1. Life is as fun as we choose to make it. To complain otherwise is to subscribe to a victim mindset.

2. You can't go wrong looking for the best in people, and it gives both you and them confidence to connect "on the level" as fellow travelers on the long, meandering road we call life.

3. What's better than love or caring without conditions? Try expressing your caring without demanding the same in return. You might be surprised at the effect it has on your relationships.

4. We are more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. With all the stress, exertion, and nutritional problems we subject our bodies to, it is amazing that life expectancy continues to improve.

5. Remember to base your self worth on internally-based measures, such as how hard you work, how you treat yourself and others, and the way you go about your life. Don't base your self-esteem on external measures-income, possessions, public opinion. Those things are only partially within our control, and they are also ever-changing and subject to the whims of existence. Start within and your self-worth will remain constant.

6. Keep in mind that, if you are going to have a strong opinion about something and vocalize it, you'd better know what you are talking about. For example, I spent the greater part of five minutes talking with my sister one afternoon about how much better the coffee is at Seattle's Best as compared to Starbucks. She listened intently, and then asked me if I was aware that Starbucks owned Seattle's Best. I didn't, and I felt dumb. Know what you are talking about, folks.

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1. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
   Classic book on Objectivism. As important a read today as when it was written over fifty years ago.
2. Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
   Fascinating look into the mind of a young man who attempts to "find himself" in the Alaskan wilderness, alienating everyone in his life in the process.
3. Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy, by Irvin D. Yalom
   Terrific read on tales of therapy from the most insightful therapist of our times.

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When we take a moment to stop and evaluate our lives, we might find the following:

• you have a lot more accumulated "stuff" than you really need -far too many people have come into your life and left (against your will) -money doesn't buy happiness. In fact, it doesn't buy much these days.
• we are all headed in the same direction, on the same road, to the same place.
• we have as many excuses as we need to never fulfill our potential -we have regrets related directly to not trying, not speaking up, and giving in and finally -life is really about the experiences we can make and share with others

I believe that life is about doing. If you are like me, you have spent too much time thinking about life and not enough time partaking in it. You've spent too many excuses, accumulated too much "stuff" that somehow doesn't seem to fill the void, had too many people quietly drift out of touch, and so on. If you are like me, again, you've probably missed more opportunities than you've taken to experience new things and form new relationships. If you're lucky, you've had some wonderful experiences come your way without even trying.

Life is fleeting, we know that. Our time is better spent pursuing moments that will fill our memory banks for the rest of our lives rather than sitting idly by as time passes. First of all, these experiences enrich us. We learn that we are better off taking action instead of simply talking about dreams we really have no intention of chasing. Second, we're in a better position when we "chance" a risk in the moment to make a better experience for ourselves. Third, we're happier when we are moving towards others, away from fear and immobility. We gain the control over our lives that we so desperately crave and so often lament losing. The question, then, is why aren't we doing more of this?

That's a question only you can answer.

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