Top Four Ways to Build a Wonderful Life
1. Live Below Your Means
There will always be temptation to give up the future for immediate pleasure. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can’t afford. It might feel great at the time but unwise spending hurts a lot later on. Enjoy life’s simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.
2. Put Your Money to Work
Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40’s or in your 60’s. A post today at The Simple Dollar really got me thinking. According to Trent’s estimates, if a person in their early 20’s invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40’s. They could retire without a drop in income! Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on. It’s definitely an area I’ll be devoting more attention to in my personal life.
3. Educate Yourself
To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life-long education. This doesn’t mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self-education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives. Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.
4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships
Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don’t forget about them. Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to long-term happiness. Without the people you care about you’ll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.
According to the passage, in order to achieve financial independence after retirement, we’d better ________.

A．get along well with our family and friends

B．bring ourselves leisure as well as enjoyment

C．invest our money wisely when we are young

D．learn some new skills and try to find a new job

From the passage we can infer that some people try to ________.

A．gain happiness by buying themselves expensive things

B．save everything they can to help those in need

C．devote more attention to their personal life

D．take out a loan to promote technology

The author of the passage may agree that the key to self-education is________.

A．gaining as many degrees as possible

B．being open to new ideas and views

C．only focusing on very big events

D．creating long-term happiness

The above passage is written in order to ________.

A．explain what true happiness is about

B．offer ways to achieve a happy and successful life

C．introduce different definitions about happiness

D．persuade readers to find out the meaning of life