12 Independence Day Quotes to Celebrate the 4th of July

12 Independence Day Quotes to Celebrate the 4th of July

The 4th of July is right around the corner and what superior way to celebrate than with some inspirational and patriotic Independence Day quotes? For those who are true to the Red, White and Blue, here are twelve patriotic Independence Day quotes to help you celebrate the birth of our nation.

1. “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself.” ~ Thomas Paine

2. “You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence each July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White Home in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where children throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You might think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” ~ Erma Bombeck

3. “Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” ~ Louis D. Brandeis

4. “America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact – the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality.” ~ Adlai Stevenson

5. “For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

6. “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

7. “We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” ~ William Faulkner

8. “As we have throughout this century, we will lead with the power of our example, but be prepared, when necessary, to make an example of our power.” ~ Bill Clinton

9. “America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense … human rights invented America.” ~ Jimmy Carter

10. “America is a tune. It must be sung together.” ~ Gerald Stanley Lee

11. “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” ~ Elmer Davis

12. “If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.” ~ Hamilton Fish

As we celebrate with picnics, fireworks and barbecues this July fourth, let’s remember exactly what it is we’re celebrating. Bravery. Triumph. Freedom. A nation that bows to no other and protects the rights and freedoms of those that live within its borders. These twelve Independence Day quotes are a good start.

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How To Become More Effective By Using Motivational Sayings

How To Become More Effective By Using Motivational Sayings

If you know what you believe and have it in you to communicate your words of wisdom then you will be one of the few that are healthy to share this with the rest of the world. Your ideas might serve others by motivating them to improve their lives. It’s a true statement that motivation quotes are what drive others to excel and improve. Furthermore, since they can be shared by everyone who reads them they have nearly a universal appeal. To read more about this . . .

Many of the great thinkers in human history have sprouted many words of wisdom that have become great quotes. There have also been well known personalities from different walks of life that have also contributed their thoughts in this regard. Its usually just a matter of finding something positive about your present place in life.

Needed Inspiration Provided

These sayings can be of many kinds. These proverbs can be in the form of witticisms, humor, statements of friendship and love. Whatever the means be, these are just employed to motivate others and will always end up providing the encouragement for those who are seeking self-improvement. This is especially true when and individual finds themselves in situations where things just don’t ever seem to go right. Without a doubt these phrases help to not only motivate other people but to excite and inspire them. They generally are very powerful because they diminish negativity and lead to situational improvement.

When it comes to using these quotations you can be sure they will wage you with encouragement and help you be more focused towards your objectives. They are also a great way to remain committed to achieving your goals. A lot of these quotes will drive you and compel you to taking positive action inside and outside of your self. In fact a regular dose of such could be stated to strengthen your mental processes, positive beliefs, and have a positive impact in your regular living. Of course this is simply saying that such a change of usage will lead to desirable changes in your attitude and also in your regular routine.

In fact if you are healthy to give yourself a regular “dose” of reading or listening to motivational quotes you will find it a lot easier to maintain a positive bias and be healthy to perform at a heightened level of achievement. These quotes have been found to help in improving employee productivity and well-being. Other benefits including improving one’s financial position and improving self-esteem.

Conclusion

Make no mistake about the generally accepted fact that it it has been accepted as fact that people who habitually use motivational quotes have improved nearly each area of their say of affairs. Of course not as some silver bullet but by changing their habitual ways of thinking they have changed their habitual ways of acting. Give yourself a consistent 21 day diet of such statements and see if you have the same outcomes. If it has worked for so many others then using motivational sayings will in all probability work for you!

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Positive quotes for a positive attitude

Positive quotes for a positive attitude

A positive attitude is a very powerful and contagious attribute. Positive individuals are more likely to achieve their goals and not become discouraged by life’s challenges. Positive quotes can help encourage a positive attitude; for example, Henry Ford once said: “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” 

Many individuals use positive affirmations daily. These affirmations were often once famous positive quotes. One favourite option is to quote Mahatma Gandhi who stated “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Some people select to begin and end apiece day with a positive affirmation. This can have an uplifting effect on your attitude and can improve the overall calibre of your life. 

