Over the years, I’ve had several people tell me that life is a game of “give and take.” While that phrase may sound logical, it’s simply not true. Instead, life is about giving and receiving. The reason is that none of us like “takers.” Takers are all about themselves and they’re out to exploit others,…

The sweetness of life relates to those everyday reasons that make life worth living and the most important one is to make a difference in someone else’s life. We are never too busy, too tired, too important, too shy, too young, too old, or too broke to make a difference in someone’s life.

Most people would like to feel that their life stands for something good and that they are making a difference.

During the past several years, I’ve needed to utilize the services of a large cardiology practice. Each time I go there, I make it a point to be cheerful and kind to the people who are helping me. Not long ago, I was not feeling just right, and I wanted to get one of the doctors to squeeze me between his scheduled appointments so I could make sure I was okay.

For a long time now, I have been observing gardeners—people who plant fruits, vegetables, and flowers in their yard. These people tend to be very energetic and seem to love what they do. My wife Marcia is one such person.

A former student of mine posted the following quote on Facebook: “Happiness comes a lot easier when you stop complaining about the problems you do have, and you start being grateful for all the problems you don’t have.”

I came across a Facebook post by a radio talk show host in Phoenix who recently fostered then adopted a six-year-old girl whom he refers to as “Sister” in his post.

When you go to places like a doctor’s office, an airport or a tire shop, chances are you’re going to do some waiting.

Validation reinforces a positive sense of worth in people and makes them feel really good about who they are. Furthermore, people who feel good about themselves do good things. One of the ways that we can all help make the world a better place is to serve as an instrument of validation.

Few people will argue with the old adage that, “Experience is the best teacher.” Experience is all about trying something new, failing, learning from that failure, and then trying again until you get it right. When you think about it, that’s how most of us learned how to ride a bicycle.