Despite the overwhelming feeling that comes along with the need or desire to learn a new skill or make an important decision, there’s almost always someone we can learn from who has overcome the same challenge. Between books, video, and the internet, we have more access to useful information than ever, but few of us take nearly as much advantage of it as we could.

Almost everything we do in life requires the knowledge of how to do it and this is especially the case when pursuing an important goal. As such, getting what we want out of life often requires a genuine commitment to learning.

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If I told you that you aren’t worth the air that you breathe, that you’re dumber than a rock, or that you’re the ugliest I’ve ever seen, would you be offended? If so, you may want to give this some thought.

Allowing yourself to be affected by an offensive action results in anger or sadness and often leads to a series of additional negative emotions and even regrettable behavior. This is certainly not conducive to happiness or good health and can have an undesirable impact on your life. Furthermore, the initial event that causes all of this is often trivial and not worth a fraction of the emotion that’s wasted on it.

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Imagine dedicating your life to the pursuit of a single goal, and after many years of hard work, having your success slip away as a result of your health. How would that make you feel?

In 2005, Rafael Nadal became the world’s second highest ranked tennis player, but was a far way behind the number one player, Roger Federer. Despite Nadal’s incredible dedication and work ethic, few people believed that he’d ever catch Federer who many consider to be the greatest player of all time and was completely dominating tennis at the time. However, with a lot of grit, determination, and hard work, Nadal consistently continued to improve his game, and in August of 2008, gained the number one ranking. It was a dream come true and was an amazing accomplishment considering the odds that were stacked against him.

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Independence Day signifies the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the recognition of the United States as an independent nation. While we can all appreciate the significance of this, few of us recognize how critical independence is to realizing our potential to live rewarding lives.

Independence implies the freedom to make our own choices, live according to our own values, and do so without relying upon others. Each fourth of July, we celebrate the independence of America and the freedom that it provides us as individuals. It’s an excellent time to also appreciate the opportunities that this freedom creates and to reflect on how sincere our efforts are to gain value from it. Without striving to discover and reach our potential, the independence and freedom that we’re blessed to have are nothing more than a wasted opportunity.

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The recent KFC grilled chicken promotion has instigated a wave of similar promotions throughout the fast food and restaurant industries. Millions of people swarmed KFC restaurants across the nation for a free meal, and in the upcoming weeks, many other restaurants will be looking to feed off of this frenzy.

The irony behind these promotions is that the free food ends up costing much more than the money saved from not having to buy it.

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Today, I had two seemingly unrelated events inspire some interesting thoughts. As I was leaving an appointment for an eye exam and heading to have my driver’s license renewed, I suddenly felt a sense of appreciation.

Because I am at risk for glaucoma, I need to have my eyes tested more frequently than most people. Although my eyesight has been nearly perfect for a long time, I always struggle with the last line of letters on the eye testing chart and it bothers me every time, especially since the letter O always appears as a D from one eye. Coincidental to the purpose of my appointment, I also needed the eye exam to renew my driver’s license.

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Many of us fail to find meaning in the day to day activities of our lives and are easily frustrated, overwhelmed and even depressed by the slightest misfortune. Some of us are forced to endure much greater misfortunes that make life seem unbearable. Even in the worst circumstances imaginable, recognizing a meaning to your life and value in your suffering will give you the strength to persist and pursue a much more satisfying state of being.

Viktor Frankl, a neurologist and psychiatrist, believed that living with meaning is essential to mental and physical well being. As a survivor of the Holocaust and four different Nazi concentration camps, Frankl had a profound opportunity to test his beliefs and was able to persevere through some of the worst circumstances imaginable. Because of his perseverance, we are blessed with the opportunity to learn from his triumph and realize that there’s always meaning and value to life regardless of how bad it may seem.

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey is an extremely popular book that has inspired many people’s lives. While it’s primarily about personal development and productivity, the fundamental concepts also apply extremely well to improving your health and well being.

Much of what we appreciate most in life we produce ourselves. As such, our capability to produce is a key factor in the value we experience from life. By improving our capability to produce what we appreciate most, we increase the satisfaction and fulfillment that we experience. This is the nature of being highly effective and is the focus of the 7 habits.

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Many people consider selfishness to be a despicable characteristic, but is it really? With the right type of mentality, selfishness can actually make you a much happier person and the world a much better place!

What is Selfishness?

Selfishness is defined by the dictionary as a focus on one’s own pleasure or well-being without regard for others. Although this definition certainly carries a negative connotation, society has generalized the concept of selfishness by applying it to anyone seeking personal gain, even if it benefits others. This is a shortsighted point of view that is also socialist in nature.

A Fair Trade

Nearly everything we do in life is associated with a cost and a benefit where the benefit is the justification for the cost. Although this applies to anything in life, exchanging money for goods or services is the most obvious example. Adding need into this equation of cost and benefit creates a philosophical dilemma.

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Roger Federer is arguably the greatest tennis player to ever live. His career is far from over and some people are already convinced that he’s the greatest of all time. He’s won 13 grand slam titles which is only one short of Pete Sampras’ record of 14. He also spent 237 consecutive weeks as the world’s top ranked player which literally crushed Jimmy Connors previous record by 77 weeks.

2008: The Season of Questions

In 2008, Roger was a semifinalist at the Australian Open, the runner up at the French Open, the runner up at Wimbledon, and the winner of the U.S. Open. For any other player, this would’ve been a dream season, but for Roger, it was substandard.

This time last year, Roger had just been upset in the semifinals of the Australian Open by Novak Djokovich. This was the first time in 11 grand slams, or nearly 3 years, that Roger Federer wouldn’t be playing in the finals. Talk immediately began to circulate through the tennis world suggesting that Roger was officially past his prime.

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