Another option is to share positive quotes with friends and relatives to uplift their day. These quotes can be written in a card or even texted to their phone. saint Dean, a famous person once said, “Dream as if you will live forever, live as if you will die tomorrow.” This is very good advice for anyone can be very inspirational to share with a loved one. 

If you need to find good quotes, there are many options. First, a general search in Google or Yahoo will yield a plethora of quotes. Another option is to visit your local library or bookstore to find a book of quotes. Also think about starting your own quote journal, when you hear a great quote-write it down. Before long, you will have your own individualized book of positive inspirations. 

Finally, you can inspire people each day with quotes on your voicemail, Twitter or Facebook page. Think about updating them frequency to inspire your visitors. If you need inspiration, think about looking up Zig Ziglar the quote master and remember, according to Zig, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude.”

Still photos of beautiful backgrounds accompanied by song “Cool Change” by Tiny River Band

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Do Justice To Your Finances By Taking Free Auto Insurance Rate Quotes

Do Justice To Your Finances By Taking Free Auto Insurance Rate Quotes

You will be doing a gross injustice to your finances if you do not study the insurance rates of various companies before you take your auto insurance.  You can save a lot of money if you do this exercise.  There are insurance quote sites like 247autoinsurancequotes.com where you can get auto insurance rate quotes of nearly all insurance companies.

The rate quotes of these insurance companies vary quite significantly, which fact you might not be aware of.  Probably without knowing this fact, you might have been paying more than necessary all these years.  Chances of getting the ideal auto insurance at a very cheap price are bright if you have the free price quotes of various companies.

It is not a lengthy process any more.  Earlier, you had to visit the insurance companies for getting the quotes for your auto insurance.  It is an simple task nowadays because using the Internet, you can get these quotes sitting pretty comfortably at home.  Another advantage is that getting these free quotes from different providers of this service does not make it mandatory on your part to buy your auto insurance policy through them.

When you visit the site of a free-quotes company, you should fill in your needs on the site and that is enough for getting your quotes from nearly all the insurance companies.  You should not forget that auto insurance is quite costly but you can not take out your car without it.  If you drive your car without an insurance coverage, you are being reckless not only towards your life and car but you are a threat to the pedestrians and other car owners also. If unfortunately a mishap occurs and your car is not insured, you will be forced to settle a lot of bills. You should also attend the courts several times spending your valuable time.

Further, if you are caught on road without an auto insurance coverage, it will cost you heavily because you should pay hefty penalties for this lapse and also legally you might be summoned to appear before the authorities, which process again robs you of your time.

After all the free quotes are acquirable with you, you can study them thoroughly to compare their costs as against their features.  When you compare the costs, the point you should remember is that you should not compare costs of dissimilar clauses.  Only if you compare policies with similar clauses, your comparative study will be accurate and precise.  Otherwise they might be misleading and you might take a wrong decision.   You have chances of saving enormously by making such scientific comparisons.

There are two types of auto insurance policies. The first one is the Standard Policy that offers you some coverage and the premium is also low. The second one called Full Coverage Policy offers full endorsement covering even the legal liability, accidental alteration and other clauses. You can also change features like the amount of your deductible and your level of liability and add extra coverage like glass coverage or coverage for free rental cars. The cost might increase or vary according to the additional coverage or changes made. http://www.247autoinsurancequotes.com

Famous Women Entrepreneurs ? Three Things They Know About Success

Famous Women Entrepreneurs ? Three Things They Know About Success

I find it very inspirational to learn from famous women entrepreneurs who had an intent and made it happen. What’s interesting about some of these women is that they didn’t necessarily have the saint background or circumstances for success but that didn’t hold them back.  They overcame their obstacles and became successful in a business world dominated by men.

