John Ruskin

If you want to be happy yourself, make others happy.
If you want to make others happy, be first
happy yourself.  There you have the whole formula.

Ossian Lang

Guard within yourself that treasure, kindness.
Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose
without regret, how to acquire without meanness.
Know how to replace in your heart, by the happiness of
those you love, the happiness that may be wanting to yourself.

George Sand

Horace Fletcher taught people to eat slowly.  He said that most of us never enjoy our food because we bolt one course to get to the next and that the meal is over before we begin to taste it.

I have often thought that most of us make this mistake about life in general.  Our attention is apt to be so fixed upon tomorrow or next week that we forget to relish this day.  People are always going to be happy a little later on when they have done something else first.  They are really going to enjoy life when they get a job, or when they retire from business; or when they are married, or when they get a divorce; or when they move into the country, or when they can settle in town; or when they have passed an examination; or when the children are off their hands; or anything else in the whole world.

All this is wrong.  By all means make your plans and take the right means to carry them out, but meanwhile enjoy each hour of the day as it passes.  Ponder the wonderful old saying that tomorrow never comes.  Enjoy the living of today while today is here.  There are all sorts of interesting things happening in everyone's life every day.  They may be small things, but they are nevertheless worthwhile.

When visiting several rather "primitive" Central American countries, I was greatly struck by the fact that these simple people, whose ways of life are very elementary, and who are almost without material possessions, nevertheless seem to get much more out of life than do many of our own relatively sophisticated people.  Their secret is that they live much more in the present moment than we do.  They enjoy life while it is with them.  They obviously relish performing the simplest tasks that we rush through almost mechanically.  Most of our people seem to be, mentally, always en route to somewhere else or something else.

Of course we have many things of great value that they still lack, but it seems that in our very rapid progress we have forgotten certain important values that these "primitive" people still retain.

Live in the present moment and find your interest and your happiness in the things of today.

Sometimes It's Easy

Sometimes, when you're walking down the street and you see a couple coming your way and you notice that they're carrying a garbage bag--because they're picking up litter and trash as they walk along--it's easy to see the goodness in other people, and to feel positive about the ways that other people live and the things that they do.

When a co-worker gets a phone call and is told that someone turned in the digital camera that she had lost a few days earlier, it's easy to believe that there's a great deal of goodness in the world, and that most people, when given the opportunity, will do the right things rather than the selfish or greedy things.

When I see someone compliment another person for no obvious reason, or encourage them to do their best even when that person gets no obvious benefit from the other person's action, then it's easy to see that human beings are generally very helpful and considerate beings, whether we always show it or not.

When I read about lawyers taking on cases for people who can't afford legal representation, or doctors and dentists performing surgery for people who need it but can't afford it, or business people donating their time and money and resources to help those who are less privileged than they are, then it's easy to believe that there's hope in this world for a better world, one that we're hopefully working towards every moment we live.

When I see kids sharing with each other; athletes demonstrating good sportsmanship; students acting with integrity and character; mothers and fathers treating their children with dignity and respect; successful people sharing credit with others who contributed to their success; husbands and wives being faithful to their spouses; "famous" people showing humility; researchers devoting their time and energy to developing products and medicines that will serve humankind--the list could be endless--I realize that there are far more people working to contribute to the goodness in the world than there are trying to harm the world and the people in it.

In theory, of course, I don't need to witness any of these things to know in my heart that human beings are basically good, caring, and compassionate.  But it seems that many people are afraid of showing that side of themselves, so sometimes it's nice to be reminded that this world basically is a very good, very positive place in which to live.  And the people who are here with us want to contribute to the positive side of life, even if all of them aren't able to do so because of their fears or insecurities.

I'm very grateful when others make it easy for me to see the goodness, for those are the times when I feel most optimistic about the lives we're leading and the world in which we're leading them.  Their example makes me want to emulate them, and it thus becomes even easier for me to contribute to life in positive ways myself.

For those of you who make it easier for me:  thank you!  I owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude!

For any problem, no matter how big or complex it may be, there is a solution. Use these nine steps to find it!

After doing this, be sure to make a note of each thing that's germane to the problem. Don't risk forgetting anything that could help you find the solution.

The fifth step in solving a problem creatively is called "Individual Ideation." This is personal "brainstorming," or thinking with the brakes of judgment off! Don't try to decide whether an idea is good or bad — just write it down the moment it comes to you. You can pick and choose — rate you're after is a lot of ideas.

Remember the four rules for brainstorming: (1) No negative thinking; (2) The wilder the ideas, the better; (3) A large number of ideas is essential; and (4) Combination and improvement of ideas is what you're after.

One idea often leads to another, better idea. Don't worry if some of your ideas seem far-fetched or impractical. You're looking for all the ideas you can possibly find. Don't reject any — write them all down!

Then Group Brainstorm. This is your opportunity to put the minds of others to work on the problem. Handle this session the same way you did your "Individual Ideation." No negative thinking, no criticism at this stage; the wilder the ideas the better; get as many ideas as possible; and, try for idea combination and improvement. Write down all the ideas the group comes up with.

Suppose, however, that one of the salesperson's ideas is to run TV advertisements for the company's product on one of the major television networks. This would be "probably effective" and would be "not so easy," but it could be done.

Let's say another idea is to set up a new sales incentive program, a program directed to those people who are at the front of the problem, the salespeople. If it were a well-designed and -implemented incentive program with predictable compensation for increased performance, it would stand a good chance of being "very effective." It would be relatively "easy" to do. It should increase the company's sales.

There are many other evaluation yardsticks you might use. Two more are time and money. Try rating your ideas against these measurements. For example, in the case of a manufacturer who wants to increase its sales, certainly to change the product would take a great deal of time and money. And to advertise it on a popular network television program would cost a great deal. On the other hand, to introduce a new sales incentive program might be neither too costly nor too time consuming.

Remember, when you evaluate your ideas, measure them against these four yardsticks: effectiveness, facility, time, and cost. Every idea you have may not be worth creative action, and that's why you must skillfully evaluate each of them. But once you've carefully judged your ideas, take action.