7 Keys for Joyful Living!

Here are some thoughts for finding and experiencing joy in your life. If there were one thing I could wish upon my family, friends and the readers of this Ezine, it would be joy in everything they do!

Know your purpose. Nothing will bring you joy more than knowing what it is that you are about on this earth. Not knowing brings sadness, wondering, fear and lack of fulfillment. Above all, find out what your unique purpose is here on this earth - then fulfill it! As you do, you will experience joy!

Live purposefully. This is a follow up to number one. It is one thing to know your purpose, but then you need to live according to that purpose. This is a matter of priorities. Let your actions and schedule reflect your purpose. Don't react to circumstances and let them cause you to live without your purpose fully in site. Living without your purpose will cause frustration. Living purposefully will bring you deep satisfaction and joy!

Stretch yourself. Don't settle into the status quo. That will leave you unfulfilled. Always look to stretch yourself. Whatever you are doing, stretch yourself to do more! Stretching yourself will break the limits you have set for yourself and will cause you to find joy in your expanded horizons!

Give more than you take. It brings happiness to accumulate. It brings joy to give away. Sure, getting the car you worked hard for will bring you a sense of satisfaction and even happiness. But it won't bring you joy. Giving something away to the less fortunate will bring you deep, abiding joy.

Surprise yourself, and others too. The words here are spontaneity and surprise! Every once in a while, do the unexpected. It will cause everybody to sit back and say, "Wow, where did that come from?" It will put a little joy in your life, and theirs.

Indulge yourself sometimes. To much indulgence and you are caught in the happiness trap. Looking for the next purchase, celebration etc to bring you a little "happiness high." But if you will allow yourself an infrequent indulgence as a reward for a job well done and a life well lived, you will appreciate the indulgence and experience the joy of it.

Laugh a little - no, a lot! Most people are just too serious. We need to laugh a little - no, a lot! Learn to laugh daily, even if you have to learn to laugh in bad situations. This life is to be enjoyed! The next time you go to the movie rental store, get a comedy and let loose! Let yourself laugh!

Joy can be yours! Look for it, pursue it and enjoy it!

About The Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams.