There is a pattern that emerges when you take a look at what these diverse women entrepreneurs have in common—women like Mary Kay Ash, Anita Roddick and Debbi Fields. I found three things these famous women entrepreneurs knew and demonstrated about success that I’ve found critical in my life as an entrepreneur.

Three Things Famous Women Entrepreneurs Know …

1.    Believe in Yourself

Mary Kay Ash quote: “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember you can achieve.”

I love this quote because the right mindset is the number one determining bourgeois of success in business and in life. I frequently talk about the importance of having a healthy mindset. In fact, I’ve dedicated the entire first section in my Direct Sales Success System to mindset because it’s really the foundation of success.

As you can see in Mary Kay’s quote, to believe in yourself you have to let go of “limiting” beliefs. A “limiting” belief is something that you believe to be true about yourself that is not true and it prevents you from moving forward.

If you believe in yourself—you can achieve your goals. Regardless of your past success (or not), it is absolutely doable to be successful in the future. It requires your belief and capability to change the story you’ve been telling about your past circumstances. Truly knowing what you want empowers you to place your ideal thoughts and actions forward.

 

2.    Have a Support System

Anita Roddick quote: “We entrepreneurs are loners, vagabonds, troublemakers. Success is simply a matter of finding and surrounding ourselves with those open-minded and clever souls who can take our insanity and place it to good use.”

What I appreciate about this quote is its self-awareness. Although, I don’t necessarily concur that all entrepreneurs are loners, vagabonds or troublemakers, I do believe that we all have strengths and weaknesses. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned since starting Metromom is that you can’t do it alone. But, you can achieve astonishing things when you build a team and leverage apiece other’s strengths.

If you want to be truly successful, then you must have a fantastic support system. I’ve learned to delegate whether it means having friends to carpool my kids, VA’s to set-up my ezine or business coaches to help me discover the next step in my marketing plan. Learn to enjoy the collaborative process of what others add to the process of building your business.

3.    Be of service

Debbi Fields Quote: “The principle was right there – you couldn’t miss it. The more you did for your customers, the more they did for us.”

You can see from this quote that her focus was never just on a single sale, it was about creating a long-term meaningful relationship with her customers. When you step out of your own individualized focus and start

asking how you can be of service to others, you embark on the path to success.

Customers sense when your focus is on being of service and they reward you with their loyalty. Instead of focusing on “What’s in it for me?” – take the focus off of yourself. Shift your focus to “What am I going to GIVE?”

Whether or not you want to be famous, believing in yourself, having a support system and being of service will help you be a more successful and happier entrepreneur. Yes, there is much that we can learn from these famous women entrepreneurs or from other entrepreneurs in our lives that display true leadership.

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Mark Twain Quotes: Success Secrets Behind Mark Twain’s Famous Quotes

Mark Twain Quotes: Success Secrets Behind Mark Twain’s Famous Quotes

Mark Twain was one of the most famous and well-loved authors in the world. He still is, actually. No wonder Mark Twain quotes still live on even decades after his death; they have inspired people from all walks of life to succeed.

And with books like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, there’s no doubt that he knows what life is all about. Read on to know more about some of his most powerful quotes.

Mark Twain Quote # 1: “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The word owes you nothing. It was here first.”

We are not all born with silver spoons in our mouths; but even if we were, we can't anticipate the world to do our each bidding. Life does not work that way.

According to this motivational quote, if we want something, we have to get it ourselves. We need to seize the opportunities that come our way; or superior yet, create those opportunities ourselves. And we have to take big inspired action in order to get the results we want!

If we really want to live the life of our dreams, perhaps it’s time we lose the false bravado and replace it with genuine hard work.

Mark Twain Quote # 2: “Actions talk louder than words but not almost as often.”

People can be very hard to read. Sometimes, we think we have expressed ourselves clearly enough through our actions, but we actually haven’t. In this inspirational quote, we are told to accompany our actions with words – just so everyone is on the same page.

Parents who love their kids should tell their kids that. Employees who are uncomfortable with certain advances should also be more direct with their discomfort. People who want to get a raise should voice it out. Actions are good, but they’ll be more useful with words.

