Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

If you want to bring meaning and passion to your work and relationships, you need strong values - but are your values healthy or harmful? Are they rooted in a desire to improve the world, or are they based on ignorance, fear, and greed?

The Odd Couple

A few weeks ago U.S. President George W. Bush invited the Dalai Lama to the White House.

President Bush speaks of peace and goes to war; the Dalai Lama speaks of peace and lives in peace. What do you think each man’s lasting legacy will be? Who’s words carry more power to capture your imagination?

Armed with a strong set of beliefs, we all have the power to manifest peace and happiness or to create immense human suffering. Here are a few photos of famous people you may know. Each of these people were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were doing the right thing.

In your own life, in your own way, are you creating happiness or are you creating suffering?

Choose your values carefully.

Links to learn more about the people shown in this article:

The 14th Dalai Lama - Tenzin Gyatso

U.S. President George W. Bush

Mother Theresa

Adolf Hitler

Martin Luther King Jr.

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln

Joseph Stalin

Mahatma Gandhi

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When I was 9 years old I read the book “My Side of the Mountain.” It was the story of a young boy named Sam, who ran away from home and learned to live in the wilderness of the Catskill mountains. The book captivated me - it became a long-time dream of mine to do just what Sam had done in the book. I didn’t run away for two reasons; I worried about devastating my mother, and I realized that the batteries for my Sony Walkman would eventually run out.

I still think about what would have happened if I’d followed though with my plan for adventure and solitude, but the real value of that dream for me, was to open my mind to the world of possibilities.

How the Hell Did I End Up Here?

I’ve met many people with a promising professional career and buckets of money who wish they’d become an actor, painter, or musician.

Ask a ten year-old kid, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” They’ll never say, “I want to be a regional manager for a large insurance firm. If I can’t do that, I want to sell carpet.”

When we’re kids, we want to change the world and explore our curiosity but we get lost in a sea of other voices telling what is possible and what is not. Don’t ever lose your curiosity - it is the one quality that will always bring true meaning to your work and to your relationships with others. Be a kid again. Allow yourself to dream and plan. It takes guts to admit you’re not happy and then do something about it.

Show Me What I’m Made Of

You will bring meaning and fulfillment into your live when you align yourself with what you value most. Unfortunately, most of us don’t really know what our values are. We say we do, but too often they are the values and expectations of the people around us. We make poor life choices when we listen to the voices of others and mistake them for our own.

The Search For Meaning

Look within yourself and question what really makes you tick. What makes the hair stand up on your neck? What are your real ideals? What motivations you? Are your daily actions in accord with your dreams and ideals?
Are your actions bringing value to others as well, or are your motivations selfish and hurtful? Goals that bring no value to the people around you will prevent you from having lasting success. Life is meaningless without love.

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