The formula for personal happiness

01/30/2026 by

Personal happiness is a feeling, not a circumstance.

Happiness is more than just fun or pleasure. It’s a more durable sense of well-being.

Our personal happiness depends not on what happens to us but on what happens within us.

It’s the way we choose to think about ourselves and our lives.

Gratitude and people are the most important factors that dictate our personal happiness.

Gratitude is all about being grateful for everything we have.

With people, it’s all about rewarding personal relationships.

Spending quality time with people whose company we enjoy is essential for our personal happiness. Equally avoiding those people who would make our lives difficult will increase our quality of life.

So the formula for personal happiness is actually quite simple.

  • Appreciate what you’ve got;
  • Don’t fret over things you haven’t got;
  • And enjoy the time you spend with your family and friends.

It takes discipline and practice to think positively. However, the ability to maintain a positive mental attitude is essential to our personal happiness.

So go on; start today. Be happy.

Life’s far too short for a negative state of mind.

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Phil Sutton

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Success and why you should never quit

01/30/2026 by

It’s always too early to quit. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Success and why you should never quit

Today I want you to consider success and why you should never quit, dear reader.

Achieving any form of success requires determination and a lot of hard work. Anything you want can be yours if you want it badly enough, but nothing’s for free.

The price you’ll pay is in blood, sweat, and tears. Long days, late nights and a laser-sharp focus on your goals.

The road to success will also inevitably involve occasional setbacks. That’s the nature of the game we call success. And it is a game where the best players become the winners.

So you’ll need to be single-minded, and you’ll need to push yourself very hard. It’s not easy and nor is it meant to be.

From time to time self-doubt will creep into your mind. You’ll start to imagine that maybe you’re not quite good enough. Siren voices in your head will start telling you that it’s all too difficult and that maybe it’s time to quit.

You may even start asking yourself, “Why am I putting myself through all the hard work when I could just spend my life cruising along and having fun?“

The problem is, no pain, no gain. And if you quit, you’ll spend your life wondering what might have been.

So just keep your eye on the prize. Nothing worth having was ever easy to achieve. However, it can be done and people do.

You can do it too. All you need is a little self-belief and a genuine desire to make your mark on life.

Just ignore any setbacks; ignore any siren voices in your head, and refuse to give up until you get to where you want to be.

Remember this; quitters never win and winners never quit. Greatness lies within you. So go on, be a winner.

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Phil Sutton

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Why enjoying yourself can never be a waste of time

01/30/2026 by

Time you enjoyed wasting, was not wasted. ~John Lennon

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a great believer in making the most of your time.

In particular, a constant message from me is that you should not waste your time. However, as with everything, it is important to strike a balance, of course.

As the late John Lennon reminds us in his observation above, truly enjoying yourself can never be a waste of time.

Enjoying yourself and having fun have positive benefits for your physical and mental health.

For a start, it reduces stress.

Also, what would be the point of life if you couldn’t have a little fun occasionally? All work and no play will make you a very dull person indeed.

Remember the words in that old Music Hall song, “Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think. Enjoy yourself while you’re still in the pink.”

For any reader not familiar with the expression ‘in the pink‘, it’s British slang for being in a good state of health.

You can’t be serious all the time, dear reader.

Sometimes you’ve just got to have some fun.

So go on, and start having some fun right now. You know you want to.

Enjoying-Yourself
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Phil Sutton

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Life is short: Here’s what’s important to you today

01/30/2026 by

Life is short:

You’ll often hear people talk about the importance of money in terms of living life in the modern age.

Let’s be honest, it’s difficult to live without money today, isn’t it? Certainly, it’s up there with oxygen and water for sustaining life.

Nevertheless, we must also remember that life is short. And sadly for some people, it’s very short indeed.

So, while money’s important, it’s not an ideal means for measuring success, is it? Not real success in life anyway.

Misplaced priorities:

In the modern age, it’s easy to become obsessed with money.

However, the accumulation of money for its own sake should never be the underlying motive that drives us, surely? That can only lead to a life of misplaced priorities, I think.

If your approach to life includes an obsession with money, then you’ll be doomed to disappointment, and I think you’ll realise that eventually.