Mark Twain Quote # 3: “A man can't be comfortable without his own approval.”

We like to hear what other people have to state about us. However, what is most important is what we have to state about ourselves.

Are we doing the right thing? Do we believe in what we are doing? If we are uncomfortable with what we are doing or have done, nothing will assist that anguish – not even the most costly of jewels or a million dollars.

Our conscience is a sly thing. Then again, it is what really guides us to do the right thing. Success, after all, isn’t just about material things; it is also about having peace of mind.

These Mark Twain quotes have been used over and over again to exemplify good character. We can all use a dose of them time and again.

www.vitalwaves.com and http If you like the ideal love success quotes you’ll enjoy this positive quotations video featuring great quotes from the likes of Ingrid Bergman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bil Keane, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Browning, Thomas Carlyle and more motivating sayings all backed with a resting soothing classical music score. Ifyou love famous success quotes, sayings or phrases you’ll love this Quotations Quiz – Guess Who Stated it video series. You’ll find motivating inspirational success quotes sayings, covering growing up, true love, sales, wisdom, business, money, adversity, willpower, weight loss, inspirational featuring famous people like Marianne Williamson, Mom Teresa, Esther Hicks, Abraham, Jim Rohn, saint Allen, sports stars, tv personalities, athletes, enthusiastic speakers, religious figures like the Dalai Lama, Swami Vivekenanda, ralph waldo emerson, vince lombardi, aristotle, and more.. These quotations cover failure, being sad, ideal friend quotes, friends, cute, funny, witty, positive, heartbreak, music, 1001 motivational, free, daily, and leadership. Sometimes those looking for inspiring quotes spell it like: qotes, qutoes, quates, quote, insparational, and famouse. Ideas from these videos might sometimes include intention power, love, sharing, metaphysics, new age, belief, no excuses and more. For the Free Daily Affirmations Challenge visit www.wealthvibes.com And, to get a free motivational video ecourse featuring the secret of millionaires visit …

10 Grey’s Anatomy Quotes to Ring in the New Season

10 Grey’s Anatomy Quotes to Ring in the New Season

The premier of the next season is nearly upon us and what superior way to celebrate than with some Grey’s Anatomy quotes? Sure, we’ve had re-runs to hold us over (and whatever we kept saved on our TiVos) but we’re all itching for new episodes. Pretty soon we’ll get our wish, but in the meantime these ten Grey’s Anatomy quotes should help hold us over.

1. “I can’t think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit.” ~ Meredith

2. “She had expectations, women have expectations and you didn’t meet them. Hey I live with these women and apiece time you guys don’t meet their expectations I have to hear about it. So it is my business.” ~ George

3. “Every intern wants to perform their first surgery. That’s not your job. Do you know what your job is? To make your resident happy. Do I look happy? No! Why? Because my interns are whiny.” ~ Miranda

4. “The game, they state a mortal either has what it takes to play, or they don’t. My mom was one of the greats. Me on the other hand, I’m kind of screwed.” ~ Meredith

5. “Surgery is the only specialty where we don’t waste time getting to know the patients. They’re slabs of meat, we’re butchers.” ~ Alex

6. “You want to freeze my body, drain my blood, and stop my heart? In under forty-five minutes? If you go over, is it free?” ~ Joe

7. “I have an aunt who whenever she poured anything for you she would state “Say when!” My aunt would state “Say when!” and of course, we never did. We don’t state when because there’s something about the possibility, of more. More tequila, more love, more anything. More is better.” ~ Meredith

8. “It’s not that Burke broke up with me. It’s how he broke up with me. Like it was business. Like it was a business trans- Like he was the boss of me?!!” ~ Cristina

9. “It’s just you think, you think you know someone, know who they are. You share a home and make wishes on eyelashes with them and we don’t know apiece other, none of us. We’re just a bunch of interns who work together. There’s nothing there.” ~ Izzie

10. “You know, the way I see it, we could deal with us in one of three ways. Option one, I could apologize, you could forgive me and come home and we could move on with our lives like adults. Or, option two, I could apologize, you could forgive me, come home, but you can bring it up to use against me whenever we argue.” ~Addison

And there you have it — ten quotes from some of our older, beloved Grey’s episodes. If you’re having a hard time inactivity for the new season to start, let these ten Grey’s Anatomy quotes hold you over.

