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“The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.” – Henry Ward Beecher

Happiness is all about your perception, your attitude, and your gratitude. Happiness is a choice. For some people it comes more naturally than for others, but you get to choose to see the good in every situation, even the difficult ones. It is how you frame the situation in your mind.

Having a plan for your life includes having a plan for your death.

Make sure that you’re living responsibly so that if you die tomorrow that your family is taken care of. Life can be taken from us at any moment. If yours is taken from you, will your spouse be ok financially? Will your children (if they’re minors)?

Live within your means, invest only in what you understand, and make sure that you have enough life insurance to cover 10x your annual income (if you still have dependents). That way if you are taken from this world prematurely, while your family may not be ok mentally with your passing, at least they’ll be ok financially.

In addition to setting up life insurance, make sure that you also set up your estate documents. You should have your Last Will & Testament, Medical Power of Attorney, Financial Power of Attorney, and Living Will completed. This will leave no room for interpretation and will tell your loved ones what you want done when you are incapable of making decisions. This should help to minimize any tension between family members who have different ideas about what should happen with your money, your kids, etc. It will provide clarity to them. And, if you know that something may not align with someone’s ideals, try to address it with them while you’re still around. Don’t make your spouse do it.

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” – Winston Churchill

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” – Luke 12:48

You can’t expect to be given power, fame, success, or greatness without paying the price. That price comes in the form of added responsibilities – including your time and your energy. There is a trade off for everything in life, and the trade off for greatness is responsibility and hard work.

If you truly want to be great, you have to take ownership of everything that happens in your life. This means that you don’t only get to take credit when things go right (and, by the way, you should always point to your team when things are going well). It also means that when things don’t go as planned, you have to take responsibility for it. Did somebody not buy from you? It’s your fault for not demonstrating the value of your product/company. Did a trade not complete the work correctly? It’s your fault for not making sure that what needed to be done is clear to them. Or, if you did make it clear, maybe you should have vetted them better. Did a tenant from a rental property not pay you on time? Maybe you didn’t set clear expectations of when the rent is due. Or maybe you didn’t screen them well enough by running a credit report, checking their employment history, and talking with previous landlords.

There are examples everywhere. If you truly want to be great, it requires you to take responsibility of your actions and of the actions of those around you. Once you can accept this, then you can move forward towards your path to greatness.

No food = one problem. Plenty of food = plenty of problems.

We’re so fortunate, living in America in the 21st century, that we take most of what we have for granted. When you watch the news, you would think that the sky is falling sometimes. There is so much negativity that dominates the headlines, because, let’s face it, negative stories are more captivating.

If you’re above the poverty level, and you don’t have to worry about where your next meal is going to come from, you have it good! It’s ironic though, that when we have plenty of food it seems we have plenty of problems too. Yet, when you have no food, when you don’t have a secure job or a safe place to live, the other problems that bother you and I? They aren’t there anymore. Instead, if you have no food, you only have one problem. It’s a big problem to have, but it puts everything else into perspective. Most of what we get upset about really doesn’t matter.

So if you’re having a bad day, if you think your life is hard, it could be true. But remember, there are others in this world who are going through much worse than you are. Keep your head up. Keep moving in the right direction. The future may seem bleak, but sunshine is right around the corner and better days are coming.

Being proud of the work you do is commendable. You gave your best effort and are happy with the result. Be proud of the effort that you put in to achieve that result. But be careful to not let pride (or ego) of your work get too strong. If you notice yourself getting defensive or unable to take constructive criticism, it’s probably because the criticism is getting in the way of your ego, and your ego doesn’t like it.

We all have egos. We think of ourselves – how this or that action affects us. How other people perceive us. How we perceive ourselves. But if you build up this notion that you are better than others, you’re in for a rude awakening. In his book Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday says “When you focus on and bask in the glory of your talents and strengths, your self-confidence often becomes the self-absorption, arrogance, and fantasy that stifles your growth.”

If your pride/ego is too large, it will hinder you. It can come in the form of arrogance, where you think too highly of yourself and disregard others’ opinions or ideas. It can cause you to take risks that are unnecessary, just to prove to others how great you are. You can look like a know-it-all and shut down your team around you.

Your ego can stop you from asking questions for fear of looking dumb, which ironically puts you further behind because you still don’t fully comprehend what someone was talking about.

Your ego can turn others away from you because they know that you only have your own interests at heart. You will use them – stepping on or over them to get to where you want to be.

So how can you try to keep your ego in check? Be cautious when accepting compliments. They feel good, but little-by-little, they are building your self-image up. The next time someone compliments you, just say thank you and move on.

Be humble. Realize that no matter how good you are, you can always improve. And remember that on your best days, you’re never as great as you think you are, and on your worst days, you’re never as bad as you think you are.