One day you’ll look back and wish you’d spent a bit more time with family, friends, and loved ones, of that I’m quite sure.

So what would be an ideal measure of success?

A measure of success:

For me, a better measure of success is whether we’re feeling fulfilled by what we’re doing.

If our work is something we’d do as a hobby if we couldn’t get paid for it then that’s a better way of gauging success. As the legendary investor, Warren Buffett once said:

“Look for a job that you’d take if you didn’t need a job.”

A sense of purpose and work that is fulfilling and truly absorbing is a much less stressful way of living.

Enjoy what you do:

Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy, if you possibly can.

If you enjoy what you do, you’ll do it well, and the money will follow anyway. If you do your work exceptionally well, then people will notice. And once you get noticed, you’re on your way to genuine success.

Never be driven by money alone.

Never accept a job simply because it’s well paid.

It’s nice to have a good salary, of course.

However, once you get used to the money, you still have to spend a third of your life doing the work for which you’re being paid well.

And doing work you don’t enjoy is a significant price to pay in terms of your emotions, stress levels, and the potential impact it will have on your health.

Time is precious:

If life’s short, then our time is very precious, surely?

What’s the point of working every hour you’ve got just to become rich, only to die suddenly of a heart attack having had no time to enjoy the fruits of your labour?

What a waste that would be. Being the richest man or woman in the graveyard is hardly a title worth having, is it?

So my underlying message to you today, dear reader, is to find work you enjoy doing and to make sure you leave a little time to enjoy life too. A little ‘me time‘ is essential for everyone.

No one’s life is perfect:

Don’t forget that everyone faces challenges, occasionally. No one’s life is perfect. We all have problems.

Inevitably, your life will have its ups and downs. However, make sure there are more ups than downs in your life, as far as you are able.

Take some time to smell the roses and have a laugh.

As the old Music Hall song used to say; “enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.”

You wouldn’t want to live forever, but you should be living your life to the fullest today.

Life really is short and it’s definitely later than you think. And as we say where I come from, “you’ll be a long time dead.”

So go on, live life and live it now. And if you’ve yet to find work you enjoy doing, keep looking.

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Phil Sutton

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The importance of change and the opportunities it brings

01/29/2026 by

Today, dear reader, I’d like to explore the importance of change to a business and the opportunities it brings. For the fleet-footed entrepreneur, opportunity is synonymous with change. If that isn’t obvious, trust me, it’s true. And that’s why it’s important to embrace change.

1. Change is inevitable:

As the old saying goes, change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

We cannot avoid change, quite simply, because it’s going to happen whether we like it or not. Trying to stop it is like trying to hold back the tide. It cannot be done. Change is simply a force of nature.

However, if you hate change, don’t worry because you’re not alone. Most people hate change.

Just when we think we have everything under control, a significant change happens, and suddenly we’re scrambling to get ourselves back to equilibrium. It makes life seem like a giant game of Snakes and Ladders, doesn’t it?

2. Fear of change is natural:

Actually feeling uncomfortable when faced with change is both rational and natural because one of the most basic human needs is the need to feel secure. Change is an uncomfortable experience because it makes us feel insecure.

However, we must control any fear we have about it and we must have the courage to do whatever is necessary to ensure that we respond appropriately as the winds of change start blowing around us.

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3. Businesses can be fragile:

Change can affect a business in many ways, given that plenty of things can change for a business over time.

For instance, consumers’ needs, wants, and expectations will change over time, as will technology; markets, competition, and regulations. And of course, let’s not forget taxation. Governments are constantly tinkering with taxation, as their need for money increases.

Therefore, business owners and executives must be on their guard constantly, anticipating change and how it might affect their business.

Whether you’re an owner, an executive, or just an employee, if you’re involved with a business then you cannot afford to become too complacent.

Ignore change, and it’ll kill your business quicker than you might imagine. It can kill your career, too. Businesses can be fragile if they’re exposed suddenly to the harsh reality of change.

4. Change on an industrial scale:

It’s easy to think that major corporations that dominate whole industries are immune from the impact that change can bring. Unfortunately, this isn’t so.

Consider, for instance, the computer industry.

IBM was once the behemoth of that industry. The very name was synonymous with everything that was best in the information technology (IT) sector, globally. So glowing was their reputation that there was an old saying universally accepted in business, “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.“

They were Big Blue, second to no one.

