in the coolest place in Arizona during that infernal summer. Why not me? He now had one of the nicest jobs you could get in that fiery Hell called a copper mine. Why not me?

Things change. The miners went on strike. Mark came to me in great distress. It was the first time I'd ever seen him upset. “Don,” he said, “I've got to work. I'm going to have to be a scab. I have a family to feed. My wife Becky is 8 months pregnant.” Tough decision. The toughest.

In Ajo, an innocent child of a scab was once shot to death. Countless are the brutal stories I can recall of how scabs were severely beaten, crippled or killed for their decision to cross the picket line. Mark had nowhere to turn. Copper mining was the only industry in that town 100 miles from civilization. He had no money to move, no money to travel. Sadly, I supported him in his decision. What else could I do?

The next day was ugly. Hundreds of angry miners lined up to taunt, jeer and protest the few scabs who showed up to work. Mark hung his head in shame as he drove through the picket line in a company truck with armed escorts. The decision to work was fatal. But not because of the miners' hatred of scabs. Mark was assigned my job to clean the top of the OVEN. The same I'd worked on only days before. That day, witnesses saw the OVEN collapse, and my friend Mark was instantly incinerated.

Mark's death had a major impact on me. It could have been my life that was taken by that OVEN. I was a kid, and I hurt. Worst of all, I felt guilty for resenting his time in the Ice House. I felt guilty for not always welcoming his positive outlook. But, now he was gone. His family was fatherless. Because his last work was that of a scab, he was counted as a temporary worker, and the family lost all his benefits. It was a tragedy I couldn't handle. The fire of that oven burned inside my gut. I had to turn my anger, my guilt, and my sadness and pain into something positive. I reflected on Mark's upbeat philosophy and decided that I could best honor him by being like him, and focusing on the good in my life.

Mark's untimely death taught me a valuable lesson. Life is short. There is no telling when we will be called to take the Great Adventure. Each day of our lives is precious. Mark was 100% right. Each day is a choice. You and you alone decide what kind of day you will have. You can choose to be happy or sad, loving or hateful. Enlightenment is all about choice. What choice are you going to make today? Remember my friend Mark this week and make the choice to be happy.

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Boosting Your Success with Six Easy Happiness Tips

by: Christina Winsey-Rudd

In what areas of your life would you like to achieve greater success? State-of-mind (attitude towards life and work) absolutely affects your performance and your outcomes. People who stay in jobs they hate, or relationships and situations in which they are chronically unhappy are not only missing out on the joy life has to offer, but are literally putting their health at risk at the same time.

When coaching clients I ask them to do a rough pre-assessment: on a scale of one to ten, ten being that you are consistently happy with your day-to-day life 90-95% of the time, where do you rank? If the answer is five or six, here are some tips and techniques to boost it up.

Live by your definition of happiness and success? Many people feel an ongoing sense of dissatisfaction with their lives or businesses because they are using someone else’s “happiness measuring stick”. Comparing your life and achievements to those of others, and using their criteria rather than yours is a sure fire way to lose the happiness game.

Take “happiness breaks” using a “fun and joy list”. Many people don’t realize how much more productive they can be by feeding their souls and hearts throughout the workday. Lunch hour not withstanding, 10-15 minute “happiness breaks” are real attitude and brain-boosters. A checklist prevents you from saying “I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself if I took a break from work.”

Become a Pollyanna! Pollyanna, contrary to popular opinion, wasn’t teaching denial, or pie in the sky positive thinking. Rather she perfected a mind-set of learned optimism and of seeing the glass “half full”. Pollyanna’s “Glad Game” turned around an entire town from being gloomy and pessimistic to being a happy, joyful place.

Not only will your sunny outlook help you be happier more of the time, but also your “vibes” will positively affect those around you. If you’re single, keeping a sunny disposition will make your “vibe” much more attractive. People like to be around upbeat people who make them feel good).

If you’re in sales, or are looking to climb a success ladder, you will be much more attractive to your ideal employer or ideal customer if your attitude is obviously an optimistic and happy one.

Have Better Relationships by Living From Both Head and Heart. Being too rigid, and intellectual can really wreck the relationship “happiness quotient”. The people in your life, just like you, want to hear expressed appreciation and to be given more understanding.

Sadly, it seems much easier in our society, for people to express disappointment, criticism and negative observations than it does the positive ones. Speak words of encouragement and appreciation freely.

Ask for acknowledgement when you need it too. People can’t (HEAR THIS – THEY ABSOLUTELY CAN’T) read your mind. When you give and take freely of appreciation, understanding, praise, joy and fun in relationships they are bound to flourish.

On the business side of things, you will be seen as a premier team player when you contribute to your business relationships in this way.

Stay in the here and now. When coaching clients, one of the most frequent things I hear is “When I achieve this goal I will finally be happy.” Life isn’t happening “then”. Life is happening right NOW!

Make a habit of slowing things down. Savor those good people, experiences and feelings in the very moment you are experiencing them. While you are experiencing them and noticing them, inwardly say a thought of gratitude that you have this person, job, experience, feeling, or talent.

Whatever it is that you are enjoying, it will stay with you longer throughout the day if you don’t let it fly by without acknowledgement. At the end of the day, as you review it, if you’ve really practiced this “here and now happiness”, the overall feeling about your day will be a good one.

When negatives come along the fact that you have spent time practicing this “here and now happiness” will make it a great deal easier to wade through it without overreacting.

Quiet your negative self-talk. Many people are completely unaware of the numerous negative things they may say to themselves throughout the day. The fact is that, like criticism of others, negative self-talk never ever helped anyone perform better.

Become your own detective. Carry a little notebook around with you and whenever you are aware of some negative thoughts running through your mind write them down. Then consciously and deliberately refute the negative thought with some positive observations.

What if you were to stop those thoughts as if you were a policeman with a whistle and immediately bring on the flow of positive self-compliments? Pick any and all good characteristics about both your looks and about you as a person begin to acknowledge yourself for them emphatically.

Here again, when you love and appreciate yourself for what’s good, your “vibes” will be good ones and people will like being around you. In fact, they will begin to think and feel about you, the way you do. When you value yourself the world will too!

These are just a few ways you can enhance the quality of your happiness experience and your life. Get creative and begin thinking of your own solutions! They will pay big dividends.

