Rule #1 – Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself! It’s not going to help the situation. It’ll only help you to wallow in a state of apathy, playing the victim. The kind of person that things happen to, but that can’t do anything about it. By stopping feeling sorry for yourself, you can actually get on and DO something about it. If you want to be happy – stop feeling sorry for yourself. “Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.” – Helen Keller

Rule #2 – Be Grateful. Think of all the wonderful things you have to be grateful for right now. It could be your family. Or your health. Maybe your home. Your friends. Your brain. Your heart. Your spirit. We’ve all got amazing things in our own lives that make us smile with joy. And if we can count these blessings every day, we’ll discover a greater appreciation of the beautiful world we surround ourselves with. “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhardt

Rule #3 – Say Yes More. We fight against what happens to us in life, rather than allowing it to be as it is. We resist it, rather than accepting it. We say “No!” rather than saying “Yes” – or even just “Okay.” By saying “Yes!” more to life, we go with the flow. Things become more enjoyable and positive, less stressful and anxious, and often the situation turns out for the better regardless. “I will say yes to every favor, request, suggestion and invitation. I will swear to say yes where once I would say no.” – Danny Wallace

Rule #4 – Follow Your Bliss. Bliss is what you’re doing when you’re wrapped up in the moment. When you’re so thrilled just to be doing it, it ceases even to be work anymore. Your bliss occurs when you’re living in the moment, and time doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s not for the money, it’s for the pleasure. “When you follow your bliss, doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn’t be a door for anyone else.” – Joseph Campbell

Rule #5 – Learn to Let Go. Remember, letting go doesn’t mean you “forgive” the person at the grocery store, or you “allow” that kind of behavior. It just means that you release the negative emotion inside of you. By releasing negative emotions, you’ll not only enjoy much more freedom in your life – you’ll also become more emotionally stable and less stressed too. “By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning.” –Lao Tzu

Rule #6 – Do Random Acts of Kindness. The more we give, the more we receive. A Random Acts of Kindness or RAK is a small act of kindness that you grant to someone else in the world – for absolutely no reason whatsoever, without expecting anything in return. Just throw a little extra kindness out to the world – and watch how you find greater happiness starting to flood back into your own life. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama

Rule #7 – Happiness Is Only Ever Now. We spend so much time waiting to be happy in the future, or worrying about the past, that we forget to live in the moment. But here’s the thing: Life is transient. The past has gone. The future is just a dream. The only time that truly exists ever is RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW is the ONLY time you can do or change ANYTHING in your life. And NOW is the only time you have. “Few of us ever live in the present, we are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.” – Louis LArmor

Rule #8 – Experience, Don’t Hoard! Investing in experiences rather than material goods created greater lasting happiness. It doesn’thave to be big and it doesn’t have to be expensive. And you can always do it on your own, too. By living, and truly experiencing life, we feel more whole, fulfilled and authentic. So, experience – don’t hoard – and you will be happy. “When youre curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.” – Walt Disney

Rule #9 – Appreciate Both Sides of the Coin. The truth is that in order for you to experience true happiness in your life, you must experience sadness. Without sadness, we really can’t even understand what happiness is. Just enjoy and embrace all your life adventures. And when seemingly negative things happen, remember that it’s just the duality of life. It’s just the other side of the coin. It’s required. It’s part of the equation. “You don’t know when you’ve hit a peak until you’re coming down. And you don’t know when you’ve hit a trough until you’re climbing out. It’s all good.” – David Brent

Rule #10 – Be More Social. Countless studies on the science of happiness have turned up one single characteristic of the happiest and most successful people in society. They have a large social network! Don’t just wait for interesting people to stumble into your life. Keep going and going. Expand your social circle as far as you can. Be the person that walks through town and bumps into a dozen friends. “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust

Rule #11 – Love More! We must realize that we feel the most happy in life – when we are the one giving the love! The more we love others, the happier he became. The more we love the world around us, the happier we become. The more we love even our enemies, the happier we become. And best of all, WE can control the amount of love we give – and thereby control the amount of happiness we experience. “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” – Barbara De Angelis

Rule #12 – Have a Dream. Dream are critical. They light up life. Without them, we become bored, and tired, and apathetic. So, take this opportunity to really clarify your dreams. Take a pen and paper and spend an hour figuring out what you really dream about. But whatever you do, make sure you have a dream. They’re incredibly important. Dreams are the spark plugs of the spirit. Make sure yours are ready for action. “A person starts dying when they stop dreaming.” – Brian Williams

Rule #13 – Intention Sets Direction. Decide on where you’re going and how it’ll be for you – and it’ll happen. set your intention first. Make it clear that you’re going to have a great time, you’ll meet some fantastic people, and that it’s going to be wonderful. Set your general intention every morning and every night, too. The brighter and more positive, the better. Set your sunny intention – and you will be happy. “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