3 Steps to Daily Success: Using Motivational and Inspirational Quotes to Achieve Your Goals

3 Steps to Daily Success: Using Motivational and Inspirational Quotes to Achieve Your Goals

Changing our day-to-day behaviors might be easier than previously imagined. By meditating on and repeating motivational and inspirational quotes, we are superior prepared to change our thought patterns, behaviors and in turn, change our lives.

Here’s how it’s done.

If we believe something to be easy, we find little, if any, struggle in accomplishing it. However, if we envision something to be difficult to accomplish, then our struggle becomes more apparent. In fact, if we envision that it is difficult to change a specific behavior, then we will always find experiences that will justify that belief.

Take this for example.

We wake up one morning and decide that:

“This is the day I begin losing weight. When things get difficult, I will not reach for junk food, but instead I will focus on something else to keep my mind occupied. It’ll be tough at first, but I’m going to give it a try.”

If you continue with this thought pattern and belief, don’t be surprised to find yourself struggling more often than not. Why?

If we look at this example closely we find a couple of thought patterns and beliefs already in place. We have determined to do something good for ourselves, but we do ourselves a disservice by choosing certain negative thought patterns, beliefs and words that go along with it.

We have said,

“When things get difficult….”
(This is already assuming that there will be difficult moments! Strike one!)

“It’ll be tough at first…”
(This is already assuming it will be difficult at first! Strike two!)

“…but I’m going to give it a try.”
(Remember the motion picture “The Karate Kid”…”There is no “try”, there is only “do”. Strike three!)

Now there are hundreds of products out there that will assist people in losing weight. Some, if not all of them, might work for various people at various stages of their goal. But for many people who have convinced themselves that losing weight is difficult, some products might start short when our thought patterns are stronger than our desire to change.

Here is something that I’ve done to change a behavior I no longer desired.

I recently lost 20lbs in about 12 weeks. I didn’t like the way I looked, felt or even thought for that matter. I needed to change and take some action towards it.

First, I realized that I had to change my way of thinking about losing weight. My old thought patterns were no longer working for me. My thoughts were like little tiny photos that I projected in my mind of how heavy I was. I no longer wanted these photos or thought patterns a part of my life. I had to select a thought pattern and belief that would be easier to think about.

I selected this thought,

“Losing weight is easier than I thought.”

Perhaps not the most saint for everyone but it worked for me.

Secondly, I selected a word I wanted to focus on for that day, week or month to help me in accomplishing my goal (Start with just a day, or just an hour for that matter. Keep it simple.) The word I selected needed to be in relation to the change I want to make. For example, I selected the word “FOCUS”, as I felt that that’s what I needed to think about most of time; focusing more on losing weight than gaining it. Select any word as long as it relates to your situation. Examples include Attitude, Energy, Action and Believe.

Following that, I scoured the World wide web for motivational and inspirational quotes that resonated within me that related to that specific word I chose. Quotes that I could remember, especially ones that really spoke to what I wanted to accomplish.

But here’s the most important part.

I needed quotes that were powerful enough to change my thought patterns the moment I read them. Quotes that REALLY spoke to me when I my eyes fell upon them. Quotes that forced me to pause and think for a moment. Quotes that had that extra “edge” where my mind said, “Yes. This is one.”

These are all signs of a quote that held power for me. I “focused” in on the following quotes.
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” Buddha

“The only way to discover the limits of the possible, is to go beyond them into them impossible.” Arthur C. Clarke

“It’s not what you achieve in the end that matters, it’s who you become in the process.” Author Unknown

In fact, I found dozens of quotes that I resorted to from time to time, but these three I always came back to. They spoke of who I was, what I wanted to accomplish and who I wanted to become as I worked towards my goal.