To see Chris "live" at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sovo.com/2008/11-21/arts/feature/9472.cfmcid=1272865551ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNFTFk1v1revkgOzjwEKd39rqzx7nAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=iwH-tZ4yQyUJimgurl=www.sovo.com/2008/11-21/arts/feature/harveymilk-header-11-20-08.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Sovo.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/89392/sean-penn-stars-in-inspirational-gay-rights-tale--milk-/Default.aspxcid=1272865551ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNFb0vrnYq9F-B4UMTCUhrULgFky9QSean Penn Stars In bInspirational/b Gay Rights Tale quot;Milkquot;/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNY1,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobrNov 21, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Sean Penn portrays the first openly gay elected official in America, San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk, in quot;Milk,quot; a new film sure to be in the Oscar b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_11044792cid=1272865551ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNFr0rVlTCFZXIFBlPxqK3Q0gcxlTwStory of SF gay rights hero Harvey Milk finally makes it to the b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSan Jose Mercury News/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272865551hl=ennobrall 58 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/388695_fuel21q.htmlcid=1272678800ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNE6-6Ps4yQADoiEXDtQTTbAvUTjowimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=GBkXt4icemIJimgurl=seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20081121/450wh_fueldirector21.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Seattle Post Intelligencer/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/388695_fuel21q.htmlcid=1272678800ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNE6-6Ps4yQADoiEXDtQTTbAvUTjowPractical and binspirational/b, #39;Fuel#39; faces the facts of the energy b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSeattle Post Intelligencernbsp;-/font nobrNov 20, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By SEAN AXMAKER The rallying cry of director/activist Joshua Tickell#39;s quot;Fuelquot; is not as catchy as quot;Save the cheerleader, save the world,quot; but it is b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i1ohFbSlRrJcUlcTDTW-hS6MU-9wcid=0ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGwptCIExyPJ_9eGiwnmDPnd-C9pQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=YtQkv_kpqmkJimgurl=www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5h2DDX6WM29acKMC5hD5rT-bDGMwg width=57 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2AFP/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i1ohFbSlRrJcUlcTDTW-hS6MU-9wcid=0ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGwptCIExyPJ_9eGiwnmDPnd-C9pQ45 years on, JFK killing haunts Secret Service protecting Obama/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fAFPnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;He is binspirational/b, he is an historic figure, he is the first African-American president; but there is also -- because of that potential for stirring up b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/11/a_look_at_the_top_10_inspirati.htmlcid=1272456151ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNF2CcOHdqbhdrJnL_LIa1fl2Hcy6wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=vu3u2hnmd9EJimgurl=blog.lehighvalleylive.com/movies_impact/2008/11/large_Titans.jpg width=80 height=52 alt= border=1brfont size=-2The Express Times - LehighValleyLive.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/11/a_look_at_the_top_10_inspirati.htmlcid=1272456151ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNF2CcOHdqbhdrJnL_LIa1fl2Hcy6wA look at the top 10 binspirational/b sports movies/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Express Times - LehighValleyLive.com,nbsp;PAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 19, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1It#39;s one of the top ten binspirational/b sports movies of all time. Not so long ago I came across something on the Beliefnet.com Web site about binspirational/b b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment/index.ssf%3F/base/living-0/1227157523319260.xml%26coll%3D3cid=1272456151ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNFQFxXF0eoXQQUi1SPynfptC7mX0ASingling out some binspirational/b sports movies, from #39;Titans#39; and b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Express Times - LehighValleyLive.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272456151hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20081121/LIFESTYLE/811210303cid=0ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNHZ5LuzfCqEfnE0SF9QgpY93LDJLQMinistry of bInspirational/b Therapy holds meeting/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMonroe News Star,nbsp;LAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 20, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The 18th annual membership meeting of the Ministry of bInspirational/b Therapy was held Nov. 13 at the NELBA building in West Monroe. Gloria Jones, president b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/nov/21/3-inspirational-books-in-time-for-holidays/cid=0ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNFpQx-59CE2olQzF6iQkLcVachk1w3 binspirational/b books in time for holidays/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSan Angelo Standard Times,nbsp;txnbsp;-/font nobrNov 20, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Both are billed as binspirational/b gift books for all ages, especially teens and young adults, and both are filled with upbeat quotations from a variety of b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2008/11/22/inspirational-school-sports-hall-gets-the-go-ahead-64375-22315166/cid=0ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNFAyfN8ygE2zQx8RaWU1uWwlOhWYA‘bInspirational/b’ school sports hall gets the go-ahead/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fLiverpool Daily Post,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobrNov 21, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1MERCHANT Taylors’ School in Crosby will soon boast an “binspirational/b, light, bright and welcoming” new sports hall, after Sefton Council granted planning b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1088576/Inspirational-cancer-sufferer-raised-1-75m-charity-left-just-19-000-will.htmlcid=1273444680ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEz85MK9V9Sc0qfkVQTjYTU4kO6VQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=v2DqpVn1wbkJimgurl=i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/22/article-1088576-0098B41D000004B0-369_468x286.jpg width=80 height=49 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Daily Mail/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1088576/Inspirational-cancer-sufferer-raised-1-75m-charity-left-just-19-000-will.htmlcid=1273444680ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEz85MK9V9Sc0qfkVQTjYTU4kO6VQbInspirational/b cancer sufferer who raised £1.75m for charity left b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDaily Mail,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Mail On Sunday Reporter Most of the money goes to her husband Mike, with future earnings from her two books going to her children Suzanne, 22, Rebecca, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-11232008-1626401.htmlcid=0ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGq60zWvDcIiapqbmZYCJOkRVV6rQGot a story to tell?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fphillyBurbs.com,nbsp;PAnbsp;-/font nobr21 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1But do you have a great story, an binspirational/b story, a hilarious, bizarre or unbelievable story? The kind of story that, when you tell your friends, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-11-05-voa68.cfmcid=1267202318ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNEJEJvhamOpBjytZtSenObtMlfqlgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=PLNdundxzegJimgurl=www.voanews.com/english/images/AP_Rice_on_Obama_05NOV08.jpg width=77 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Voice of America/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gEZDGk7Pl-oafbXDJAF1GY2yZU6gcid=1267202318ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNFDzCjyyhWF5SvCTJziWnyiJg3qdQAs proud African American, Rice calls Obama #39;binspirational/b#39;/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fAFPnbsp;-/font nobrNov 5, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday called President-elect Barack Obama quot;binspirational/b,quot; saying his election marked quot;an b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DbtFoHq6ttOAcid=1267202318ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNHW15Puh2aAsdi0OtvOPi0W-dqd1QVideo: Rice Congratulates Obama on Victory/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/btFoHq6ttOA/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/btFoHq6ttOAtype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Redir.aspx%3FID%3D90eba6fb-233b-4484-9009-bcf858354e7bcid=1267202318ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNG6i4BMhgyzKahYJdmaS8HX7G11YgRice calls Obama quot;binspirational/bquot;, promises smooth transition/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrHindustan Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24610104-12377,00.htmlcid=1267202318ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGhqGlpODFayPaVff9F0KPbc-REGwRice hails #39;binspirational/b#39; Obama/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Australian/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/05/america/NA-US-Elections-Rice.phpcid=1267202318ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNGEnUhW9dxyk9asSGc4lJUkoCk4ygnobrInternational Herald Tribune/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/6040429/Bush-praises-Obama-win-pledges-smooth-handovercid=1267202318ei=engpSaa6DKGO6AOHzsmIDwusg=AFQjCNERHfLIPZcKGp7tzeLf6zMj7PZveQnobrRadio Netherlands/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1267202318hl=ennobrall 321 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
inspirational - Google News