"Go for the moon. If you don't get it, you'll still be heading for a star."

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The Year Of Happiness

by: Hifzur Rehman

I have decided to declare 2004 as the YEAR OF HAPPINESS for me. What about you? Yes, you can also do so! Anyone living in any part of the world has the right to be happy and enjoy every moment of his/her life. There is no harm in declaring the year 2004 as the Year of Happiness for All Mankind.

You cannot bring happiness to your life unless you decide to be happy. This is the most important decision of your life which you must take now with a firm commitment with yourself. Think, how great you will look, when you will bring smile to your face and happiness to your life.

Once decided to be happy and declare 2004 as the Year of Happiness, you put yourself on the path which leads to a happy, healthy and succcessful life. You put all your abilities and energies to work for you to bring happiness into your life and you really do not know what wonders you can do. Give yourself an opportunity to prove that you can live a happy life.

If there is one reason to be unhappy, there may be ten reasons to be happy. Why allow unhappiness to overcome happiness. Why not look for opportunities to be happy rather than making excuses to be unhappy. There is absolutely no reason in keeping oneself unhappy over petty things and unrelated matters.

Most patients prolong their illness simply because they do not realize that their condition is improving which is a matter of happiness for them. They rather keep on feeling the pain and complaining. This type of negative attitude of the patients certainly delays the recovery from illness. People must know that happiness is the best medicine which cures many diseases.

I suffered a massive heart attack in March last year while working in my office. An ambulance took me to the hospital in a critical condition. After a few hours, I was back to life (though in the ICU with lot of heart monitoring devices attached to my body). Believe me, that was the most happy moment of my life when I realized that I was alive! The joy and happiness of being alive, eliminated the pain which I was suffering and helped me in quick recovery.

Being alive itself is a matter of joy, excitement and happiness. Wyile you are alive you can do a lot to bring happiness into your life. But the "true happiness" will come to your life only when you will also try to bring happiness into the lives of other people. If agree, then please join hands with me in spreading the message of happiness to as many people as possible by referring this article to your friends, family and colleagues. Also help and motivate them in devising and implementing an Agenda of Happiness.

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Three Inspirations for Happiness

by: David Leonhardt


The following three inspirations were adapted from A Daily Dose of Happiness, and they represent three key ways to increase our happiness.

1. FORGIVING FOR HAPPINESS

We like to think we are better than our friends below us in the food chain, such as the octopus and the snail. After all, we have love. We feel happiness. We have empathy. We have a conscience. We can reason.

We can also hold onto grudges.

Grudges are, in fact, prickly little creatures that worm their way into our hearts. Holding onto them is a self-defeating exercise.

Fortunately, forgiveness is also uniquely human. Forgiveness cleanses the spirit. Forgiveness let's us get on with enjoying our lives instead of being preoccupied with someone else's. Forgiveness opens the door to happiness.

2. SUPPORTING FOR HAPPINESS

When things seem to be very bleak, it does not take much to lift someone's spirits. Sometimes all it takes is to let somebody know they are not alone.

That is why it is so important to smile at people, especially if they look down. And if you know what is weighing the person down, let them know they are not alone. Don't go burdening them with all your miseries, but let them know you have been there.

Guess what? You will feel happiness for having helped them, too.

3. ACCEPTING FOR HAPPINESS

There is no such thing as happiness if you are not at peace with yourself. Too many people just don't know how to make peace with themselves.

Peace begins with acceptance. Whether we agree with everything we do (like the environmentalist who sometimes throws out a recyclable container), it is important to accept what we do.

Do we always make the best choices? No. But they are the choices we make.

Do we always treat people with the most respect? No. But it is how we treat people.

Can we improve? Yes, and we should. But that is a project for the future. First we must accept who we are now, rather than condemning ourselves. Then we can move to improve the person we will be tomorrow. Both acceptance today and improvements tomorrow will increase our happiness.

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Where is Your Happiness? Past, Present, or Future?

by: Dr. David Thomas

Achieving a level of personal happiness previously unknown is closer than you think. Much closer. But first, it’s important to stay in touch with the present.

“Stay in touch with the present? I’m thinking…I’m already IN the present!”

Well, certainly we all are in the present, since there is nowhere else to be, but that doesn’t mean our thoughts are in the present. And therein lay the challenges to our own personal happiness.

We as humans are the rarest of all species in that not only can we think, but we can think about our thinking.

And you can use this process of being aware of your self-thoughts to help you achieve contentment. It’s important for you to challenge what you see and believe. This insures that your view of the world matches reality. So often what we believe is the truth, is nothing more than glimpses of the past, present, and future.

We often take only the bad from the past, quickly breeze through the present, and falsely make up the future. The result is frequently guilt about your imperfect past, anxiety about a future that doesn’t exist, and impatience with the Now.

But it is the Now which can help us to live our lives today, fully alive, happy and content.

To prove the value of the present to yourself, try this:

Take a moment and sit in a comfortable place and observe.

* What do you see? Describe the images around you.
* What sounds are there? How many can you hear?
* Can you smell different smells? (Some are pleasant, some maybe not!)
* Tell yourself how the surfaces around you feel, the chair, the rug under your feet, the tightness or looseness of your clothing.
* And finally, what tastes are apparent in your mouth?

Take a few minutes and reconnect with the world as you experience it in the now.

If you are like most people, what you experienced is a wonderful feeling of aliveness. Rarely do we allow ourselves the opportunity to enjoy the moment. But the moment is the only reality we know. It is exactly the way it should be and it cannot be anything more than that.

But we repeatedly make it out to be different. And by doing so, we have lost the opportunity to fully experience the rain, the children playing, the learning to be achieved by listening to the world seen through a grandparent’s eyes, or a friend sharing one of his or her own moments. Too often we are too caught up in what will happen, or what has happened, to experience what IS happening.

This is not to say that planning for the future is unimportant, or that reminiscing is not useful and enjoyable in itself. But unfortunately, too often we become entangled in a future that has not happened and become stifled by our predictions.

We run from the saber tooth tiger that no longer exists in our modern day world. The tiger has been replaced with confronting a friend, giving a speech, driving over a bridge, or feeling discomfort from changing a habit. We create absolute horror from an uncertain future that we make real in the moment.