However, their size and reputation didn’t stop them from almost paying a heavy price for failing to anticipate changing IT trends.

For years, IBM favoured large centralised computer installations that filled whole buildings. And IBM didn’t see any reason to do anything differently, as they were in the business of supplying these and making good money from them.

Neither did they believe that many people would actually need computers. As recently as 1943 Thomas Watson, then Chairman of IBM said, “I think there’s a world market for maybe five computers.”

However, IBM’s lack of foresight didn’t end there.

Having introduced what we now call the PC to the market in 1982, they didn’t believe it had any real future. Apparently, their original forecast for global sales for the PC was just 25,000 units, worldwide.

IBM didn’t want PCs to sell because they saw centralised corporate computer systems as where the real money was. Their failure to see the potential of the PC allowed Microsoft to move in and become a dominant player at IBM’s expense.

Failure to recognize changing trends and how they would affect the demand for computers and the way computers were going to be used had almost catastrophic consequences for IBM.

To be fair, they did manage to adapt eventually, but not before their business came dangerously close to collapse. And to this day, they do not dominate their industry in the way they once did.

5. Heavyweights no more:

Another good example of a dominant industry player failing to recognise the winds of change was Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).

If you’re not familiar with that name, dear reader, they were the leading supplier of what was then known as the mini-computer back in the late 1970s.

However, it seems DEC allowed its dominant industry position to cloud its judgment because back in 1977, Ken Olson, then President, Chairman, and founder of DEC observed, “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.”

Where is DEC now?

They’re nothing more than a footnote in the history of digital technology. Few people, other than old computer industry hands, will even remember the name.

And yet the demand for computer technology products is greater than it has ever been. Every household has several of them in the form of desktops, laptops, and, in particular, tablets and smartphones.

Today, the computer industry is dominated by companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google. None of these companies even existed when Ken Olson made his unfortunate comment in 1977.

Another good example is Kodak, once the dominant player in the photographic products industry. As recently as 1976, Kodak commanded 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the United States. Where are they now? Certainly, nothing like the company they once were, that’s for sure.

6. Change brings opportunity:

Set aside the fear of change, and you’ll see that it’s not necessarily a bad thing, because it generates opportunities for the fleet-footed. So there’s a positive dimension to change as well.

If it’s embraced, then opportunities are always there for the taking.

Just think about it for a second. If change didn’t happen, we’d all still be living in caves and riding around on donkeys.

Most companies, particularly large corporations, are usually far too slow in responding to change. However, that offers plenty of scope for smaller, faster, and more flexible businesses to move in and relieve the big boys of their lunch.

So change is a positive dynamic.

7. See change positively:

Let’s face it if everything always remained the same, then most of the things we enjoy and take for granted today wouldn’t exist.

In developed countries, we enjoy a standard of living that would have been beyond the imagination of people even a century ago. Think about that statement for a second; everything we now take for granted today once didn’t exist.

The point is that we ignore change at our peril, particularly in business.

So it’s better to embrace change positively than to ignore it.

Yes, of course, it feels uncomfortable, but we all get used to changes in the fullness of time.

If change is going to happen anyway, then we might as well see what’s in it for us, surely?

If we’re in business, or indeed, as people, we should always be constantly thinking about how we can exploit change to our advantage. How can we seize the opportunities that will come along as a natural consequence of change?

To exploit change, we need to become trend-watchers. And not just single trends.

We need to be watching every trend that might have an impact on ourselves and our businesses.

We must consider how those trends might come together to create a perfect storm, the winds of which might do us harm or become the wind beneath our wings.

Whether the consequences are good or bad, we must always be ready for them.

9. Conclusion:

Successful people are adept at exploiting opportunities brought about by change.

Change is synonymous with opportunity, it’s that simple.

Never fear change, you must embrace it.

If success is your aim, then change can be your friend.

However, never underestimate the harm change can do, should you become too complacent.

Change can be a force for good, but equally, it can be a dangerous force for the unwary.

When you think of change, think positively, but think defensively too.

