Thursday, March 31, 2011

Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life


1. Live Below Your Means
There will always be temptation to forsake the future for immediate gratification. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can’t afford. It might feel great at the time but rash spending hurts a lot later on.
Enjoy life’s simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.
2. Put Your Money to Work
Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40′s or in your 60′s.
A post today at The Simple Dollar really got me thinking. According to Trent’s projections, if a person in their early 20′s invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40′s. They could retire without a drop in income!
Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on. It’s definitely an area I’ll be devoting more attention to in my personal life and on this blog.
3. Educate Yourself
To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life long education. This doesn’t mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives.
Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.
4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships
Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don’t forget about them.
Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to longterm happiness. Without the people you care about you’ll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.
5. Work Towards a Dream You’re Passionate About
Even if your life isn’t perfect, you can always build towards a goal you’re passionate about. If you aren’t building towards something, you’re probably stagnating. When this happens to me I start to feel like a victim trapped by my own life. The best way to reverse this is working towards a goal.
We can’t control everything about our lives, but working towards a goal gives us something positive to focus on and lays the foundation for future success. No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something. As Lao Tzu said, even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.
Bonus: 6. Stay in Shape
You only get one body. Once it’s been ruined there isn’t much you can do about it. Exercise to keep the rust off. Avoid excessive consumption of damaging substances and unhealthy foods. It may feel like terrible self denial at the time but enjoying good health in your later years is worth the sacrifice.

68 comments:

  1. Nice post I'm currently working on all five :)

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  2. these are really good poitns

    incredible-mo.blogspot.com

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  3. Very good points especially the educate yourself part.

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  4. the first is the hardest for me .. :(

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  5. I like the tips, especially the first one. Lots of people could have benefited from that prior to the credit crunch!

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  6. My credit card balance mocks me. Sigh.

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  7. These are all wonderful tips in life to follow.

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  8. Great life tips. Check me out, alphabetalife.blogspot.com

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  9. That little buff guy at the end made me lol!

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  10. Good tips, I follow most of them but the bonus... I really need to work on that.

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  11. Man that little guy is JACKED!

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  12. Every one of these is completely true. And I try my best to do all of them!

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  13. Agreed with all these points. :D

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  14. I'M INVESTING IN GORGEOUS WOMEN AND PRODIGIOUS AMOUNTS OF ALCOHOL. THAT'S A SUREFIRE WAY TO WIN AT LIFE. Btw i reciprocate $upport. :)

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  15. I often wonder how mad my 80yo self will be at my 20 year old self...

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  16. I agree with nuker.. lets invest in babes and automobiles

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  17. So many kids think it's cool to do whatever and don't think about the path they set themselves on. Whether it be living in mom's basement at the age of 40, or having to breathe through a respirator for everyday activity, such futures can be avoided by truly living life to the fullest. Healthy, Wealhy, and Wise rather than Stoned, Boned, and Forever Alone.

    ~H. Coct

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  18. Haha, oh man that last image is actually frightening. Other than that, good post, thanks for passing on the wisdom I know but know I probably won't act on :(

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  19. Can anyone actually do all of these at once?

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  20. I think this guide is actually perfect.

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  21. I would love to look exactly like that little guy. ;)

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  22. Great tips man, i need to work on my physique. Maybe that little guy can give me some pointers

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  23. Wow, incredibly nice summation of happiness. 100% true, no BS.

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  24. Great tips that are easier to read than they are to follow!

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  25. Very good advice. The essentials of a happy life :)

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  26. Very good post, things I always want to follow but sometimes forget to. I agree with every point though.

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  27. The hardest part is doing this continously throughout our whole lives...

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  28. nice post and hilarious picture. :P

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  29. If it would only be so easy... But putting up lists like these is already a beginning. Good blog dude, loved the design and the content. Will follow.

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  30. very inspring, i can read this again

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  31. Always helpful advise
    "Put Your Money to Work" reminds me of a Seinfeld episode though xD

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  32. Outstanding advice, especially about investing. Even putting a few hundred dollars (or pounds or euros or what have you) away every now and then will pay off very well down the road. Compounding interest for the win.

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  33. These tips seem obvious but I bet there are many people who won't be able to follow them.

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  34. Great tips, I'm about to become wonderful!

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  35. good ideas, i might use them

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  36. nice tips, so thats how your supposed to live :P

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  37. thanks i'm definitely using this i gotta get my act going :)!

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  38. This is what i try doing, inevitably fails though ( i'm going to keep trying, i want a perfect life!

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  39. Very interesting stuff. I try to do all of these.

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  40. I think that pretty much is accurate.

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  41. Good guide. I personally like the Put the Money to Work one.

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  42. Haha epic picture for the last one

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  43. Woah, these are some really helpful tips, some of them are common sense but others I've never thought of before, thanks.

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  44. The bonus is really difficult for me, but ill try. I try to live below my means, but sometimes I go overboard, so this post really showed me that I should live below my means. Thanks for the post.

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  45. Great advice buddy. Rare on the internet

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  46. "Live below your means" Fucking this

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  47. Very obvious things, but all easier said than done.

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  48. I'm glad I was surfing around to catch these gems, thanks

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  49. Excellent stuff! "Live Below Your Means" was something I needed to be reminded of just now!

    Pappa - When I open this blog with Chrome the text and background are both black, so the text is almost invisible.

    Cheers
    Dyl

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