Rule #14 – Enjoy Simple Pleasures. It’s an attitude. The ability to appreciate the happiness, the beauty, the pleasure in the simple things around us. Remember the simple things that you truly enjoy. Then take time out to experience them again. Or even better, turn them into little daily or weekly rituals, filling your life with sunshine. Quite simply, enjoy simple pleasures and rituals – and you will be happy. “Simplicity is the essence of happiness.” – Cedric Bledsoe

Rule #15 – Accept What Is. By accepting, welcoming, embracing what is, you clear all of your emotions. Your thoughts gain more clarity. You become happier. You experience more freedom. If you can change things, after accepting them, you’ll have a sharper mind and more energy to do so. Pointless worrying – there’s nothing you can do about it. Shrug and smile about it, that’s life. “Happiness is a function of accepting what is.” – Werner Erhard

Rule #16 – Zoom Out and Don’t Sweat. You never, ever know what is around the corner. So, try regularly “zooming out” of your current picture, and realizing the true priorities in your life. If you can, do it every day – particularly when you return home from work. Then kick back your shoes, and enjoy some quality time with family and friends. Life is short. “If you do not raise your eyes you will think that you are the highest point.” – Antonio Porchia

Rule #17 – Laugh, Dance, Smile! Surround yourself with happiness – wonderful music, dance classes, evenings with friends. Take time to laugh at the craziness of life! Splash out and enjoy to the max. True happiness, self-development, freedom, comes from inside – and is expressed externally in bright faces, a big smile, and plenty of laughing. Laugh at all of the silly problems you’ve been holding on to, so very well, for so long. “A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act, and life’s worthwhile.” – Unknown

In his mind, however, Jobs remains “the greatest CEO ever”. “Steve Jobs taught us many, many lessons, and he was brilliant, but the reality is most of us aren’t Steve Jobs,” he says. “You’ve got to assemble an incredibly great team, and what most people overlook with him and I know, because I was with him, is that he was brilliant at being able to recruit talent. And he did it by his charismatic ability to tell a compelling story with metaphors and poetry in ways that got people to do things they never thought they were capable of.”

Today, consumers expect their preferred brands to be readily available and accessible across multiple touchpoints. And whether they want to connect by email, social or another channel, they demand a consistent, high-quality experience.

A quick example:

You book a flight on your laptop.
The night before your flight, you check in using your tablet.
On the shuttle to the terminal, you use your phone to check the status of your flight.
That’s three interactions over three different touchpoints—and each one needs to work flawlessly.

Are you providing your prospects and customers a choice in the way that they connect with you?

More importantly, does each touchpoint deliver an amazing experience?

If not, you need to accelerate your digital transformation by taking these four critical actions:

1. Securely unlock data silos for improved analytics and better integration with third-party systems.

2. Test applications faster and more effectively during the development process.

3. Ensure a great application experience and performance.

4. Manage programs, projects and resources more effectively.

“Apple Senior Vice President Tony Fadell, the [so-called] father of the iPod and one of the driving forces behind the iPhone, could receive a payout valued at nearly $9 million (a $300,000 salary and 77,500 shares valued at $8.4 million) for acting as a senior advisor to Apple CEO Steve Jobs,” Steven Burke writes for CRN.

“The payout is part of a complicated settlement agreement that prevents Fadell from suing Apple or soliciting Apple employees for one year after he leaves the company,” Burke writes. “The agreement, which was disclosed in an Apple Securities and Exchange Commission filing, ties Fadell to Apple until March 24, 2010.”

Burke gives five reasons Apple agreed to the big payout to Fadell:

1. It Prevents Fadell From Bringing An iPod Killer To Market In Near Term
2. It Prevents A Messy, Drawn Out, Bitter Legal Battle
3. The Payout Keeps Fadell From Poaching Apple Developers
4. It Keeps Fadell Pushing Big Product Development Advances At Apple
5. It Keeps Steve Jobs At The Center Of The Apple Universe

When you start a new business, you obviously start with an idea. But a critical ingredient for success is understanding your “why”. Why do you do what you do? It’s amazing how many business owners and their teams go through the motions of running their businesses on a day-to-day basis without ever understanding the purpose behind what they are doing. You might as well be a zombie. Businesses without a purpose don’t have heart. They don’t stand for anything, and as a result, they don’t stand out from other, similar businesses, either. Successful business owners both understand their purpose and can articulate it to their team, their customers, their investors—in fact, to the world.

Think about the business brands you love. Don’t you have a visceral understanding of their purpose? Consider the nearly cult-like following that Apple enjoys. People identify with the brand because it stands for something. It speaks to them. That’s what you want for your business brand.

It should go without saying that part of your business purpose is to make money; but making money shouldn’t be the sole purpose of your business. There has to be a sense that the service or product your business provides brings value to the market, and that because of that value, the company makes money. If you don’t build a brand based on purpose, then you’ll find yourself in a commodity business constantly competing on price alone.

