I believe that everyone should have a philosophy of life, a motto or standard that provides direction, motivation and tranquility to one trying to make sense of an often chaotic and challenging life.  My personal philosophy of life is to “always look for the good along the road of life.” No matter your situation in life, the challenges that you face, or the advertisty or criticism that you encounter, there is goodness in life if you so choose to see it.  This philosophy encourages me to seek what is good, to be good, and to never allow what is bad (such as greed, envy, and jealously) to pervade my life. 

There are other philosophies that provide direction and guide my life, and several have been included below. I encourage everyone to determine their own philosophy of life, one that constantly reminds them of their path in life along with the type of person that they are trying to become. Hopefully, the philosophies included below help you create your own philosophy of life, and that it affords you peace and happiness as you pursue your life’s ambitions.

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Always look for the good along the road of life

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Work hard, be kind, and never give up

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You can control the way you live your life,

not the way others judge your life
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be someone good,

do something good

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the mark of a man is not what brought them down,

but what has brought them back up

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There are two types of people: those who applaud efforts and those that applaud failures –

look for those who applaud your efforts

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Everyone has something, and what you do with that something can make you a somebody

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Do something good – if you spend your time doing good,

maybe the Good Lord will let you stick around a bit longer

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Go down swinging - the fear of failure, and the fear of what others think,

has destroyed the ambitions of most men    

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Dreams may be worthwhile, but are worthless unless you achieve them

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Failure is often the consequence of daring to touch the stars,

but on those few occasions where the stars are touched

the world brightens from their luster

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Talent will get you in the top 100;

hard work will get you in the top 10;

Guts will get you to the top.

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  In the dawn of life we strive to make a living;

     in the twilight of life we strive to make a difference.

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          To make a difference, you must change the world;

to change the world, you must change yourself

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We are only limited by our dreams of a better world

and our determination to make a difference

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Great accomplishments, and great rewards, often come from great sacrifice

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Never waiver, never falter;

never give in, never give up

on that which is your destiny

The Story of the Backpack

I believe when we are born, we are given a backpack with certain traits, characteristics, talents, and advantages. We then spend the remaining moments of our life perfecting those traits, characteristics, talents and advantages.

We should live every day using those blessings to do something great with our time so that, upon its end, we can return the backpack and say:

that you fought the good fight,

that you did the best you could with what you had,

that you did the right thing for the right reason,

and that, in some small way,

you made the world a better place.

It is the reason I carry a backpack every day of my life.

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