Viktor Frankl’s account of his time in a World War II concentration camp (Man’s Search for Meaning) is chilling.

Happiness in itself does not qualify as such a purpose; pleasures do not give our life meaning.

In contrast, he points out that even the dark and joyless episodes of our lives can be times when we mature and find meaning.

Creating work, appreciating nature, works of art or simply loving people and facing the ups and downs of life.

These times may be difficult to endure but according to Frankl, our lives take on meaning through our actions, through loving, and even through suffering.

How many times have you heard someone apologize by saying “if I offended you, then…”

The quid pro quo of apologizing.

Sorry should be the easiest word we could say – actually, we should say it many times a day because …

• What we type into chat, social media and emails is bound to offend someone.
• Without seeing or hearing another person, we miss out on their reaction to us.
• Some people are more sensitive to things than others.
• And words have consequences – they matter.

Sorry isn’t bad, it means you’re good.

But the best apology is the one that includes what you’re sorry for – it’s a way we humans have of not having to be perfect.

1.  You are always in charge, always make the final decision and choose what is right for you.
2. You accept no criticism because criticism never makes you better without first hurting you.
3. You are responsible for believing in yourself not outsourcing it to others who could on a whim take it away some day.
4. You don’t ask for help without offering it in return.
5. You get endless re-dos as long as your heart is in the right place.

No matter how bad things are today, tomorrow they will get better.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Go back through your life and discover that hope is what sustains us until relief arrives.

The Beatles producer George Martin was a big part of their success.

He did what many in power would not do – he let them be.

Strange, talented, creative.

Managing people can be the fine art of letting them manage themselves because The Beatles were in the capable hands of George Martin who kept his capable hands off their talent.

This is the essence of good management – both being there and staying out of the way.

Warren Buffett says successful people have one two-letter word in common.

No.

No is like yes for people who take on too much, have weak boundaries and who get lost in other people’s work.

Buffett goes further.

He says no to almost everything.

A clear way to look at this advice is to think of getting in your car and taking off on a trip.

Even if you know where you want to go, you can’t turn at every intersection or you will never get to your destination.

The struggle is to understand why you have too little confidence.

And so the search becomes all-encompassing and self-directed.

Finding more confidence by obsessing about not having enough rarely works.

Empowering others is palpable, an instant confirmation that your actions can make a difference.

The next time you need a jolt of confidence, ask this:

What can I do to make someone else’s day better?

Get back in touch with the power to do good.

Kobe Bryant spoke publicly and lovingly about his Lower Merion, PA high school teacher who taught him a key driver of motivation:

“Rest at the end not in the middle”.

Bryant joked that sometimes he actually listened in school – judging from his basketball career, he really listened.

Making ourselves miserable because of something that happened in the past is useless.

What happened then has already occurred, we cannot change, edit or alter it.

If you want to put regrets, insights, awakenings and everything that seems to occur as a result to good use, look forward.

The past is a guidebook.

What to do.

What to do differently.

What to let go of.

What to embrace.

Regretting the past just feeds more regrets.

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it – why not put life’s lessons to work in the future?

Embrace fear.

Turn it into something powerful.

Let it inspire bravery.

Make every fear thought transformational.

“It’s okay to be sacred.  Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.”