The most successful brands are great at building relationships with their audience. Focus on building relationships before you are selling. If you can manage to build an authentic relationship with your market, they will want to buy from you. People want to buy things from people they know and trust.

All great businesses start as small businesses and grow on the basis of 10 vital principles. Fortunately, these principles have been discovered and are all learnable by any entrepreneur, business owner or executive. Here they are:

Become a Great Leader

All business success begins with a great leader who has the vision and courage to imagine a new product, service or enterprise and then to pull together the people and resources to make it a reality.

Develop a Successful Business Plan

Successful businesses develop and work from written business plans. They carefully analyze every detail in advance. They do not rely on luck or chance. They plan their work and work their plan.

Offer a Great Product or Service

The excellence, appropriateness and price of your product or service accounts for 90% of business success in the first place. This is the key focus of businesses that thrive and grow in any market.

Surround Yourself with Great People

The best businesses have the best people at every level. Your ability to attract, recruit, manage and motivate top people is the key to making your business successful.

Create a Great Marketing Plan

Learn how to differentiate your product and service from competitors, attract more qualified prospects, emphasize your “Unique Selling Proposition,” and grow your market faster than your competitors.

Business Success: Generate Great Numbers

Select the key numbers that best measure the success of every part of your business; number of sales, size of sales, frequency of sales, profitability of sales, costs of sales, growth of sales – focus continually on improving those numbers.

Staff You Company with Great Managers

The best companies have the best managers. Learn how to interview, select, assign, manage and monitor the key people who make the day to day decisions that determine the success of your business.

Perfect a Great Sales Process

Learn how to consistently convert prospects into customers. Select from and manage excellent sales people at every level who can convince skeptical prospects to buy your product or service rather than any other.

Create a Great Customer Experience:

Develop a customer service strategy that is so effective that people buy from you, buy again and tell their friends. Differentiate yourself from your competitors by taking better care of your customers than anyone else.

Live a Great Life

Keep your life in balance by taking time for your family, fitness and personal activities. Set clear goals for every part of your life and then work on these goals in addition to building a great business.

Lord Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu; led a simple life and gave us a guidebook for happy living. His teachings are simple yet meaningful; they when incorporated in our daily life bring both happiness and success. So here are a few teaching for Lord Krishna that, if imbibed, would make your life easy and happy.

1. Believe in Karma

Krishna’s most popular teaching was the theory of karma. He said believe in yourself and do your Karma(action) and success will follow you automatically.

2. Don’t be a hypocrite

Lord Krishna always professed empathy and the action and devotion to supreme power. He said if you act for yourself and you think you are being good to others, you are being a hypocrite. Krishna said lying to your soul is being hypocrite and this is when a man starts covering his mistakes.

3. Believe in friendship

The friendship of lord Krishna and Sudama is an example given to us since we were children. Their friendship taught us to value our relationships and to have a selfless love for our friends. It teaches us to love our friends irrespective of their status, caste and creed; it teaches us to help them in their bad times and not to mention the help; it teaches us to watch the back of a friend.

4. “Whatever belongs to you today belonged to someone else earlier and would belong to someone else tomorrow.”

Whatever belongs to you today belonged to someone else earlier and would belong to someone else tomorrow.

5. “Do not weep for the past; do not worry for the future, concentrate on your present life”.

Do not weep for the past; do not worry for the future, concentrate on your present life

Lord Krishna always said that this world is being governed by a supreme power, and this power is our father, ‘the Almighty’. Krishna asked all to believe in the goodness of the Almighty and believe that whatever happens happen for good. Krishna asked us to move with time and live in the present and act accordingly.

6. Uniformity of vision

Krishna always professed to be uniform in vision, which means be empathetic and just. Krishna professed that God is omnipresent; he is always watching over us and has made everyone equal on this earth. Krishna always asked people to be empathetic, which mean to be able to step into others shoes and view the situation from their end.

7. Listen to your conscience

Lord Krishna said that when his subjects meditate, they ask a lot of questions and he has to meditate to answer them back. His voice is the voice of conscience, the voice of heart, the voice which can be heard only when we are calm. Our mind is biased, it analyzes what is good and what is bad, and sometimes when we over think, it finds bad from good as well. But our conscience never lies to us, it is unbiased and sometimes very rude, it is for the same reason why most of us refrain from hearing its voice.

8. Follow the path of righteousness righteousness

There was a situation in Mahabharata where Arjuna was in dilemma and asks Krishna whether he was right to fight against his own brothers. To his question Krishna replied that he (Arjuna) is fighting against the evil, no matter they are his brothers.

9. Be a believer

Lord Krishna always asked people to believe, to believe in themselves, to believe in their talents, to believe in the power of analysis and finally to believe in the supreme power.

10. Follow the path of dharma

Lord Krishna always believed that everyone should follow his ‘dhrama’.