Phil Sutton

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17 short inspirational quotes that’ll make you think

01/29/2026 by

Today I offer you 17 short inspirational quotes, which I’m confident will get you thinking about your life and what you want out of it.

You have more potential than you realise. You can be more than you are now.

Just decide how far you want to go, and then don’t stop until you get there.

Plenty of people succeed in life. You can too. Believe in yourself, work hard, and focus your time and energy on the things that really matter to you.

It’s perfectly reasonable to pursue your agenda. Never assume that someone else will be looking after your interests. They won’t! You’ve got to do that yourself.

Be the best version of yourself.

And be inspired by these 17 short inspirational quotes.

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Short inspirational quotes (1-10):

  1. What we think, we become. ~Buddha
  2. Reach for the stars. ~Christa McAuliffe
  3. My mind’s my kingdom. ~Francis Quarles
  4. Think with your whole body. ~Taisen Deshimaru
  5. Each day provides its own gifts. ~Marcus Aurelius
  6. I am deliberate and afraid of nothing. ~Audre Lorde
  7. Our ideals are our better selves. ~Amos Bronson Alcott
  8. Let each man exercise the art he knows. ~Aristophanes
  9. For a gallant spirit, there can never be defeat. ~Wallis Simpson
  10. Act like you expect to get into the end zone. ~Christopher Morley
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Short inspirational quotes (11-17):

  1. Your big opportunity may be right where you are now. ~Napoleon Hill
  2. You have to rule the money. Don’t let money rule you. ~Fil Adams-Mercer
  3. The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have. ~Vince Lombardi
  4. Marriage is an investment that pays dividends if you pay interest. ~Bob Monkhouse
  5. Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
  6. On days when I don’t work, I am working on maintaining my image, just like an athlete. ~Linda Evangelista
  7. I would perceive three years at university as a waste of time. I would have made £200,000 by then. ~Lord Sugar

Please share these quotes with your friends:

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If they did then perhaps this blog post might interest others you know too.

Please share this post with your friends on social media because when you share, everyone wins.

And if you could share this post now, I would be ever so grateful.

Like every blogger, I can only keep doing what I do if readers are viewing my blog posts. So you really can help me, dear reader.

Thank you.

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21 Quotes by Jay Leno that are quite amusing

01/29/2026 by

Today, I am exploring quotes by Jay Leno.

Funnyman Jay Leno is one of American television’s biggest personalities, and he is recognised as a major star around the world.

Born James Douglas Muir Leno in New Rochelle, New York, he’s a comedian, actor, writer, and producer, as well as a television host best known for his years hosting The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 1992–2009.

Quick with a joke or a funny quip, he always made me smile. So today I thought it would be interesting to explore some of his wit and wisdom.

And let’s face it, wisdom is always at the heart of every witty quote.

So here are 21 quotes by Jay Leno to brighten your day.

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Quotes by Jay Leno (1-11):

  1. Politics is just show business for ugly people.
  2. You’re not famous until my mother has heard of you.
  3. You can’t stay mad at somebody who makes you laugh.
  4. The best way to ruin a comedy is to throw a lot of money at it.
  5. If I have one advantage, it’s that I will try to work harder than the next guy.
  6. People don’t mind if you have a lot of money if they know you’re working for it.
  7. In America, we like everyone to know about the good work we’re doing anonymously.
  8. Here’s something to think about: How come you never see a headline like ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?
  9. New Year’s Eve, where auld acquaintance be forgot unless, of course, those tests come back positive.
  10. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that 9 out of 10 doctors agree that 1 out of 10 doctors is an idiot.
  11. I think high self-esteem is overrated. A little low self-esteem is actually quite good. Maybe you’re not the best, so you should work a little harder.

