Three Rules For A Happy Life

Jathan enjoys a beautiful day in Falmouth, Mass. on Cape Cod. (Photo by Heather Fink, Jadeworks Entertainment)

Our lives are like books, enjoyed one chapter at a time. After much deliberation, I recently decided to turn the page in the story of my life. At the end of May, I walked away from my career at Townsquare Media, took off my editor’s hat, and left New England to return to Texas and seek out new adventures.

It has been a crazy three years and I learned a lot working with some of the most talented, shrewd, outrageous, hilarious, ambitious, and amazing people ever. Whether I coached fresh new interns, brainstormed with seasoned personalities, collaborated with determined sales people, chilled out with stellar celebrities or met everyday people who love their community, I had a grand time during this part of my career.

I sent prize winners on much needed vacations, raised big money for great causes, wrote about every topic I can think of, and interviewed countless people who had unforgettable stories to tell. And in the end, I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, the chances I’ve been given, and for the blessings I’ve received.

The other day, someone asked me how I felt about moving on to start something altogether different. I recently read a quote by Louis L’Amour that I truly loved and which I found so relevant. “We don’t always get the luck we want, but we get the luck we need.”

I have always tried to live my life with my heart wide open, to live in the moment, ready to embrace life’s next gift. So although I’m sad to leave behind some marvelous friends, I’m excited by this next adventure, this leap into the unknown. Because as long as we are above ground, life only holds out possibilities. We simply have to discover them.

So as I left my colleagues, clients and other business partners, it was not to say goodbye, because I knew we’d be in touch. But it was a great time to reflect on the lessons I’d learned over the past three years, and I felt compelled to share these three rules with you too.

First, trust your instincts, and really listen when your heart speaks. Regardless of what you do in life, pay attention to your intuition. Whether you’re blogging, posting to Facebook, inviting a guest into your home or considering your next step in life, that little voice in your soul will never steer you wrong. It’s when we silence it that we get ourselves into trouble. But if you listen to your heart, others will listen to you.

Second, remember that no matter how tough the going gets, there is never a circumstance too dire that laughter won’t help. We are living in tumultuous times, but if you can remember to laugh at yourself, at life, and with one another, everything will work out in the end.

Finally, remember to look for things to celebrate in life. We may like to complain at times, or vent about things that are going wrong, and it could be easy to climb on that bandwagon. But don’t fall into that temptation. Instead, seize this as an opportunity to inspire, to champion the everyday heroes working to make a difference, and to invite your community to rise up to meet you.

Never be pulled down by it, because in the end, no matter how much people complain, the one thing we all really want and need to cling to in this life is hope. When you shine as a beacon of hope for others, eventually they take notice and will start following you. When you do that, you’ll sleep better and will leave the world just a little better than you found it.

Life doesn’t always turn out the way we plan. We’re not guaranteed wealth or fame, and sometimes it may simply disappoint us no matter how hard we try. But if we remember these three rules and learn to truly appreciate all the people in our life, whether they are friend or foe, they have the potential to teach us all so much.

Whether they intend to or not, the people we work with provide us with the tools we need during the rest of our career if we simply figure out how to use them. They all teach us something about ourselves and help shape our view of the world.