Have you ever felt sucker-punched by life? Have you felt like you were at your rope’s end? When we find ourselves buried under the weight of trial and despair, we are confronted with two mutually exclusive choices: 1) Lie down, and accept your fate, or 2) Scramble to your feet the best you can, stand as tall as you’re able, look your trial in the eyes and persevere. Come discover 5 ways you too can persevere in the face of your challenges and even become better for having endured.

When nothing stands between you and the mirror of life, you will recognize the importance of four basic components of life: 1) Your thoughts, 2) Your beliefs, 3) Your relationships and experiences, and 4) Your character. Each is crucial to your happiness. Corrupt any one of the four components and your happiness will be compromised. Period. End of story. This post explores the importance of character to a happy life.

Are you fully living life? Are you truly alive? If you’re not, you know what I’m talking about. There is a part of you that does not feel fully awake, that is shrinking little by little or is hiding or perhaps dying inside you. But be assured, there is more happiness, greater joy, the possibility of deep and rewarding growth and a more abundant life waiting for you. Come see how to climb instead of sit, laugh instead of cry, rise instead of shrink and live instead of die.

Thanks all for the emails alerting me of the problem with the comments. Problem fixed! This is the 2nd Edition of Quotable Notables on Happiness. I invite you to read, ponder and apply what you find here. It will make a difference to your happiness. And follow the links to some amazing sites whose authors and creators are engaged in producing some amazing work!

Stuart Mills of Unlock The Door: “providing the keys to unlocking your life,” has posted an article I wrote as a guest post at his amazing site. Come check it out!

Welcome to my first post in a 3-post series that will now be a regular feature here at M2bH. We bloggers like to quote people like Abraham Lincoln and Gandhi for their wisdom and eloquence. But I’ve found many “ordinary” bloggers to be incredibly wise and eloquent too. I use their quotes as springboards into the topic, in this series, on happiness.

Inaction is one of the universal anti-principles to living – it produces apathy and boredom, laziness, anxiety, ill health and depression. Happiness, on the other hand, requires action. We must do certain things. And as we do them consistently, over time, we reap the benefits of a happier life. Action takes effort. Doing requires determination and desire. But doing can also lead to being.