1. Live Below Your Means 

    There will always be temptation to forsake the future for immediate gratification. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can’t afford. It might feel great at the time but rash spending hurts a lot later on.

    Enjoy life’s simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.

    2. Put Your Money to Work 

    Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40’s or in your 60’s.

    A post today at The Simple Dollar really got me thinking. According to Trent’s projections, if a person in their early 20’s invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40’s. They could retire without a drop in income!

    Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on. It’s definitely an area I’ll be devoting more attention to in my personal life and on this blog.

    3. Educate Yourself

    To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life long education. This doesn’t mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives.

    Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.

    4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships

    Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don’t forget about them.

    Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to longterm happiness. Without the people you care about you’ll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.

    5. Work Towards a Dream You’re Passionate About

    Even if your life isn’t perfect, you can always build towards a goal you’re passionate about. If you aren’t building towards something, you’re probably stagnating. When this happens to me I start to feel like a victim trapped by my own life. The best way to reverse this is working towards a goal.

    We can’t control everything about our lives, but working towards a goal gives us something positive to focus on and lays the foundation for future success. No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something. As Lao Tzu said, even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

    6. Stay in Shape

    You only get one body. Once it’s been ruined there isn’t much you can do about it. Exercise to keep the rust off. Avoid excessive consumption of damaging substances and unhealthy foods. It may feel like terrible self denial at the time but enjoying good health in your later years is worth the sacrifice.

    1.低調生活

    生活中到處充滿誘惑，一不小心就可能為了

    一時的滿足而自毀前程。我們都有購買各種新奇的高科技玩意兒，花上一大筆錢到城里過一次真正的奢華生活，或為了我們負擔不起的豪華汽車而向銀行貸款的沖動。欲望得到滿足時的感覺確實很好，但是過后你將為自己的大手大腳而付出慘痛的代價。

    2.讓自己的錢“動”起來

    儲蓄是個不錯的主意，但是要更好地利用手頭的錢，你就必須讓它“動”起來。是40歲退休還是整天忙碌到60歲，就看你能否很好地進行投資。

    今天在“簡單美元”網站上看到的一個帖子令我陷入沉思。按照帖子作者特倫特的觀點，如果一個人在20歲左右把工資收入的20%投資在S&P指數基金上，到他40歲左右的時候，他投資的利息收入就相當于目前的工資水平，這樣的話，他就可以既不減少收入又可提前退休了。

    英明的投資決定是通向經濟獨立的最佳途徑，而且是每個人都有能力一試的。毫無疑問，這一點是我自己在今后的生活中將重點關注，同時也是我這篇文章所要重點闡述的問題。

    3.活到老，學到老

    人要快樂，就必須不斷充實自己。而讓自己充實的最好辦法則莫過于活到老學到老。我不是說你要努力考取一個博士學位，或者每天花兩個小時勤奮讀書。走出自己生活的“小圈圈”所學到的任何東西，都可以稱之為自我充電。其中最重要的一點就是要虛心，要學會用新觀點新角度看待事物。

    知識是一點一滴慢慢積累起來的。也許一開始你覺得學到的都是微不足道的東西，但是隨著時間的推移，常年積累起來的知識將把你變成一個更睿智、更寬厚、更有趣的人。

    4.發展恒久的人際關系

    假設你已經擁有一切你想要的東西，但是卻沒有人能夠和你分享的話，你會感到開心嗎？發展同親人朋友之間的感情和友誼是我們生活中最大的快樂來源。千萬別忘了他們哦！

    花點時間培養和享受和親朋好友間的美好感情，是能否長期感到幸福快樂的必要保證。一個人如果沒有誰讓他覺得在乎的話，那么不管他有多么成功，他的生活也必然是一團糟。

    5.為自己的理想而努力奮斗

    就算你的生活有多么完美，你也應該經常為自己設定一個努力想要達到的目標。生活若是失去目標的話，你也就失去進取的動力而停滯不前。我自己碰到這種情況的時候，我會覺得自己好像成為生活的奴隸。而解決這個問題的最佳辦法，就是為自己設定一個目標，并為之不斷努力。

    生活中有很多事情不在我們掌握之中，但是為既定的目標而努力，令我們集中精力為生活中積極的一面而努力，也為我們將來的成功奠定基礎。不管你的興趣在哪里，從現在開始盡管放手去做。正如老子所言：“千里之行，始于足下。”

    6.保持健康

    每個人都只有一個身體，一旦壞掉，再怎么神通廣大也無用武之地。多做運動，別讓自己的身體生銹。不要去碰那些對身體有害的東西和不健康的食品。雖然抵抗誘惑時那種自我否定的心情確實是挺難受的，但是想到以后能夠有一個健康的身體，這么點犧牲又算得了什么呢？