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.

Bonus: 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.理智消費

人們總是為了滿足眼前利益而不顧后顧之憂。每個人都想擁有最新的電子產品，享受一次奢侈的夜晚，或者貸款購買一輛根本無法負擔的炫車。盡管可以滿足一時的快感，但盲目消費會對以后的生活造成不良的影響。

應當享受簡單的生活并盡全力的儲蓄。奢侈品并不能令人產生持久的幸福感和安全感。理智消費才能帶來更大的樂趣和長遠的享受。

2. 讓你的錢為你工作

儲蓄很重要，但是為了賺得更多的錢你需要理財。正確的投資會極大的影響你的生活。例如，你的退休年齡將會是40歲還是60歲。

今天《The Simple Dollar》中的一則快訊引起了我的思考。根據Trent的統計，如果一個人在２０歲時將收入的20%投入到S&P基金中；當他４０歲時，賺的利息等同于他當時的薪水。這意味著，他可以提前退休并不會損失一分錢。

合理投資是通向經濟獨立的最可靠途徑。這也是每個人都可以掌握的技能。就我個人而言，這也是我的博客，甚至我的生活中很重要的一部分。

3. 學習，學習，再學習！

為了獲得幸福，我們需要不斷的成長，而其中最好的方式就是終生學習。然而這并不意味著你需要獲得博士學位或者每天閱讀2小時。教育的真正目的在于永不滿足，重要的是保持開放性的思維方式，追求新鮮的理念，開拓更廣闊的視角。

學習需要積累。每一個知識點似乎不足掛齒，但日積月累，你就會成為一個更加智慧，善良，閱歷更加豐富的人。

4.建立長久的人際關系

假如你擁有了夢想的一切，但沒有人與你分享，你還會快樂嗎？我們與朋友和家人的關系是生活中最大的幸福來源。別忽視他們。花時間建立并享受這種人際關系是延續幸福的必要手段。如果一個人周圍沒有值得去關心的人，無論多成功，都是可悲的。

5.努力工作，向夢想挺進！

即使生活不完美，你也可以充滿激情的去創造。生活如逆水行舟，不進則退。當我處于這種境況時，我會覺得像一名被自我束縛的受害者。最好的解決辦法是設立目標，并努力工作。

我們不能控制生活中的一切，但有目的的打拼讓我們集中精力于某一積極性的目標，并為未來的成功奠定基礎。無論你的目標是什么，開始吧！正如老子說的，千里之行，始于足下。

6.保持身體健康

每個人都只擁有一個身體，失而不能復得。應當堅持鍛煉，讓身體充滿活力；避免過多消耗對身體有害的物質；遠離不健康食品。起初你會覺得難以堅持，但比起晚年所能得到的健康，這些代價是值得付出的。