Wanna Trade Places?

Even immediately after my car accident, every single person who... Read More

The Best Policy

Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 28,... Read More

What is the Meaning of Life?

A young man in search of enlightenment had traveled to... Read More

Are You Taking Responsibility?

It is time to take responsibility for our actions and... Read More

Are YOU Ready for Bonza Bottler Day?

BONZA BOTTLER DAY is any day when the date and... Read More

Parental Consent

Direct Answers - Column for the week of August 11,... Read More

I Dare You To Be Successful

Just imagine how it would feel to be successful...., to... Read More

Overcoming Addiction

Dear Candace,I am having trouble letting go of an over... Read More

Change

Those of you, who can fathom yourselves welcoming and enjoying... Read More

Create Your Own Self Esteem - Part 2

The good part of this story is that there is... Read More

Here is The Inspirational Wisdom From The Masters

Have you always wanted to do invent something, create something,... Read More

Timepieces

Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 2,... Read More

Pride Goeth

Direct Answers - Column for the week of November 25,... Read More

Five Reasons To Journal

Keeping a journal during the coaching process is one of... Read More

You Are So Unreal

Mankind's ability to give life to lifeless objects, gives rise... Read More

Lessons about Life in an Unexpected Place

Did you ever receive a gift in an unexpected place?I... Read More

The Art of Selfishness

Mature selfishness is the cornerstone of effectively living with passion... Read More

The Thief of Fulfillment

Why does this happen?It's all to do with the way... Read More

How Healing The Past Empowers Your Future

Everyday I meet people who have a chronic upset that... Read More

Circles On The Water ? The Impact You Make On People?s Lives

When you were a child, or maybe even when you... Read More

Who is the Pilot?

It was a mild summer day in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina... Read More

Change is the Only Constant

The physics professor with the unruly shock of white hair... Read More

Believe In Yourself And Become a Winner: Lessons from Hollywood

Copyright 2004 Priya Shah A while ago I... Read More

Inspiration: Some Things Ive Noticed Along the Way So Far

Let's file this one under the heading of random musings... Read More

The Beauty of Life

"An unexamined life is not worth living."-- SocratesI have just... Read More