Over the years I have spent a lot of time defining what happiness or fulfillment means to me. There are many things that make me happy: a great family, honesty, life long friends, a loving relationship, ambition, success, loving the work I do every day, strong beliefs.

I have been able to define true happiness for me as being true to who I am, to my ideals and my core values, and consistently being “me” at every moment of every day. Being true to me does not imply a need for external approval of “me.”  Being true to me means requires resisting pressures to conform while being flexible enough to accept that the “me” of today will evolve over time and be shaped by the experiences that I encounter. Being happy with who I am allows me to experience all the things I love in an authentic way and remain positive about all the great things this earth has to offer.

I was recently introduced to Chris Guillebeau via Seth Godin’s Blog which I follow religiously. In discovering Chris’ blog I came across an article “The Decision to be Remarkable” and I was truly impressed. His article allowed me to realize that in addition to being happy by being true to “me” I should take it one step further and focus my energy on becoming a truly remarkable person through action.

Chris starts with a definition of remarkable: re•mark•able [adjective]: worthy of being noticed, especially as being uncommon or extraordinary. Remarkable is subjective and very different people can all be very remarkable at the same time.

He states that to become remarkable you must consciously decide to do so:

1-Stop Making Excuses; 2-Take Responsibility; 3-Start questioning rules and expectations; 4-Find work that you Love and do it Well; 5-Begin living your own life; 6-Take it up a level.

These are rules that I think everyone should live by whether or not they are seeking to be remarkable. They are not complex rules, not mysterious and not impossible but for those in pursuit of happiness.. they may be a good start.

I recommend reading the full article here.