Staying in the moment awards you the opportunity to see the world as it is, not as you believe it should be. It allows you to observe the truth, to look at real data, not information couched in fears and anxiety.

And it is this truth, which will allow you to enjoy yourself, others, and the world around you. Because, it is exactly as it should be. You can manage any life event that presents itself. Why?? Because everyone does. You can choose to do it with pain or without pain. The evidence for these statements is present in the moment.

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True Happiness

by: Kim Olver

Most people look outside of themselves as the cause of their unhappiness or frustration. After all, wouldn’t life be practically perfect if the significant people in our lives would simply do things the way we want them to or do what we think is best for them? Actually, this is the kind of thinking that perpetuates the misery!

I agree that most of today’s unhappiness centers on important people in our lives not cooperating with us. Can anyone relate to that? Have you ever had a child who makes a decision that puts them in serious danger? Have you ever had a significant other decide to relocate or make an employment decision with which you were not in agreement? Did one of your parents ever say something critical to you that rocked your confidence? Ever had a supervisor who micromanaged your work and never gave credit for your good work performance? I think you get the idea. Any one or combination of these things can be a source of unhappiness for us and I’m sure you can add several others to the list.

While we are in situations such as these, it sure feels like if the others in our life would just cooperate and be the way we want them to be, and then our lives would be so much better, happier and more fulfilling. While this may, in fact, be true, what I also believe is this. While we are busy trying to get those significant others in our lives to do things our way, the behaviors we typically engage in to move others in our desired direction are exactly those behaviors that damage, and ultimately destroy, our relationships.

You know the behaviors I’m talking about: punishing, guilting, complaining, nagging, threatening, criticizing, “the silent treatment”, and if we are particularly savvy, rewarding to control, otherwise known as bribing.

If you are one of those people whose first choice of action is to negotiate and open the doors of communication, then you are rare. Ask yourself what do you typically resort to when negotiations fail?

I know one of my more polished behaviors is nagging. I am a world class nag---just ask my children. You know the drill. “How about cleaning up your room today?” Thirty minutes later, after the child is still in front of his video game, “Are you going to get to that room today?” Maybe two hours later, several decibels louder, “What about that ROOM?” Then, as a last frustration, it’s “Will you get off your lazy a*# and clean your blankety blank blank room!!!!” Ever been there? Did it work to get the room cleaned? In my case, it usually didn’t.

However, I’ve have had some parents tell me that repeated nagging does work but then my next question usually has a different answer---At what cost? What was the cost of getting that room cleaned? First, there was the cost of you losing control and being a person you probably don’t want to be and secondly, there was a definite cost to the relationship between you and your child. Do you believe that after an exchange such as that one, the two of you will be ready and willing to have a meaningful discussion about life or anything else about which you may like to talk? Probably not.

What I am about to say probably goes against what you have believed the good majority of your life and that is that you, and you alone, are responsible for your own happiness. If you are waiting for someone to do something differently or for a particular thing to manifest itself in your life in order for you to be happy, then you are operating from the outside in instead of the inside out.

I am not here to tell you to stop what you are currently doing. If you want to hold on to your beliefs that when your husband becomes more affectionate, your children more obedient, your wife more supportive, your boss more appreciative or you to get your education, pay off your credit cards, buy your first home, etc. in order for you to be happy, then go ahead. But for those of us who want to practice inside out thinking, we don’t like to give the power to others to control our happiness or any of our other moods or emotions. We know that we are responsible for ourselves and no one else.

What I can help you with is learning how to be the person you want to be, feel the emotions you want to feel by changing what you do and how you think about things. There is a quote I want to leave you with from Jimmy Dean. “You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.” This is representative of true inside out thinking. People and events are going to be what they are around us. There is very little we can do to impact other people’s behavior and the uncontrollable events in our lives but there is always something each of us can do to manage those things better.

If you would like to discuss this further, then click here to sign up for the teleclass “Living from the Inside Out” scheduled for April 21, 2005 at 8 PM Central Time. Until then, begin to recognize situations in your life where you give your power away to others for the way that you feel. Awareness is the first step

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The Real Key To Happiness, Peace of Mind, and Massive Success

by: Rick Miller


Do you know the secret that allowed 100% of the world's wealthiest people to become successful?

Amazingly though, even if you read all their books, attend their speeches, or even ask them in person, you'll probably never discover the one true secret of their success.

Why?

Because they probably don't even know themselves ...

They're too caught up in what they do each day. They may be totally unaware of why almost everything they're involved in becomes a success.

Would you like to know their secret?

Listen closely:

All truly successful people live in alignment with their passions ... they're fulfilling their purpose in life. They're living their own dreams.

The famous theologian William Barclay once said, "There are two great days in a person's life--the day we are born and the day we discover why."

Most people, regardless of religion or lack of religion, instinctively feel that there's a higher purpose to life ... and that if they could determine their mission in life, they'd be much more happy and satisfied.

Once you start to follow your passions and mission in life, the Universe (God or Nature, depending on what you believe) seems to start helping you achieve your goals, often by presenting startling opportunities for you ...

In a recent interview with Chris and Janet Attwood, they revealed a remarkable tool that'll help you quickly determine your purpose in life--The Passion Test.

(Note: To access the Attwood's complete audio interview for free, see end of article)

The simple test, a series of probing questions that you ask yourself, will quickly help you identify your top passions, what's really important in your life.

According to Janet, "The number-one reason people don't get what they want is--is they don't know what they want."

Once you discover your passions and align your life with them, success comes quickly and automatically.

What's more startling, she found that every single highly successful person who's taken the test (Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, T. Harv Eker, Dan Poynter, to name a few) already are accomplishing their top passions.

Undoubtedly knowing your passions speeds up the path to success.

Most importantly, she also revealed ways to help you realign your life to help you follow those passions.

The one key ingredient in reaching any goal or accomplishment is that you must totally love and enjoy whatever you are wanting to appear in your life.

It has to be your dream, not someone else's.

Do you really want a million dollars or would you rather have someone to love and be loved back?

Do you want that mansion or would you rather travel and not be tied down to any geographical location?

Only you can decide ...

After taking the Passion Test, I was profoundly changed in the way I view my life.

For me, I discovered that my number one passion is gaining dynamic health, my number two passion is improving myself, and three is mastering the guitar.

I realize now that I've put those desires on the back burner while I worked totally on survival goals (you know, making money and dealing with life's obstacles).

