Half a century ago, the Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl wrote that happiness cannot be attained by wanting to be happy - it must come as the unintended consequence of working for a goal greater than oneself.

Enjoyment, on the other hand, is not always pleasant, and it can be very stressful at times. A mountain climber, for example, may be close to freezing, utterly exhausted, and in danger of falling into a bottomless crevasse, yet he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Sipping a piña colada under a palm tree at the edge of the turquoise ocean is idyllic, but it just doesn't compare to the exhilaration he feels on the windswept ridge.

For better or worse, our future will be determined in large part by our dreams and by the struggle to make them real.

To play the trumpet well, a musician can not let more than a few days pass without practicing.

As long as we respond predictably to what feels good and what feels bad, it is easy for others to exploit our preferences for their own ends.

One cannot lead a life that is truly excellent without feeling that one belongs to something greater and more permanent than oneself.

It is how we choose what we do, and how we approach it, that will determine whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art.