I wrote them down. I carried these quotes with me constantly. I read them and meditated on them whenever I had the opportunity to. At work, home or at the gym (yup, I finally got myself to exercise, primarily by focusing on Arthur C. Clarke’s quote!), I focused on these three powerful quotes to help me FOCUS on what I wanted.

Because I changed my thought patterns, over time, I can honestly state I am 20 lbs lighter and a whole lot happier. Yes, I’ll be the first to admit that accomplishing the goal involved more than just thinking but it all began with my thoughts. The thoughts then permeated into my actions. (Now I need to FOCUS on maintaining that weight, so for me a whole new thought pattern begins.)

Here are the three steps again:

1. Decided to change your way of thinking about a behavior, making it easier for you to think about it. Phrase it in a easy way.

2. Select a word to focus on to change that behavior for a period of time.

3. Find a minimum of three motivational or inspirational quotes related to that specific word that are powerful enough to change your current thought patterns the moment you read them. Meditate on them and repeat them, silently or out loud, each chance you get.

Be patient. Stick with it. Give it some time.

Why do you think companies offer a 30-day money back guarantee? They know that if you do something for 30 days it becomes a usage and you no longer need to return it! (Learned something, huh?) Give it time.

The first step to what you want to accomplish is changing your mind and the thought patterns and beliefs associated with your behavior. Thoughts are the precursor to action, meaning that thoughts occur before any action takes place. That’s what needs to be changed first. Your thoughts.

It worked for me and I hope this inspires and motivates you to achieve your goal.

Think positive.

Role of quotes in our life

Role of quotes in our life

Quotes are few words that are full of wisdom and these wisdom words can be shared with anyone close to you. There are numerous famous quotes from great philosophers belonging to different parts of the world. On the internet, you can find intelligent quotes on different subjects like friendship quotes, love quotes, entertaining quotes and also motivational quotes.

A quote is a very powerful thing that can motivate and encourage any individual with full enthusiasm to find solutions when things do not work. Quotes are really effective to motivate, inspire and stimulate people. A quote is a powerful tool to deflect destructive thoughts.

The motivation quotes help you focus and commit to your goals. These quotes are really are capable of changing your life in a positive way. These quotes are designed to boost the strength within us.

Generally, the motivation quotes are accompanied by scenic pictures of nature, ambient music & other beautiful things. The motivational quotes are acquirable for different subjects like sports, business, education, career and many more.

When someone reads a motivational quote, it helps him to acquire a higher level in life. The motivational quotes help people improve their productivity, their financial condition and it accelerates the accomplishment of their goals. It has been seen that the most of the motivational quotes come from artists, business leaders, great athletes, famous entertainers, political leaders, philosophers & great thinkers.

Today, you can find thousands of motivational quotes on the internet, it is the ideal resource. Mostly, you will find that the websites have motivation quotes under different categories. There is a wide range of quotes for achieving success, individualized development and for positive outlook in life.

One such site is www.friendshipneverends.com. On this site, you can find intelligent quotes that are categorized like Random quote, Quote by Author and Quote by Topic.

Although, the study of this site is friendshipneverends.com, but it does not mean at all that this site is dedicated to only friendship quotes. You can find quotes on nearly any topic.

So, go ahead and share some of the quotes from this site with your friends or close ones to add delight to your day.

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Creating Your Own Happiness ? Simple Ways to a Happier Life-style

Creating Your Own Happiness ? Easy Ways to a Happier Life-style

Happiness is a universal sought after from the poor to the rich, from all 4 corners of the connector as well as those who are depressing to those already happy. I believe that Happiness is not a destination or say that one reaches and remain static, but rather a journey, a continuous never-end journey, of ups and down where we strive to maintain more ups than downs.
The topic is wide ranging, with no right or wrong ways of viewing it, dependent on a lot of factors, the majority of which I believe lies within the individual – ourselves. In my own odyssey, to strive for happiness, I have come to comprehend and learned a lot on this elusive phenomena. I am still learning, striving and here I would like to share my opinion, understanding and offer those few tips and tricks that I picked up along this journey.