With that in mind, it's clear to me that I've missed out on a lot of joys that accomplishments in those areas would have brought me.

So I have a lot of work ahead of me to bring my life back into alignment with my most important passions ...

What about you? You owe it to yourself to discover your passions. It'll help you to become a success in all areas of your life.

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Finding True Happiness: Part Two - Four Sources of Divine Contentment

by: Maurice Perry

There are four sources from which we can experience true divine contentment. Contentment, as defined in part one, is a plateau of the Christian life that every believer must reach in order to be fulfilled spiritually, mentally and emotionally. That being said, let’s look at these four sources of divine contentment in which are sure to provide ways to reach a state of fulfillment.

John 14:8

Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

Source #1 - When we see God as our Father

We cannot reach a state of divine contentment until we know and understand inexplicably who our Father truly is. Not knowing who our Father is will leave us in darkness. We will not be able to discern His voice from all of the other voices that are trying to be influences in our lives. Our Father God wants us to call Him Daddy, Abba, Father. Some of us may have earthly, biological fathers, and a number of us have never met our biological fathers, nor even know where he can be found. But our Father in heaven wants us to know that He is there when we call. Our Father God wants us to commune with Him as if He were the only father that we’ve ever known. He wants to be there for us in all of our situations and circumstances. He longs for an eternal dialog with us.

John 15:10-11

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Source # 2 - Live by the Word of God

Knowing the voice of God is critical in the days that we live in because there are many false prophets, pastors and teachers that are leading God’s sheep down wrong paths. This is due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. We must possess logos (literal word) and the rhema (revealed word) Word of God in our inner man to be able to persevere. We must abide in God’s Word daily, consistently and with passion.

Having His commandments etched onto our hearts is what our Father God longs for. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of having God’s commandments etched onto the heart. It is through the keeping of the commandments of God that we experience the love of God and the presence of God. Abiding in God’s love is our purpose. To accomplish this, keeping the commandments of God is mandatory.

The most beautiful part about this passage is in verse 11. After keeping the commandments, and after abiding in the love of God, then, and only then, will the joy of the Holy Spirit dwell within us. Joy is the end result of our obedience and our abiding in the love of God. Joy is our reward for staying steadfast and unmovable in the things of God. Joy is our source of contentment and happiness.

Romans 8:28-29

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Source #3 - Be who we are born to be

It was no accident that we fell into the arms of our Father God and came into the knowledge of His Son. Many people struggle with their attempted relationship with God because they were not called. For those who are called to the knowledge and understanding of who God is and what Jesus Christ has already done for us, there is a divine purpose behind the call. The purpose of the call is to raise up a group of dedicated individuals who would press into the things of the kingdom of God, magnify the kingdom of God, and do the will and work of the Father. God called us from birth to be His foot soldiers on earth to establish His kingdom. God knew us before our birth, and predestinated us to be His, and His alone.

But not only has He pre-chosen us before our birth, but he wants us to be mirror images of His Son. Jesus Christ is our big brother, according to verse 29 - “…that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” We are the brethren. So if he is to be the firstborn of many brethren, that makes us His little brothers and sisters.

II Corinthians 3:18

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

It is in the place of beholding the glory of the Lord that we are transformed into His image. Being in the persistent presence of God is what we should desire. We are a product of our environment. If our environment consists of violence and murder, our children will be influence by the spirit of violence and murder and there will be a good chance that they will fall into the snare of violence or murder. The same thing is the case with an environment of holiness and sanctification. If our children grow up in an environment that fears the Lord, and is clean, righteous and holy, then our children will be influenced by these things and therefore grow up to be fearful of the Lord, clean at heart and mind, righteous in the eyes of God and man - holy and separated unto God.

Being in the presence of God changes us overtime. It is the consistent purging by the water of the Word of God that cleanses, purifies our spirit, and transforms us into the likeness of God. But we must understand that this transformation is usually not something that happens overnight. Persistency and consistency is the key to being taken from glory to glory. The Spirit of the Lord purges us by stripping layers of ungodliness, one at a time. With each level of glory that we come into, a layer of ungodliness is shed. Continued pressing into the glory of God allows the stripping of our old man (flesh, sin) so that the new man (Christ) that has been supplied by the Spirit of the Lord will be able to show and do His work - being a reflection of the anointing of God, the oil of joy that he wants to pour into our lives.

Adam and Eve forgot who they were in God. They forgot that they were made in the image and likeness of God. Sin and disobedience led to the lack of knowledge of who they were in God. The same thing happens to us. Sin and disobedience places a barrier in front of our eyes. This barrier of sin blocks our vision of the image of God, and then we forget who we are in Christ and how we are to be like Christ. We must always keep God in remembrance so that His glory will continue to shine upon us and change us into His image.

Mark 8:14-21

14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.

15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

16 And they reasoned among themselves saying, it is because we have no bread.

17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? Have ye your heart yet hardened?

18 Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember?

19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.

20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.

21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

Source #4 - To remember what God has already done

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is the testimony of what God has already done in our lives that will allow us to always remember that God is able in all circumstances and situations. It is in remembering how we were delivered and set free from past bondages and pitfalls that increases our faithfulness in God and our belief in His Word.

In Mark 8, Jesus fed the multitude with only two fish and five loaves of bread. This miracle was seen by the masses, including the disciples with a front row seat! And yet, only a few verses later in the same chapter, they had already forgotten what God had done for the people. A miracle, sign and wonder that was done in their presence had been forgotten in so short a period of time.

We are guilty of this also! We become so consumed with our problems that we forget about the miraculous power of our Lord, Jesus Christ! He wants us to remember what He has done for us in times past. We must always carry a testimony of how good God has been to us in the past and how he has delivered us from the snares and traps of the enemy. It is Satan that wants to erase our minds of the goodness of God. Satan longs to trap us in sin so that we are incapable of recalling our testimonies of what God has done for us. A lot of us are probably still living because of the grace of God, and His grace alone. Let us not forget who we are in Christ, and how he has set us free from the captivity and bondage of sin.

In closing, these four sources of divine contentment - 1) seeing God as our Father, 2) Living by the Word of God, 3) Being who we are born to be, and 4) remembering what God has already done, will allow us to experience the fullness of God. This fullness encompasses all that God wants us to possess in His kingdom. Joy is a possession in the kingdom of God. Happiness is a benefactor of that joy.

