I was recently sitting in the dentist’s chair thinking about my mouth. I don’t usually spend much time doing that, but that day, I was. And it dawned on me that personal development is really a lot like going to the dentist. Sounds strange, but not so much as you might think.

Stop living life in neutral and start living with your foot on the gas pedal. It doesn’t have to be pushed to the floor, just enough to move you forward and get the adrenaline of passion flowing a little bit. Light the flame of purposeful living. Don’t wait. Get to filling life with the meaning and passion it lacks. Every day you don’t, you delay doing what you were created to do.

Just as there are specific actions we can take and attitudes we can harbor to increase the likelihood of a successful life (in whatever aspect of life we’re seeking success), there are obviously specific actions and attitudes that can increase the likelihood of failure as well. Below are some of those steps that can lead to abject failure in life. The point is, of course, to know ahead of time exactly where the cow dung in the field is to avoid stepping in it.

So often, we look down the road of our lives through the prism of the past, projecting that past onto the unknown and unknowable future, somehow dirtying it. For some of us, all we need to empower the decision to take our foot off the brake of life is the inspiration of a powerful example, proof that it can be done, that someone as regular and normal as me with all my limitations, baggage, insecurities and emotional problems has done it before.

Not all Presidents of the United States are equally worthy of being quoted. Some have even been downright dreadful for the country. And yet we can confuse the issue with what historians call presentism, judging historical figures by contemporary standards. With this caution in mind, while our first three Presidents were certainly imperfect and products of their times, their words continue to inspire us today.

Are you an optimist? Do you see silver linings and half-full cups? Optimism is an essential quality for happiness at its potential. The pessimists refrain that “I don’t think things will work out for me” is hardly the recipe for happiness, after all. But what are the basic beliefs of the optimist? Click on in to read my take on the Optimist Creed!

The Olympic Games are thrilling and compelling because they embody human excellence. They remind us of tha value of determination, dedication, will and stamina, refusing to allow life to get in the way of living it at its highest, pushing for what seems impossible, reaching amazing levels of human capacity. The passion and drive, hard work, sacrifice and blood sweat and tears in every step, every jump and even in every stumble, inspires us.

The reasons for change are endless: A new career. An old habit. A new one. Acquiring a skill. Overcoming a fear. Ending procrastination. Becoming happier. But no matter the reason or the kind, all change has a starting point. This post is a tribute to the late Dr. Stephen R. Covey. Change is made possible by understanding the principles undergirding change. Covey taught those principles.

The inside of your life will always be more important than the outside in determining how happy your life will be. How you think and interpret life — how you view the world, seeing it as a cold and lonely place or one of adventure and opportunity — that will change how you feel about life. The secret to living a passionate life of happiness, then, is to start looking at life with new eyes.

Countries have constitutions. Companies have corporate mission statements. Clubs and other organizations have vision statements, taglines or mottos. So why not us? I recently asked some blogging friends to share their mottos here at M2bH. The result is 15 mottos that inspire and motivate.

Millions upon millions of corporations, nations, cities and states, government agencies, non-profit organizations, clubs and events have created and adopted mottos as expressions of what they want to be and how they want to be seen, what they strive for and as a reflection of their core beliefs and values and as a way to infuse into the organization those values they want absorbed into the organizational climate. Why not individual and family mottos as well?

Obsession is a lot like holding a flame in your hand. It is powerful and can produce the heat of passion and power and drive. But it can also consume and destroy. The trick is to keep the flame burning without succumbing to the temptation to aim the heat too exclusively at a single target. But to be obsessed with life is to be obsessed with making use of every moment, of appreciating the ebb and flow of living. I recommend 6 obsessions here that can improve your life and make 2012 an amazing year.