We all have trash in our lives. We can let it pile up, rot and decay. Or we can turn it into something beautiful. There are parts of us that are not so pretty. Perhaps it’s a temper or an attitude. But we can change them. We can adapt them. They can become stepping stones by which we climb higher than ever before. They can inspire us to make something beautiful of them. They can inspire us to turn them into the music of our lives.

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.

What is love and how can we grow our own little pot of it? Love is more than some might think. I contacted some of personal development’s blogging superstars to ask them to contribute their two cents on the topic for this Valentine’s Day post. Click on in to read their responses (and a few of my own thoughts).

Bold living is living a life of meaning and purpose. It is doing what you love even if you don’t necessarily get paid to do it. It is stepping up and jumping head first into life by living fully in harmony with your core values and fundamental principles of decency, excellence and happiness. It is overcoming obstacles and learning to accept those that can’t be overcome, refusing to allow them to push you into the corner of your own life. This interview with Tess Marshall introduces us to bold living.

This is a guest post from Paige Burkes: We subconsciously think that, if we simply do all the right things in the right ways (whatever “right” is), the happiness fairy will magically appear to us, touch us on the nose with her sparkly wand and we’ll suddenly be happy forever.

In celebration of the life of the man who most personified the 1960s US Civil Rights movement, whose name is almost synonymous with that era, who risked everything and consecrated the movement he helped start with his blood, I give you 5 life-changing quotes by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In the spirit of full disclosure and as a peek into the guy behind the words, I give you a bunch of stuff no one in their right mind would care to know about me. So to all you who are not in your right mind, here’s an unfamiliar part of the man called Ken …

As a year is laid to rest and the fanny of a brand new one is spanked into existence, it’s time to look back at the road I’ve traveled thus far as a blogger at Meant to be Happy … and to look down the road a bit to see what’s in store for 2013.

It’s perfectly fine to want more income or less weight, a higher degree or lower blood pressure, to overcome a habit or start a new one. But when we start stacking one accomplishment on top another on a foundation of sand, life becomes off-centered, unstable, and eventually comes tumbling down. All it takes is one good storm and we’re belly-up on the beach. This is when a firmer foundation is important.

Happiness is the byproduct of other things. It is the natural effect of the way we live, the way we think, the way we act and believe. Come take the Happiness Pledge as a commitment to those characteristics that add to happiness and start the process of living with more joy than ever before.

For many, the Holidays are not happy times. They are filled with stress, anxiety, loneliness, despair, discouragement or a sharp case of the holiday blues. But they don’t have to be. There can be so much more joy in the Christmas season than you think. There are, in fact, specific steps you can take to have a happier, more meaningful Christmas this year, even if circumstances are not ideal.

Why do we expect life to be obstacle free? In our imagined ideal world we don’t expect difficult situations to get in our way. We should be able to sail through life ‘s seas without any storms. Problems and obstacles only taunt other people. Who are we kidding? I’m here to reassure you that whatever obstacles life dares to dump in your way, you can deal with them.