Lets make it a priority in our lives to strive for happiness by seeking the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is the result of the kingdom of God becoming our environment. Our environment will be permanently changed by these four sources of divine contentment.

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Finding True Happiness: Part One

by: Maurice Perry

1 Timothy 6:3

3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmising,

5 Perverse disputing of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

What does it take for man to find true happiness in the world that we live in? How can a person be content in this fast-paced, drive-thru society that we are a part of? For that matter, what does it mean to be content, or be in a state of contentment, and how does an individual arrive at the heels of contentment?

Year after year, the greed level of society is grows to disproportionate levels, especially within the western hemisphere. With the mindset of having bottomless pockets, and the ambition to strive neck and neck with the Jones', Gonzalez's and the Rockefellers', Americans have unfortunately fallen into a pattern of life that has been built up on pedestals of self-pride, arrogance, greed and materialism.

Materialism has become a major headline, along with other sinful acts, such as sexual immorality, murder and violence. Materialism has sent the moral character and credibility of this great nation into a significant tail-spin towards the bottomless pit… hell. It is the spirit of pride, spear-headed by the spirit of Leviathan (Job 41), that has overtly corrupted and soiled this country to the point that secular society’s reprobate mindset cannot possibly understand the fact that this country was once built on biblical, Judeo-Christian principles and commandments of Almighty God.

The fact of the matter is that great gain does not come from the gain of material items. I believe Jesus Christ made it very plain and simple for us to understand when he mentioned the following:

Mark 8

36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Men and women are in search for something that truly satisfies their hunger and emptiness. The unfortunate thing is that they are searching in the wrong places and for the wrong things, or people, to satisfy their thirst and hunger. Greed and covetousness is caused by the failure of a substance, person or any object that has been used to satisfy a craving in which the source is unidentifiable. And what do I mean by “unidentifiable source of craving?”

When we are born, we are brought into this world with discontent and hunger for something that will satisfy our cravings in life. What we don’t realize is that the emptiness and discontent that we feel as we stroll through life is a spiritual emptiness and discontent. The discontent is caused by the absence of a critical segment in our life in which will totally satisfy us. This segment is none other than the line of communication, or adapter to the heart of God.

The first thing that we must do is address the fact that there may be discontentment in our lives in which the remedy for it is not a new car, new clothes, a new mate, or a bucket of ice cream! We must realize that the source of discontentment in our lives is caused by the absence of the presence of God within our lives. It is through our relationship with God that true contentment and happiness begins to invade and inhabit our inner man. The only source of happiness and contentment is a direct line of communication with our Daddy God, Abba, Father, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

God longs for us to see Him for who He really is, Divine treasure! It is the treasure chest of the Father that fulfills all of our needs, aspirations, desires and necessities. He loves us so much and He wants to share His heavenly stuff with us immediately! There’s an entire kingdom that God wants to pour directly into our spiritual bank accounts - a kingdom that will sustain us for eternity. There is literally a hole within our heart in which no other item of any shape will be able to fill, except for the outpouring of love by our Daddy God. He wants to fill our vacancies with His Spirit. He wants to enter into deep dialog with us for eternity. He wants to be the friend like no other - a friend that will never leave us, no matter what the situation may be.

Philippians 4:10-13

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Hebrews 13:5

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

There is a mandate for us to learn how to be content. Contentment is a plateau of the Christian life that every believer must reach in order to be fulfilled spiritually, mentally and emotionally. The apostle Paul makes reference to the significance of being content in Philippians 4:11:

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Even the apostle Paul had to humble himself and learn how to be content, no matter the situation or circumstance, whether rich or poor, in sickness or health, in a state of authority or subjection, power or persecution. When Paul states in verse 13 that “he can do all things through Christ,” he was explaining to the Philippians that he has learned how to be all things to all people and adapt to different environments as necessary. This is the meaning of being content - to be satisfied and at peace no matter the situation or environment.

To be content, we must give God thanks and praise in everything that we do and in every circumstance that we are in. Abba, Father, is the main source for our contentment. No one on this earth is born into contentment. We are actually born into discontent because when we are brought into this world, we are immediately separated from the nurturing presence of God because of sin - not because of any sins that we have committed, of course, only being in the world for a short period of time after our birth! But it is the sin of our forefathers, going all the way back to the garden of Eden, in which we are bound to. Therefore, our connection and line of communication with God is severed at birth - this is a spiritual separation that parallels our physical separation from our mothers when the umbilical cord is cut.

John 14:6-8

6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."

8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."

To be shown the Father is what we must desire. Just to get a glimpse of His glory and majesty will be enough to make us content. As Philip states in John 14:8, that it would be sufficient for him and the disciples to be shown the Father by Jesus, so shall it be sufficient for believers and non-believers alike to be shown the path to the Father by Jesus Christ. For it is through Christ alone, and no other path, that we will be able to see the Father in all of His splendor and magnificence.

Let us make it a daily priority to be shown the Father. Let us seek Jesus, in order to be led to the Father. This will be sufficient for us. This will bring us contentment , and inevitably this will bring us happiness.

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What Is Happiness?

by: Saleem Rana

What is it that everyone is seeking? Happiness with no sorrow. A continuous happiness with no taint whatsoever of sorrow.~Lester Levenson

Happiness is our basic nature.

We rarely find it because we are not in touch with our basic nature. Instead we look for happiness everywhere where it doesn’t exist.

The world equates happiness with fulfilling a desire. Yet every goal achieved and every possession finally owned is a fleeting pleasure.

I do appreciate what I have. Yes, I am grateful for it. However, satisfaction and pleasure are not the same as happiness.

Again, one can be loved, even adored, and still not be happy. People, for example, considered Elvis Presley adorable. He was beautiful, talented, and kind-hearted. Yet, he, himself, was not happy.

What, then, is happiness?

Everybody craves it, but few enjoy it. And those that do enjoy it, do so only fleetingly. Seasons pass and what was once considered a source of endless delight fades in its glory.

The closest we can get to happiness is through love. Loving stimulates happiness.

This happiness arises when we give love. It arises because love, too, is our basic nature.

Thus, when we love, we are happy; and we are happy because we are being ourselves, expressing our true nature.