What is Happiness? If there is ever there is a way of measuring happiness, a universal gauge on happiness, and a measure of the degree of happiness, we could then see whether there is any difference. To my knowledge, there is non. For instance, can we then say that a rich man is always more happy than a poor man. Perhaps, the rich one would know the answer to this. Otherwise, we would see that they are so many unhappy ones, more so at their dying bed.

Many people define Happiness differently, and from a spiritual viewpoint, there is again a definition from the spiritual aspect. For this article, I would rather focus on as it applies to the secular world.
Perhaps at the fundamental level, we must at first try to comprehend what Happiness stands for and what it means to us. Many factors influences the way we think and view Happiness – our upbringing, background , environment , educational level and many other factors shape our outlook towards life and what life stands for. From this, subconsciously, we all view Happiness in different light. So at the fundamental level, one must do some soul-searching and determine for himself what constitute Happiness is to him, and no one else except him. The essence is Happiness means different thing to different individual. This definition can take on lengthy debate, but suffice to say, it would not do much good to get into an analysis paralysis situation and defeat the purpose of the article.

So, we now need to define Happiness within our own context. And let us not confused it with Success in life. For success in life encompasses the ingredient of happiness, and without happiness where then is success. Here , I have do came crossways with many who have made tremendous material gains will disagree.

Along my own journey in life, trotting the uncharted path that I have to lay out for myself, the university of life has taught me the few things that I share with you as follows;

· Stepping Out and taking action – Human by nature likes to procrastinate and has tendency for delay in everything, and to place of things to do to tomorrow. I remember reading an article that gave good advice as in “Doing your next few days work all into one day, and that is today”. Come to think of it , this is pretty powerful. Try doing it and you will see what I mean, the result is amazing. And you will not have nagging and hassle from your spouse and bosses. The illustration about the huge elephant being tied to a small chain – applies very much in life, that we must learned to grow out of our fear and the limitation we place around ourselves.

· Take accountability and accept responsibility – When things do begin apart, it is superior to accept the responsibility, take the necessary action to rectify the situation, and move on. Let the past mistake be the past, we can only look forward and not be kept saddled with yesterday’s mistake and accountability. In my encounter with mistakes, I find that people are more forgiving and will not oppose when there is acceptance of responsibility and genuine desire to make good and move forward. Of course, such mistakes should not be recurring or else, one has to seriously re-assess his own abilities and capabilities.

· Maintaining a harmonious and well-balance life-style – In life, there are so many things we want and we want to do. God is clean in that we are all given the same amount of time per day to do what we want. How much and what to do is all within our control. Come to think about it, attaining something also means that we have to forgo something. Sound funny right, but think about it. The same time could be used to achieve other thing – this is the opportunity cost or lost. So what we do, how we spend our time, and with who is entirely up to us. I read somewhere that aptly place it crossways that just as in a theater play, in life we are the producer, scriptwriter, director, mortal & others and the audience as well – all in one. So how we want to act out our life is entirely up to us. We must maintain a harmonious equilibrise so as not to focus too much of one aspect, neglecting the others. Like the Chinese says, the Yin and the Yang.

· Don’t complain about life, be appreciative of what you have at present, while you strive for more – When we look around ourselves, our family, what we have attained so far, be thankful and appreciative and accept whatever shortcomings and deficiencies that comes with it.. Try not to compare with others. In this way, one feels happier while we work on improving further, comparing ourselves with yesterday. If we can improve on ourselves everyday, is this not what we seek out in life.

· Change ourselves first before we think of changing others – Mahatma Gandhi quoted “We must be the change we wish to see in the World” Jim Rohn quoted “You must take responsibility, you can't change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”  If we can learn to begin by changing ourselves, then we might have been healthy to superior the people that surround us, then possibly change our environment, our circumstances, and who know, maybe the world.