Quotes by Jay Leno (12-21):

  1. If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.
  2. Don’t forget Mother’s Day. Or as they call it in Beverly Hills, Dad’s Third Wife Day.
  3. The crime problem in New York is getting really serious. The other day the Statue of Liberty had both hands up.
  4. For the first time ever, overweight people outnumber average people in America. Doesn’t that make overweight the average then? Last month you were fat, now you’re average – hey, let’s get a pizza!
  5. Magic Johnson, a former basketball player, may run for mayor of L.A. in the next election. Remember the good ole days when only qualified people ran for office like actors and professional wrestlers?
  6. Nineteen per cent of doctors say that they’d be able to give their patients a lethal injection. But they also went on to say that the patient would have to be really, really behind on payments.
  7. The Washington Bullets are changing their name. They don’t want their team to be associated with crime. From now on, they’ll just be known as the Bullets.
  8. I went into a McDonald’s yesterday and said, ‘I’d like some fries.’ The girl at the counter said, ‘Would you like some fries with that?’ 
  9. The reason there are two senators for each state is so that one can be the designated driver.
  10. The University of Nebraska says that elderly people that drink beer or wine at least four times a week have the highest bone density. They need it – they’re the ones falling down the most.
Phil Sutton

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The secret to happiness that everyone should know

01/29/2026 by

If you’re reading this blog post, dear reader, perhaps you’ve been searching for the secret to happiness. If you have, you’re not alone. Many people search, but few find real happiness.

However, if happiness is what you seek, allow me to enlighten you.

Money’s not the answer:

When you hear news of someone winning big on a lottery, do you ever think that you’d be so much happier if only you could win big too? You’d be happy if only you had a lot of money, right?

Certainly, having money can make life comfortable. There’s no question about that. And who wouldn’t want to be comfortable?

Having money can allow you to do all sorts of things you couldn’t do otherwise. Live in a nice house, wear the finest clothes, drive a nice car, and travel first class to exotic places.

However, there’s one thing that money cannot do for you. It cannot make you happy. It’s a fact that having a lot of money by itself can never make you happy. There are plenty of very wealthy people who are miserable.

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Happiness is a state of mind:

It is also a fact that if you aren’t happy without money, then suddenly gaining a lot of money will not change the way you feel. If anything, its impact on your life will probably make you even less happy.

Happiness is a state of mind. It’s the capacity to appreciate life for what it is and not what you think you’d like it to be. It’s being content with what you have, whatever that is.

Happiness is a positive mental attitude, a willingness to see the good side of every situation, regardless of how bad it might be in reality, a determination to enjoy the moment, and being comfortable in your own skin.

Work towards creating your pot of gold, by all means, dear reader, but in doing so, never lose sight of what matters most.

The period of human life is short, and it goes by in the blink of an eye.

Yesterday has gone, and you may never know tomorrow. The here and now are the only certainties you have.

This moment is your life, so you must find a way to enjoy every moment. Get the most out of them all. For, as we say where I come from, you’ll be a long time dead.

The secret to happiness:

Enjoy simple, inexpensive pleasures like having a laugh or a coffee with a friend. That’s when you’ll be happiest. That’s how memories are made, too.

Accept that your life will be full of challenges, which is what makes it all interesting.

And recognise that by having to respond to challenges, you are growing as a person. So it makes sense to respond to every challenge with enthusiasm because you can only win, ultimately. Either you’ll succeed, or you’ll learn a lesson.

And remember this too: as your life passes, you won’t remember those expensive shoes you bought or the latest gadget, but you will remember the experiences you had with the people who mattered most to you.

Enjoy life for what it is, and don’t fret about what it isn’t. The secret to happiness is contentment.

If you can be happy without money, then having money will be a bonus.

Phil Sutton

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How to be a good parent and raise a well-balanced child

01/27/2026 by

How to be a good parent and raise a well-balanced child? Now there’s a question worthy of consideration, surely?

It’s a question that’s important because children are the adults of tomorrow. So, how you nurture your children does matter.

Parenting is one of life’s great experiences. I can tell you that from personal experience. I’ve had many fine experiences in my life so far, but none have been better or given me greater pleasure and satisfaction than being a parent.

However, parenting is also an interesting experience because nothing in life before you become a parent prepares you for the enormity of the role you’re taking on.

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How to be a good parent:

1. Your gift to the world:

Anyone beyond the age of sexual maturity can become a parent fairly easily, assuming you can find a willing partner.

And yet you don’t receive any training for the role at all. None!

You spend 12–14 years at school, and not once does the curriculum cover how to be a good parent. Even if you go on to college or university, the course will not cover parenting at any stage.

And you’ll only realise the magnitude of the task you’ve taken on the day you bring your first child home from the hospital. That’s the point at which the enormity of the challenge will begin to sink in.

