Is What I'm Doing Or About To Do Getting Me Closer To My Objectives
Kenny Felderstein

When I was a sales executive I created this saying and put it on all my sales people's phone. I wanted them to focus on their objectives before they either took a call from a customer or made a call to their customer/prospect. They had two simple objectives:

• SELL SOMETHING
• GIVE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Over time I realized that saying has a much broader benefit than just sales. It's a great way to live your life. Let's list some objectives (I'm sure you can come up with ones I never thought about). 

• HAPPINESS is my primary life objective. I hope it's your primary objective also. Every other objective should be a stepping stone toward your happiness.
• MONEY is not my primary objective. As a matter of fact it's not even in my top five objectives. However, I like having money because of the freedom of choice it gives me. More money more choices - less money less choices. More money does not mean more happiness (my primary objective) and I can be just as happy with less money. But, if I had a choice, I would choose more money. Only a hypocrite would disagree.
• SECURITY is in my top five objectives. Everyone on this planet wants to feel secure. Children who grow up in a secure environment usually have a happier life than children who grow up in an unsecure environment. I'm not talking about poverty. I grew up in a very poor (financially) neighborhood. In my first book, "Never Buy A Hat If Your Feet Are Cold" I stated: "at ten I was poor, but I was having fun."
  
  However, children who grow up in a neighborhood full of violence or with very unstable parents, usually have a hard time feeling safe and therefore seeing life as a positive. Growing up with negative energy caused by insecurity makes it difficult (but not impossible) to create a happy life.
  
  It's important for your happiness to make security an objective. Based on how you live, where you live, who your friends and family are and your economic situation, will determine what level of security you can achieve. However, security has to be balanced with your happiness.
  
  For example, you can decide that security is your number one objective and all other objectives don't matter. To meet that objective you could spend all you time locked up in your house protected by super high levels of security and spend most of your money on insurance and other resources to protect yourself. Doing these things might make you feel secure, but will create a life not much worth living.
• FRIENDSHIP is another objective in my top five. Seeking true friends should be a lifelong objective. Spending your life with a close group of friends is nice, but not a real happiness objective. Having friends from all over the world with different points of view about life is the best way to get all the happiness you deserve.
  
  I have a true friend that doesn't agree with 90% of my political views. Sometimes he wants to strangle me and I the same to him. But, I love the banter and I love getting another point of view. He is a good friend not because we agree about everything, but because he's bright, interesting and he likes me as much as I like him.
  
  If I only stayed with a small group of friends that always agree, I would never have let him into my life. By letting him into my life I've become a better and happier person. I also have friends who live in other states and other countries. They enhance my happiness because I get to learn about many different cultures.
  
  The only way to get all these friends is to seek them out. Get out of the house and go to places where potential friends exist. Meet the friends of your friends. Hell, if you like your friends it could be assumed that their friends are the kind of people you would like to meet.
• TRAVEL is not in my top five objectives, but is a way to enhance your happiness. Most think of traveling as going on vacation to a beautiful resort. I believe, if you want to get the most out of life, travel to places that will increase your knowledge, see things you never saw before and experience how other people live in other cities, states and/or countries.
  
  If you've never been to New York City - go immediately. The city, the people and the entertainment is an experience you will cherish. It may make you appreciate your home town more because the city is congested, noisy and the people can be rude, but if you go with a positive attitude to experience something different, you will love New York City.
  
  Portland, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Atlanta, Rome, Hong Kong, etc., etc., etc. are all different. They all have unique foods to eat. The people all have great stories to tell. They all have interesting things to see. Taking all that in with a positive attitude will add a whole lot to your happiness. Making TRAVEL as one of your objectives is a must if you want to get all the life you deserve.
• PRODUCTIVITY is an important objective and in my top five. You feel good about yourself when you feel productive. You may not like your job, but if you take the time to realize you're being productive (no matter how small it may be), you can leave after work with a smile on your face.
  
  If you try to play the guitar and suck at it (like me) you can feel productive with the little bit of music that comes out of the instrument. Reading is a productive action if you do so for your happiness. Learning from reading or watching is being productive especially if the subject interests you.
  
  What is critical to your happiness is to feel you are giving something back to the Universe. Giving your knowledge, love, building something, art, etc., etc., will make you happy if you take the effort to appreciate you are being productive in the giving. Thinking about at how you will be productive today is the best way to start your day. Patting yourself on the back when you accomplish something will make you feel great.
• LOVE is definitely in my top five objectives. I love to love and I love being loved. I love life. I love my wife. I love my friends. I love where I live. I love the places I go to eat and drink. I love my dog. I love my son, daughter-in-law and my grandkids. I love writing. I love mentoring. I love football. I love my walk-in shower. I love meeting new people. I love seeing others happy. I love seeing a Woody Alan movie. I love laughing. I love seeing beautiful sights, art, etc. I love rock and roll and country rock music. I love the smell of bacon. I love being able to use my mobile phone and my computer to talk and see people that don't live close to me. I love the internet. I love to touch my beautiful wife's face.
  
  If I spent days thinking about it I probably come up with many more things I love. Not included are the hundreds of things I like (not love). Loving is one of the most important things you can do for your happiness. I'm hoping you will take the time to write your list of the things you love. Happy people have a long list - unhappy people have a short list (or none at all).

Now is your time to write down your objectives in life. Now is you time to prioritize those objectives. Now is your time to step back and say to yourself:

Is What I'm Doing Or About To Do Getting Me Closer To My Objectives