Our true nature is happiness. This is the quality of soul. In fact, soul, in its primal aspect, is a consciousness that is blissful, wise, and powerful beyond measure.

However, we seldom experience our true nature and seldom get in touch with our souls because the limitations of thought shadow the soul the way clouds hide the sun.

It is the task of every person to discover their own soul. This quest is fulfilled through spiritual practices.

As we shed our illusions about the nature of the world and our relationship to it, we become more aware of our own luminosity.

When we give, love, and share, we touch upon the majesty of our soul. We bring it out into the world. We slip out from behind the veil of mind and show ourselves.

One who has stripped away all veneer of thought, all layers of mind, becomes ensouled.

When the mind is quiet there is nothing left over but the infinite Self.

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Find Happiness By Giving Happiness

by: Lance Beggs

Have you ever heard this quote?

“There is a wonderful, mystical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind- are always attained by giving them to someone else.”

It’s so true, isn’t it? I don’t know who it was who first said those wise words (if you do know then please tell me), but I have no doubt they lived a very happy life, because they have discovered one of the secrets to happiness.

In fact, the secret to success in all endeavours is found in this quote. No matter what you desire, give first and you will receive.

If you want to receive love, then give love. Not exclusively to one person, but to everyone and everything. Express love to your life, your circumstances, your friends and family, and even the people you pass in the street. If you love all, you will receive love back, and you’ll become the kind of person who attracts that special person, and those special relationships, and a life of blissful love.

If you want to get rich then don’t do it through the dog-eat-dog world of competition and win-lose deals. Give increased value to others. Wallace D. Wattles talks about this in his book Science Of Getting Rich better than anyone else I’ve come across (see the Resources Page on my website to get a free copy). You get rich by providing more in use-value than the cash-value you receive. You get rich through co-operation rather than competition. You get rich through providing win-win deals. You get rich through providing others with the opportunities to improve their own lives. Once again, give and you will receive so much more back.

The same applies to happiness. If you want to be happy, give happiness.

Turn your focus around. It’s not all about you. Look out into the world and find opportunities to give happiness.

James Matthew Barrie said, “Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

The great Mark Twain said, “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”

Give happiness and you will get happiness. It’s the only way.

Who can you make happy today?

Who can you go and see, just to hang out together?

Who can you phone to tell them you miss them?

It doesn’t take much. Smile to someone who is feeling down. Hold a door open for someone behind you. Compliment someone on their clothing. Thank someone for a job well done at work.

Happiness is so easy. Just give it to someone else, and you’ll find more than enough is magically left behind for you.

Give happiness. Be happy. And smile!

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Money Can Not Buy You Happiness

by: Steve Hill

I am sure there will be many people who read this article and will think I am rather mad. Quite frankly I do not care. In this article I write about what in my humble opinion are the most importants things in life, health and happiness.

All that most of my friends talk about is money:

What car do you drive?

How much is your house worth?

How much do you earn?

How much did your suit cost?

Where are you going on holiday this year?

I find all of this very boring and think that they are rather sad. They seem to be in some sort of competition and they are basically obsessed about money.

I will give you an example of one such friend, his name is John. He never seems to talk about anything else and is always looking into get rich quick schemes. He is also in a lottery syndicate, of which there are about fifty members. Each member pays around ten pounds in per week. John likes to go out socialising on a Saturday night, however soon gets itchy feet at the time of the lottery draw. A few minutes later he will go to the toilet where he will then phone his girlfriend. He takes with him to the toilet a piece of paper with his numbers on and a little pen. After his girlfriend has told him which numbers were drawn, John will then then spend around twenty minutes checking his numbers, and then re-checking to see if he has any winning lines.

Eventually he returns to the group who seem very keen (apart from me) to find out how much he has won/lost. To date he has only won small amounts, however is convinced that one day he will become a millionaire. He will then start talking about the lottery, asking other people what they would buy if they were lucky enough to ever win. At this point I become very bored and start to wish I had stayed at home and watched the football.

For me the two most important things in life are health and happiness. These are two things which money can not buy. A few years ago, my dad was taken ill. He was in a real bad way and had to spend around five months in hospital. Him being ill was a huge shock to me as he was only fifty-seven. I feared the worst, even though I was trying my hardest to think and stay positive. I remember thinking, if I gave those doctors everything I own in the world, it still would not help him. I felt powerless and at that moment realised that money is only paper.

Happiness is the same, I remember at the age of twenty-one having lots of money and had been surprised that I was depressed at the same time. At other times I have had next to no money and have been extremely happy.

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Happiness

by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

Some people believe that achieving happiness is the purpose of life, yet the pursuit of happiness often leads to unhappiness. This is because happiness is actually a consequence of a different life purpose – the pursuit of evolving our souls in our ability to love ourselves and others.

When achieving happiness is your goal, you might pursue this in three different ways:

1) You might pursue momentary pleasure, believing that your happiness is the same as pleasure. When this is your belief, you might pursue happiness through substances such as alcohol, drugs, nicotine, or food. Or you might pursue happiness through activities such as sex, spending or gambling.

2) If you believe that your happiness is attached to money and the outcome of things regarding money, you might pursue control over outcomes through spending most of your time working, as well as accumulating and managing money.

3) If you believe that your happiness is attached to people, you might pursue control over getting love, approval, attention, admiration, or acknowledgement.

While momentary pleasure feels good, it is just momentary. Which means that you need to keep on doing whatever you believe will bring you happiness, over and over. This is what creates addictions – the pursuit of what you believe will avoid pain and bring pleasure. The problem is that none of these pursuits bring deep and abiding happiness, because their affects are always momentary.

True happiness is not the result of DOING, but of a way of BEING. Rather than being a result of the momentary pleasures of the outside world, it is the result of your intention to evolve daily as a loving human being.

What does this mean?

This means that ongoing happiness is the result of choosing the spiritual path of kindness, compassion, understanding, and acceptance.

Yet it is not enough to express kindness and compassion toward others. Many have tried this and still end up feeling empty and angry when the deep happiness they desire continues to elude them.

The path toward happiness sarts with opening to learning about what is most loving and compassionate toward YOURSELF. You can have all the things that people believe will bring happiness – money, a good relationship, a family, work you enjoy – yet if you are critical and judgmental toward yourself instead of accepting and compassionate with yourself, you will not feel happy.

