[Buzz]

Nice thread. I consider myself very fortunate to have realised relatively early in life that the pursuit of happiness itself is the most rewarding and fulfilling path that I could take.

Focusing narrowly on specific or material goals and mistaking things like wealth, power and influence over others for true happiness handicaps one with a set of blinders, and the imagined idyllic end becomes corrupted and sullied and pushed further out of reach by the toxic fallout from the path you think you have to follow.

If you are a man of normal morals and ethics, the things that truly make you happy are reflected in your relationships with family, friends, lovers and even the strangers that inevitably cross your path.

I fully believe that if one truly understands and builds a life around what really makes him happy, the other peripherals like hard work, career and education become routine exercises that he enjoys and accepts as necessary efforts towards the realization of his goal.

The actions of others, and circumstances outside of your control will inevitably pose challenges, but that's just life and when you're fundamentally happy, you have enough in reserve to see you through these battles with no permanent or lasting damage to your balance and sense of equilibrium.

Shed the shackles of conformity, love yourself along with the people you love, let the Joneses do their own thing without hustling to keep up, just say no to unecessary stress, and life - for the most part - will be good to you and unfold as it should.