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.
Note: This post is part of the Problogger Top 5 Group Writing Project.
(23 votes, average: 4.78 out of 5)
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Hey, no fair! You got six!
This was a very nice list, nonetheless.
All the best,
CLKL
Haha, thanks CLKL. 6 doesn’t count, it’s a bonus!
I love how you slipped that bonus in there. I feel like I got more for my money.
It should be a new slogan for PTB: “Now with a bonus tip with every post!”
Great list, John.
Thanks, Leo.
Great advice! I feel inspired already.
And you aren’t the only one to have more than five things on your top five list! I saw some other posts with titles like “Top Five Whatevers (Plus Two!)”.
Well done. I stumbled upon this post, and read so many others. Great site. Keep up the good work =)
> 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.
So you’re saying if I earn 20k a month now, if I invest 4k of that each month now, then when I’m 40 I’ll be able to pull in 20k a month from the interest? I’m pretty sure inflation will have made that fairly worthless?
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I agree completely! I’m unhappy ‘cos I’m fat!
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Thanks a lot everybody, I’ve been enjoying the writing project too.
@ Vaughan - What you said is exactly right. You should go back and read Trent’s post for the details. If you work an extra few years you can even give yourself a raise each year to compensate for interest.
Very good advice! Choose your career wisely would be another point of advice. It kinda goes with your point on being passionate. If you are doing something that you hate to do, like your job, you cannot have a wonderful life. Everyday I report in to work and immediately feel the life being sucked out of me.
I would also say have a lot of humor in your life, in case you do have a job that stinks, at least you can laugh about it! Thanks again for your blog post and good luck in the competition.
Turtle King
http://turtlesatwork.blogspot.com
king.oftheturtles@gmail.com
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Good ideas. And what you do today determines your future and waht you have done yesterday dictate your present.
[…] Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life - [PickTheBrain] digg_url = ‘http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/5-ways-to-a-wonderful-life.html’; ( function() { var ds=typeof digg_skin==’string’?digg_skin:”; var h=80; var w=52; if(ds==’compact’) { h=18; w=120; } var u=typeof digg_url==’string’?digg_url:(typeof DIGG_URL==’string’?DIGG_URL:window.location.href); document.write(”"); } )() Author: Craig Childs Posted: Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 8:53 am Tags: life, lifeline Share This […]
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This is the sort of stuff we should be learning in school. Stuff math tests and algebra homework! The world would be a better place if we all got a framed copy of this list in kindergarten (and actually followed through with the recommendations).
Very nice. I needed to read something like this. Thanks.
Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life…
Five great commonsense tips for living the best life possible….
[…] It’s easy to get so caught up in busyness that we lose our focus on what will really bring us the most happiness in the long run. This is a pretty good list, but do you see anything missing (chocolate, for starters)? Let us know in the comments. — Wendy Boswell Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life [PickTheBrain.com ] […]
Wow, thrift and clean living. You really cracked the code here.
Wow, sarcasm. I could say the same for you.
[…] It’s easy to get so caught up in busyness that we lose our focus on what will really bring us the most happiness in the long run. This is a pretty good list, but do you see anything missing (chocolate, for starters)? Let us know in the comments. — Wendy Boswell Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life [PickTheBrain.com ] […]
[…] It’s easy to get so caught up in busyness that we lose our focus on what will really bring us the most happiness in the long run. This is a pretty good list, but do you see anything missing (chocolate, for starters)? Let us know in the comments. — Wendy Boswell Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life [PickTheBrain.com ] […]
I really, i mean *really* needed to read this right about now. I mean it’s not something that I don’t know already, but I’m a believer in the idea that the universe puts out what you ask for/need.
Thank you.
Andre L.,
I’m glad it made a difference for you. Thanks for letting me know.
Great post. Don’t forget gratitude. I carry around a little gratitude rock in my pocket. Everytime I look at it I think about all the great things in my life.
Terry, you’re right about gratitude. Thanks for the tip.
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Great entry. Thanks.
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Simple. Common sense. Indispensible.
On 2.
Retirement is not all it’s made out to be.
What, in fact, it really means is that you’ve moved that much closer to death.
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truely a perfect guide.
I am really upset before I read the article. but now I find my way!
thx
“No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something.”
This should take the cake.
hum.
i love to read your wonderfil life story but they are too lenghty
i get some motivation.
Fantastic! Simple, short and oh so spot on! Thanks for a great list.
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these are so RIGHT ON! I am doing my best to do all of these. Getting back into shape is my current challenge, but one I am determined to enjoy. Great list!
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I think you hit the nail on the head. Thanks for the inspiration.
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Good stuff. You got me fired up
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Great tips!
I especially love the live below your means. In western culture it seems that people have gotten into the mindset that the only way to be happy is to attempt to live above your means, concretely cementing them into lives of abject misery.
Nise site!
List Extravaganza: 5000 tips on 100 lists…
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Logical common sense advice is usually the most real eh!.
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I’m so god damned tired of the “fall in love” or “develop lasting relationships” garbage. That’s a throwaway item. What is so particularly valuable about either of those things? More importantly, what good do either of them do if you don’t have money and success to go along with them?
It’s always poor people and those without ambition who placate themselves by convincing each other that true contentment is all that they need and that you don’t need money, achievement or success for that. No, your life can be better than any billionaire’s life as long as you have someone who is stupid enough to share your bed with you in a long term situation.