Imagine a child who seemingly has everything – tons of toys, the best schools, great vacations, lots of friends. But imagine that this child has parents who ignore him or her, or who are very critical, judgmental and controlling of him or her. This child will not be happy, no matter how many external things he or she has.

Imagine that this child is you – the feelings within you. How are you treating this child? How do you treat your feelings? Do you ignore your feelings and cover them over with substance or process addictions? Are you judgmental of yourself, constantly telling yourself that you are not good enough, that you are inadequate in some way?

Ignoring yourself or judging yourself will always lead to unhappiness, so matter how much you have in the external world or how loving you are to others. Until you decide to start treating yourself the way you want others to treat you, deep and abiding happiness will elude you. As long as you are treating yourself the way your parents may have treated you or themselves, you will continue to feel the emptiness and aloneness that comes from self-abandonment.

If you want to experience true happiness, then start to pay attention to your own feelings with a deep desire to learn about what you are doing or not doing that is causing your pain and unhappiness. Happiness will be the natural consequence of your willingness to take full, 100% responsibility for your own feelings, and learn about and take action regarding what truly brings you joy,

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Where is Happiness?

by: Lance E. Ong

Do you move through life feeling everyday is the same? Like some repeated pattern that goes on and on? For some people, there's nothing new to do under the sun, and nowhere to go. Everything is just boring, boring, boring. They work so hard to earn enough money to play, but yet their playtime passes so fast. Suffer five days, enjoy two days. Sometimes, to break the monotony, they seek thrill through intoxicants (alcohol, smoke), sex, and even drugs. For these temporary pleasures, it feels exciting while it's happening, but once it's over, the same pattern of meaninglessness sets in, and they're left thinking, "When can I get the next high?"

Perhaps you will recognize this scene... Two old men are sitting on a bus. As the bus passes by the red-light district, one old man says to the other, "Hey... aren't you going to see the chickens (prostitute) today?" The other man raises an eyebrow... a spark in his wrinkled eyes, "Yes, yes, I will be going this afternoon!" The first old man smirks, and says, "You didn't even bring your medicine, how can you DO IT?"

For some people, their lust is so strong, that they borrow money from family and friends, just to visit brothels. You will see this pattern in addicts. Drug addicts, sex addicts, alcohol addicts. They're always looking for the greater thrill and the next high, and that's what sets their life on a downward spiral. They waste their time, energy, and money, instead of using it to build success.

For life to have zest, everyone needs that natural feeling of drive, anticipation, and excitement. When one does not know how to get it naturally, one may resort to vices to stimulate that sense of being fully alive, desperately trying to bring some meaning into life. But you see, happiness is within you... If you can’t satisfy your wants, then the other way to happiness is to release them. Let go of that which you must have. Shakyamuni Buddha said that, "All desire leads to suffering..." Suffering because you crave what you do not have. And let me ask you this: Is this yearning self-created? Or something imposed on you by the outside world? Perhaps it's the outside world's fault because other people keep flaunting their luxuries and exotic experiences. But surely, we create this yearning within ourselves. It is within our power to control it, or release it altogether.

Lord Richard Layard, Professor from the London School of Economics, a leading happiness researcher, says, "Happiness is a balance between your expectations and your attainments. One way is to get what you want. The other, is liking what you get."

Many of our desires are misplaced. We think getting them will bring us happiness, but that is an illusion. These misplaced desires are nothing more than temporary pleasures. You don't need to satisfy your desires to be happy; you need only release them. Do you need the attention of the opposite sex? No, as you get older, your body parts will sag, and the opposite sex will pay less attention to you. Must you get laid to be happy? No, as you age, your sex hormones will lessen, and so will your desire to mate. Must you wait till you have a million bucks? Nope. Historical and worldwide research shows that above US$15,000 a year, higher income is no guarantee of greater happiness.

The people who feel good everyday, without resorting to vices, have one mental characteristic in common. They have a dream, and they know what they want to achieve in life. This sense of purpose drives them; gives meaning to their existence. They have discovered their soul's calling, and are living life to the fullest by following it. This is different from those who are 'party animals', "living life to the fullest" by drowning in deafening music, and shaking till the sun rises... That's not living, that's dying.

If you want to find true meaning and happiness in life, then you've got to uncover your life's purpose. For each of us has a unique destiny. A path made specially for you to walk on this journey through life. Follow it, and you arrive in paradise. Ignore it, and you continue to wander... wasting time, and life itself.

1. You need to know what you’re made of. Your talents, strengths, and abilities.

2. Craft a vision for yourself, and visualize that dream in your mind.

3. Work out a plan that sets your goals and decides what actions you must take to achieve them.

4. Tell your closest friends about it, and commit yourself to taking five of the planned actions everyday to build your dream.

When you see that your actions are creating results, it will be a natural source of excitement and inspiration. Instead of spending time, energy, and money on vices, you invest it in creating an upward spiral of success. By releasing your desire for temporary pleasures, you kick your bad habit out the door. By choosing to live your purpose and answer your soul’s calling, you break free from the chains of monotony, and find truth, meaning, and happiness in life.

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3 Misconceptions About Happiness

by: Deanna Mascle

The sad truth is that there are a lot of unhappy people in the world. The tragic truth is that many of those unhappy people could lead happier lives if only they gave up the misconceptions they have about happiness. Even those of us who consider themselves relatively happy still cling to some of these untruths. Why? Probably because it is easier to blame someone else for our unhappiness when the simple fact is that no one else has power over our happiness. We give that power to others but that is our choice. Once we take control of our own happiness then we will be happier, but in order to take back that control over our happiness we need to rid ourselves of three popular misconceptions about it.

One of the greatest misconceptions related to happiness is that you need money to be happy. If you take some time out to study people around you then you will see just how little substance there is to this belief. Rich people are not automatically happy and poor people are not automatically unhappy. In fact, once you begin looking at individuals and families then you will no doubt spot a great many unhappy rich people and even more happy poor people.

The truth is that once your basic needs are taken care then money will not have a major impact on your happiness. In fact, making it dependent on the attainment of a certain amount of money is often a recipe for a very unhappy life. Pursuing money is a bad goal because so often people get caught up in a rat race they can never win. For people who consider money the ultimate measure of success there is never enough money so they will never be happy.

