The Answer--Serve Others
It is one of the most difficult questions that a young person has to answer: What should I do to have as successful life? I have been very fortunate to have interviewed thousands of people and have read hundreds of books. The common factor of the persons who have achieved happiness and success was service that improved the life of others. To achieve their goals, these happy people discovered principles during their youth that they followed for their entire lives. The simple principles: pursuit of excellence, observance of the Sabbath, care of mind and body, and harness the power of compound interest.
The pursuit of excellence: The lifelong empowerment of an excellent education aids one in the ability to adapt to changing times and circumstances. The building blocks of the skills needed for lifetime learning are study skills techniques. The successful college students have read books or have taken a class on effective study skills. Likewise, they learn from the experiences of mentors or individuals who have mastered the skills of their chosen life calling. This wisdom gained during youth helped to ensure early success and confidence in their careers. This pursuit of excellence is also applied to family life. The ability to balance work and family is a critical aspect of happiness. For what is the good of success if you have no one with whom to share it.
The observance of the Sabbath: It is true that the unexamined life is a life not worth living. Time and health are the most valuable treasure. Neither can be returned once wasted. Rest, relaxation, and time spent with family and friends help to enrich the journey of life experiences and create happy memories. A theology or philosophy that causes one to pause and think about personal goals and how those goals help to achieve career and family success is the cornerstone of their success.
The care of the mind and body: Lifelong learning to enjoy the beauty of the human experience makes a person appreciate the diversity of cultures and talents of others. The simple and inexpensive activity of reading a book each month helps one to broaden knowledge and experiences beyond the local surroundings. The avid reader also is a great conversationalist and attractive person who can interact easily with others. And longevity is enhanced with daily exercise, diet, and rest habits. They treat their body as if it were a treasured temple.
The compound interest secret: The successful person pursues experiences and not consumption or possession of material objects. During their youth, they made time to learn how to make money work for them and as they became older the compound interest on savings provided the money to attain more free time to pursue further education and travel experiences.
The key to obtaining the good life is service to others. Their is no wealth or happiness without sharing with others and caring for others.