Certainly, that’s the way it was for me and my wife.

Parenting is undoubtedly a great experience, but it’s also a great responsibility.

Your children are your gift to the world.

They’re the future. They’ll be the adults and taxpayers of tomorrow, and they’ll take the baton from your generation and carry it forward.

So how they’re nurtured matters, and the nurturing process must be taken seriously.

2. Your home environment matters:

Preparation begins with the place in which your children will live their early lives. Your home environment matters, both physically and emotionally.

A parent’s power to create a loving, stable home with a healthy and positive atmosphere and an environment in which children can develop, thrive, and grow is so awesome that it must be used both consciously and responsibly.

So, discipline yourself and control your emotions.

Give your children the light and warmth of love, hope, good cheer, and constant encouragement.

In your home, the physical environment matters, of course, but the emotional environment matters even more, in my opinion. If there’s a bad vibe, children will pick up on it, and it will affect them over time.

3. Be positive, enthusiastic, and supportive:

Raising children can be challenging at the best of times, but remember this: they didn’t ask to be born.

That they’re here on this earth is your responsibility, and you owe it to them to be the best parent you can be.

So you must make a conscious effort to be positive, enthusiastic, and supportive at all times.

This can have an enormously positive impact not only on the emotional well-being of your children but also on their ability to experience the joys and pains of childhood in healthy and constructive ways.

Enjoy every minute with them because the years will fly by all too quickly.

Giving them your time is far more important than any material possessions you might buy for them. Money spent is no substitute for time missed.

Happiness is created; it can’t be bought.

Fill your house with joy and laughter. That’s the soil in which healthy children will flourish and grow.

4. Ensure they have a balanced life:

Encourage your children to strike a balance between their schoolwork and the pursuit of the things they genuinely enjoy doing. In that, I’m referring to sports, games, drama, music, and all forms of creative pursuits.

Recognize the importance of an education that will both stretch them and broaden their minds.

Ensure they have a sound grasp of concept-based subjects.

Foster their creative, sporting, and vocational talents.

If something appeals to them, then encourage them to give it a try.

Yes, it might prove to be a five-minute wonder, but equally, it could prove to be something on which their entire future is built.

Just think about Elton John playing the piano or Jimmy Page learning to play the guitar. Imagine if their parents had said, “No, we’re not wasting money on that; you won’t stick with it.“

If they find something that they not only enjoy but are good at too, then that will help them build self-confidence and sociability.

And make sure you help them develop their ability to think, speak, and write clearly. These are life’s most important skills.

If they can also develop a dash of style, then that’ll really make them stand out amongst their peers.

5. Establish boundaries and a moral framework:

Set boundaries and make sure they know the penalty for any transgression. And should they cross a boundary, they must know that you’ll ensure that they pay that penalty.

However, it’s not about punishment; it’s about making sure that they learn to make good choices because, ultimately, the choices they make will dictate the quality of the life they lead.

Above all, provide them with the moral framework within which they can lead their lives respectably.

And remember, if you want them to live by the moral code you establish, then you must live by it too. Children will always notice what you do, even if they don’t hear what you say.

6. Keep expectations realistic:

Have high yet realistic expectations of your children.

It’s essential to temper expectations with realism.

Parental expectations are good for children insofar as they help motivate them to strive to achieve and do their best.

Stretching a child can help them realize their full potential, but any stretching must be consistent with the child’s natural ability. Setting them up for an obvious failure would do them more harm than good.

7. Place responsibility on their shoulders:

As they grow and mature, be sure to give them some regular chores to do and gradually place responsibility on their shoulders.

Pocket money should be earned. That ensures they realise that there’s no such thing as a free ride. Money is what we get for doing things for other people. That’s the real nature of work, and it’s a lesson they must learn as early as possible.

Placing responsibility on their shoulders and making them earn their pocket money should instil in them a strong work ethic, which they’ll need if they’re to succeed in life.

Please don’t make the mistake of making it all too easy for them.

Doing that may seem like you’re being kind to them, but in fact, you’d be doing them a great disservice.

Making it all too easy is foolish.

8. Enjoy their achievements:

Enjoy their achievements, but don’t be too disappointed if they don’t quite manage to live up to everything you expect of them.