In fact, one reason many poor people are happy is that they realize that once their family is fed, clothed and housed then money isn't that important when you compare it to love, friendship, and laughter. Those things are important and can't be bought at any price.

Another big misconception about happiness is that you need someone else to be happy. Happiness comes from within yourself. You are the only one who controls your happiness. You do not need friends or significant others for it. You do not need children or grandchildren for it. You can be happy without the acclaim of others and without being famous. While having other people to care about is an important element of human contentment and therefore happiness, it can be a great mistake to place to great of an emphasis on the need for one specific relationship. If you have a loving family and friends then that is what is important not the fact that you lack a spouse. Having love in your life is what counts not the source of that love.

The third big misconception about happiness is that you need to be lucky to be happy. Happiness is not about luck but rather about opening yourself up to it, looking for it in unlikely places, and allowing yourself to be happy. Many of the people who subscribe to the luck theory of happiness are the same people who believe that they do not deserve to be happy. Everyone deserves to be happy and everyone has the capacity to be a happy person. Don't wait for happiness to come to you but rather open your life to it and you will find it.

You can be happy and you can lead a happier life if you just let go of these three misconceptions. You don't need money, other people, or luck to be happy. You have the power over your own happiness if you only open your heart and your life. So be happy!

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A Formula For Happiness?

by: Deanna Mascle

Did you know that psychologists have now come up with a formula for happiness?

They call themselves "positive psychologists" and led by Professor Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, who has been described as the father of positive psychology, they have a formula for happiness.

It is simply: Pleasure + engagement + meaning = happiness.

I do not have a degree in psychology but I am a student of human kind and it seems to me that while it seems simplistic (and these "positive psychologists" will be the first to admit it is overly simplistic) it actually touches on the central issues that I have expressed to my readers over the years.

In order to be happy we need pleasure in our lives. We need the small pleasures of a tasty treat, a beautiful sunrise, or laughter. We also need larger pleasures found in success and love.

We also need engagement to be happy. This means that our lives must include activities or enterprises that capture our wholehearted interest. You know, the level of engagement when we forget about the clock, the outside world, and just about everything but the object of our focus.

Finally, we must have meaning in our life. We must feel that we matter and that what we do matters. We must know that we are valuable, valued and that our lives make a difference.

One of the faults with this simple formula is that it does not include an urge to balance. It would be too easy to focus on one area to the detriment of others. While engagement and meaning are essential to the formula, for example, overlooking the need for pleasure could make happiness impossible to attain.

While some may mock this "happiness formula", I would argue that it can be useful in the pursuit of becoming a happier person. We all need reminders that being happy is not serendipity but rather an active choice. In fact, more than a choice, being happy really is an action that must be taken every day.

Are you happy most of the time? Then share your own secret formula! But if you are not happy then it can be well worth your time to consider the "happiness formula" and how you can apply it to your life. Remember, it is not enough to wish for or think about happiness -- but rather you must live it.

You can live a happier life with the help of the happiness formula as well as your own active pursuit of happiness.

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Happiness - 6 Simple and Easy Steps to Happiness!

by: Jackson Tan

Pursuit Happiness is a process and may not be as easy as ABCs, but it can to as simple as just following 6 simple steps.

Step One

Firstly, determine your priority in life. If you want to be happy, happiness should be the ultimate goal in your life. Always bear in mind that you truly want to be happy. Also, figure out what is important to you in life. It may be your family, friends, careers or even achieving your childhood dream.

Step Two

Think about stuffs that make you happy. Focus on things that make you feel good and think back to figure out what made you feel happy? Remember the place and time and also the exact good feelings.

Step Three

Be optimistic. Focus on what is positive about your life and everything around you. Stop worrying and do not think about things that went wrong and ask why they happened. Instead, remind yourself it was a good learning lesson and moved forward.

Step Four

Allocate a time slot to do things that you enjoy. Spend time with what is important in your life. Enjoying your favorite activities let your mind and heart have the time to relax and recover. Make your time worthwhile and you will be happier.

Step Five

Smile to yourself every now and then. Smile to the people around you. Smiling helps to lighten one’s mood and also when you are smiling, it is almost impossible to feel upset or angry. A simple smile can bring you closer to your happiness.

Step Six

Life is not as bad as it seems. Do not take things for granted. Learn to appreciate things that are working out well in your life. Thanks your family, your friends and even yourself for putting in effort in living a happy life.

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A Guide To Success And Happiness For Young People

by: Mario Churchill

Success and happiness are not often thought to co-exist in todayfs society. As people work harder to accomplish more successful careers and more expensive toys, they find themselves unhappy with their lives. This is largely due to imbalance. People are spending entirely too much time working to be successful and not nearly enough time with family and stopping to smell the roses. These poor habits began in the nineties, and are being passed down to the next generation. But as young people, you can start planning now to have both success and happiness in your life as you grow older.

The first step toward achieving both success and happiness is to determine your definition of successful. Is it a certain type of career, a certain pay level, or the ability to have certain expensive items? The answers will be different for everyone, so this is definitely something that you should evaluate on your own, or with someone that knows and understands you and your core values. If you have not done so yet, now is also the time to evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, skills, talents, and interests to begin choosing a career path.

Your next step toward achieving both success and happiness is to determine what makes you happy, or what will make you happy in the future. Is family of great importance to you? Do you want to get married and have children in the future (or the present)? Is not needing to worry about money and bills enough to make you happy, or do you need less substantial methods of happiness such as a good support system and time with friends? Again, answers will be different for everyone.

Once you have an understanding of your core values, you will be better able to create a plan that will give you both success and happiness. When you start choosing a career, you will need to take into consideration what you need for happiness rather than simply focusing on success. If family and time with friends is important to you, you may want to choose a less demanding career that will likely have set work hours. If this is not as important to you as helping others, then a career in law or medicine might be more feasible.

Once you have determined your career path, you will need to set a series of smaller goals that, when completed, will lead you to your ultimate goal of success and happiness. When you set these goals, you should not simply focus on how fast you can get to your final goal of success. If you work extra hard and get to your career goal within a few years, but you lose all of your friends and values in the process, you will not have success and happiness. But, if you take your goals in stride, allowing for plenty of time for yourself and your loved ones, you will find yourself in a much happier disposition as you reach your success goals.

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