· Accept diversity and differences and learn to see the beauty in them – From where I was borne and raised, we take pride in being a very good role model country where there is diversity in races and people who live harmoniously. Each has its own culture and value system but in general, people learned to accept the differences and be tolerant. As in family and organization, these are reflected into difference capability, skills, expertise or opinions, needs and wants. Acknowledgment of such difference, and leveraging the strength of the individual goes a long way to a harmonious and happy environment

· Be Magnanimous and forgive and Forget/Letting it go – I had several encounters with friends that have harbored within themselves, many years of conflict that they came crossways long ago. And refusing to forget and forgive. And I find that apiece time when they relate to the incidents, they bring back very painful memories and sadness. Hanging on to such baggage does more harm to the individual. It takes a lot of courage to forgive and only when we are noble enough that we find solace and happiness.

· Sincere communication – heart to heart dialogue where necessary – The world we are in this day are fraught with much animosity, hatred and violence. Much of this can be attributed to misunderstanding, and misunderstanding arises from mistrust. And why would there be mistrust if there were sufficient communication. Envision those quarrel and unpleasant episodes at the home and at the office. We tend to make assumption based on our own knowledge and value and adopt others carry the same. The reality is not, and we must communicate and communicate enough, to carry out sincere dialogue during complex and complicated situation. Only with sincere effort and understanding arising from the communication, we can learn to live, work and co-exist in harmony.

· Learning to Turn someone down and State No – Many a times, when we succumb to courteousy and graciousness only to feel regret over an early decision, makes a lingering troubling thought that spoils the day. So learning to say No, politely and firmly needs to be learnt. In my country, we have a culture where people are friendly, polite and helpful. Looking at the crimes that are committed today, and especially learning from those world wide web circulated horror stories of the modus operandi of the crimes, it now pays to be healthy to say No to strangers when we have to think of self interest and security. A lesson I learnt many years back is that people are feel pressed to obligate and in so doing, are coerced into concurring to something and later realize the mistake. I have since learnt to place on hold to any decision, and where and immediate “No” is not an appropriate one for the situation, try to stall for time, to check on certain things first. This will purchase the mortal time to think things through and seek advice before making a commitment.

· Planning for Leisure and take your Vacation – A periodical break is essential to refresh both the body and the mind. At the same time, to grant you to take in new things. In our regular routines, there is always this excuse of putting the trip of to a future date. Well maybe, by then this will happen and that will happen, and then I can go for the vacation. We tend to place on the chain on ourselves, we have this meeting to attend, that meeting to schedule… Really, what happened when we begin ill, the meeting still goes on or worst is just re-scheduled. Or do we find that there are more important people who should attend the meeting, but they can be absent. It is good to be a mortal that is of value and required to be around, that we are indispensable. But in reality, we must work on the basis that nobody is indispensable. Take and enjoy a carefree holiday as one holiday slogan says, ” without lock and door” be carefree and free from all hustle and bustle.

· Keep an Optimistic and healthy Lifestyle – People say that health is wealth, and this very true in that without health, wealth no matter how much is of no value. The very essence of a healthy body goes a long way to making a healthy mind, even though we do some times see people who though might not healthy but still maintain a very healthy and positive mind.

To many people, happiness is as elusive as in wealth. Many people I have come into contact with view wealth as the synonymous with happiness, and in the process, lost the essence of meaning in life.

Eventually, it comes back to the individual,  what does that mortal want in life, and it might well be that tiny thing that will sustain the happiness in him despite that trying circumstances. It is important that we know the situation we are in, our ability and to learn to live with that knowledge.

Just as in life, happiness is mystical, and as man seeking to comprehend it more, he will find that they are still unexplained phenomena and more unknown uncovered. As man continue to seek further knowledge on this topic, let us individual not live into all the “if” and “but”, but instead embrace it and maintain a say of mind that we can say we are always at a good level of happiness in Life.
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