As long as they’ve done their best, then that’s all you can reasonably expect of them.

However, never, ever let your work or your social life take precedence over you attending their parents’ evening, sports day, school plays, or any of the other significant events in their young lives.

You may not think it matters to a child, but, trust me, it does. I can tell you from my personal experience that it matters a lot to them.

9. Create that rare bird:

If you can do all of these things, you will produce that rare bird, otherwise known as the well-educated, polite, balanced, and confident young person with a strong work ethic.

Achieve that, and the world will be grateful for your contribution to the future.

Never underestimate the importance of good parenting.

Parenting is life’s most important role, and it matters far more than any career. It’s the most important work you’ll ever do, whether you’re the mother or the father.

And when you realise that your children have grown up to be decent human beings, you’ll be glad you took it all seriously.

Lessons in parenting:

At the beginning of this post, I said that we don’t receive any training in parenting.

Actually, that’s not quite true.

Once we become parents for the first time, our parents become the role models we try to emulate. We tend to follow their approach to parenting and do what they do.

So by becoming a good parent yourself, you’ll not only produce well-balanced children, but you’ll also ensure that they have a good role model to follow when they have their children.

Become a good parent, and at least two generations will benefit from you taking your role seriously.

So the world benefits twice. That’s a real legacy, surely?

Please share this post with your friends:

Did you find this article interesting and useful, dear reader?

If so, then please share it on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So go on, please share it now. If you do that for me, I’ll be forever grateful, and you’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

Thank you for your support.

Phil Sutton

© Mann Island Media Limited 2026. All rights reserved.

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The purpose of life – What’s it really all about?

01/27/2026 by

Today, I want to explore the purpose of life. To me, life must have a purpose. Why are we here?

What’s life all about when it all comes down to it?

Should life just be a treadmill of meeting other people’s expectations, or should our aim simply be to lead lives that make us happy?

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE
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The purpose of life

What does life mean to you, dear reader?

Do you ever feel that you’re just living life on a treadmill, constantly running to meet the expectations of everyone around you?

Perhaps you worry about what other people think about you. If you do, you’re certainly not alone.

Too many people waste their time worrying about what others think of them.

If only they realised that other people spend little or no time thinking about them at all.

Your approach is just as valid as the next person’s

Most people are too busy trying to deal with their own lives. They don’t have the time to think much about anyone else’s life.

So why not just be yourself and lead your own life on your terms?  No law says you must lead the life others think you should lead.

Your approach to life is just as valid as the next person’s, and as long as you’re not hurting anyone else, you’re free to choose how you live.

Don’t try to be something you’re not

You can only be the person you are. Anything else would be fake, wouldn’t it?

Just be yourself and accept yourself for the person you are. You’re a true original, and you can be truly proud of that.

Remind yourself frequently that you’re better than you think you are and that you’re as good as anyone.

Constantly reinforce your self-belief

If you haven’t got much self-belief right now, then a sensible strategy would be to fake it until it happens naturally. And that will come with the little successes you’ll achieve over time.

Never consciously try to impress anyone else. It doesn’t get you anywhere worth going. Just do what comes naturally to you.

You’re only going to have this one life, so live it on your terms. Enjoy your life for what it is and make the most of it.

Don’t let life happen, make it happen

Never, ever just let life happen to you; decide on the life you want and then make it happen.

It’s important to know what you want, and you should never give up until you get it.

Always be you, but make it the best version of you.

And remember this: an original is always more impressive than a copy. So don’t copy other people. Be original.

Life begins outside your comfort zone

And remember this too: life begins once you’ve stepped beyond your comfort zone. That’s where the real challenges are, and that’s where you will grow.

And you must never stop growing.

So step outside your comfort zone, look those challenges in the eye, and just give them a wink.

You’re more than a match for them all. They should be quaking in their boots.

My message to you today is this:

Go on, live life! Now! It’s later than you think.

Phil Sutton

Please share this post with your friends

If you found this blog post interesting, then please share it on social media with your friends.

When you share, everyone wins.

Go on, please share it now, and I’ll be forever grateful.

You’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

Thank you, dear reader.

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© Mann Island Media Limited 2026. All rights reserved.

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