Drink more kool-aid, fellows.
That is a great post - the first two principles are because of “compound interest” …the earliar u invest ..the better it is …but you also would want to enjoy a few things when you are young than you are old ..so its a tradeoff
the last three are
1)Exercise your brain
2)Exercise your heart
3)Exercise your body
very good list
Actually, I just realised that list is all about “you” …I think “giving” should also be one point on the list.
Giving in the form of helping someone, giving something for the benefit of others, give to social causes …etc etc
Ich bien - I serve !
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Great list. Good to survive struggling in the low-plane capitalism. I followed this in the last 20 years preparing and propelling my life transcendentally going uppper-plane capitalism.
There are T-sections in 2, 3, 4, 5 to make total differences paving the way out of low-plane suffering capitalism;-
– 2. Put Your Money to Work
I save 15-20 % of my earning monthly yearly earning in a co-innovative community’s mutual fund — to support inventors and new ventures. We start savings together with building a network of co-innovative inventors, partners, and successors.
Well, there are surely risks involved. But, bein able to put your monthly saving eggs in unlimited buskets and growing along on communal capitalism backup mentoring education, and associating closely among managements, partners, overall outcome is far-cry greater than inflation.
Now I live on passive income flows from 0ver 20 businesses co-innovated in the community — never invested in any public stock markets.
– 3. Educate Yourself
Self education needs to be mentored on communal co-innovative capitalism is total paradigm shift — to convert life from individual capitalist to communal capitalist — by practice living on the Spirt > Soul > Solar mind > Brain > Body > Communal hi-touch energy body’s pathway, flowing Trinity of Life (Life force, intuitive wisdom, Attractive hi-touch aura onto the surroundings in touch), in stead of acquring bits by bits new thoughts, ideas, concepts to blend them on our own old artifact thinking.
– 4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships
Lasting relation ship is somehow illusive. It’s meaningful to life only when it surrounded with lasting spontaneous, simultaneous leverage, altruistic, co-innovative mentorship, partnership, and successorship.
Man can reinvent his own world surrouded with lasting spontaneous, simultaneous leverage, altruistic, co-innovative mentorship, partnership, and successorship on a virtuos backup mentoring system.
– 5. Work Towards a Dream You’re Passionate About
Working towards a personal goal is strengthening egoism, individualism, and, eventually, separatism — opposite direction to “Developing Lasting Personal Relationships expectation”.
Life (on energy body’s path of Spirit > Soul > Mind > Body > Surrounding touch) is predestined down to earth on communal life-ward mission. Mobilizing life on passion mode and goodness mode, man can reach materially high, but eventually falls.
Because, he duplicates the walk way of taskmasters and Pharoahs — gradually developing narrow-mided and plutocratic thinking system, heading for personal economic growth ignoring ecological backup system’s wellness and happiness — pissing off 6-direction (upper, in front, left-right sides, in the back, and below) co-operations and supports.
The more you invest, the more your economic grows, the more life is surrounded by dependants, and the more you’re struggling on the expenses of the individual life, family life, and others surrounding lives.
——————————-
Most of studies and learnings these days are still focused on how to survive better as an economic slave, takmaster, or Pharaoh on low-plane suffering ways of old rut capitalism.
What I’m suggesting is we should concentrate on study what Buddha called “The Way Beyond Suffering Ways”. I’ve been through this way of excellent mode of life, which is ignored by the majority, from 40 to 60.
“Live Below Your Means” ~ One cannot move forward while cutting back. In my life, I’ve never been able to advance by living below my means. When I stretch, new resources become available and what seemed to be a stretch isn’t a stretch any longer. The comfort zone is too dangerous…
I’m not saying that people should be careless when it comes to spending money, but timidity doesn’t work in today’s economic world. Timidity doesn’t save money, it costs money! Don’t splurge, but don’t be shy either.
An excellent list of tips. The only thing I’d add is ‘Stay positive’, no matter how bad things seem to get, try to keep a positive attitude, it has been shown to lead to a longer life.
The only part I’d question is tip #5. Being Passionate is not always a good thing as passion can take over your life and lead you to do things that could be detrimental or harmful or keep you doing things when they no longer have a benefit. Passion may seem great but remember that passion is the opposite of action and don’t let the passion become an obsession!
Cheers for a greta list!
or even a great list (doh!)
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All excellent habits to establish in your youth and continue through all the phases of life.
Friends are as important at 60 as they are at 16. Education and fulfilling your dreams go hand in hand.
Money is a life-long requirement. Good health is a blessing that does not happen without paying the price of regular exercise and moderation of diet.
It is possible to build the life you want by making the right choices throughout the journey.
Being Passionate is not always a good thing as passion can take over your life and lead you to do things that could be detrimental or harmful or keep you doing things when they no longer have a benefit.
Thanks for the post.
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Well I now consider this the internet standard article for building a life I can enjoy! Each of these areas is so important, but one thing I would say is that you make sure they are all balanced; one without the others can cause chaos.
great tips, i want also to add a little comment on advice number four. intimacy helps people feel better even if they were facing problems, somehow sharing bad emotions makes them become less intense
thank you:)
Well, this very nice and wonderful.
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Great list.Thanks for the inspiration.