1. Get balanced, no matter what area of your life you are worried about. You can do this by increasing the breadth of activities you engage in. You can also do it by increasing the depth at which you engage in activities that are enjoyable.

2. Adjust your people skills. Try to assume that those you interact with on a daily basis are doing the best they can, no matter what issues they are facing currently. This will allow you to interact with them on a more congenial level, whereby you don't personalize everything as an attack on your ego and ultimate value as a human being.

3. Take chances! You won't get very far in any pursuit if you're unwilling to push yourself to the point of being uncomfortable and nervous. In my business coaching activities, I've worked with numerous individuals who wanted to overcome their fear of public speaking. After a while, they become positively addicted to the rush of speaking in front of large groups. They just had to take that chance-the chance that they had something positive to offer to those who were willing to listen.

4. Life ain't fair. Don't expect it to be, and don't spend time petitioning President Obama about the issue, either. Stop complaining, and move forward. You'll feel better.

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Various books I read or listened to this past month that I think you might enjoy, in random order:

• Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

• Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life, by Alice Schroeder

• Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul, by John Eldredge

• The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card, by Michael O'Keefe

• John Wooden: an American Treasure, by Steve Bisheff

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I recently watched the movie Man on Wire, about Frenchman Philippe Petit, a wirewalker and performer who traversed the World Trade Center towers in 1974 in a feat that will never be duplicated. The movie is fascinating; I couldn't stop watching. The notion of walking across a half-inch wire suspended 110 stories over New York on a misty August morning, knowing that success will result in jail time, and failure will be spectacular and tragic, was both knee-buckling and inspiring at the same time. The fact that he spent forty-five minutes doing this, and made eight trips back and forth, is hard to fathom.

Of course, I got to thinking. There were several pragmatic life lessons contained within the story, including:

• Success results from a combination of many factors, not one

• Being lucky is only one part of success, but it certainly is helpful along the way

• Meticulous preparation is helpful. Boldness on top of that is invaluable.

• We need help along the way (Philippe had several friends assist him in his illegal endeavor)

• There are occasional unforeseen consequences that accompany success (Philippe's successful walk between the towers resulted in the end of two important relationships in his life-his relationship with his girlfriend and childhood buddy, who felt they could not relate to the “new” version of himself that Philippe had become)

• We need to continually push ourselves to greater and greater heights. (Philippe has done several smaller events since that day thirty five years ago, but has yet to top it)

• There is a beauty in setting our sights so high that they, on occasion, appear ridiculous or impossible.

In our everyday lives, how many of us are setting bold, seemingly impossible dreams to pursue? How many of us are pursuing something with so much passion and glee that we are unfazed by the negativity and cynical nature of those around us? My guess would be not many (particularly in this economy…). Life is best lived on terms that bring us unending joy and satisfaction, and it doesn't matter, really, what the dream you set out to pursue is. What really matters is that you are pursuing it.

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