I'll check it out.

Indeed you are, as are we all. You might enjoy seeing my poem/slide show to that effect that I presented at the Atlas Summit 2012: www.gamepuzzles.com/atlas2012.ppt

The barometer is currently at low pressure.

Glad o hear it.
There are times when I like to remind myself that I am a child of the universe.

That is the point :)

I hear you. Just to hear the word selfish used in a positive way is good

It's a pop article. I like to read them from time to time to test the cultural barometer.

Not at all, I intend the post not as an endorsement of the article but as an exhibit of egoism, however underdeveloped.

Although this article is written for more of a pop audience, the author is on the right track with some of her comments regarding self-reliance.

Nope, not orthodox objectivism nor was it intended as such. If I can psychoanalyze it, there is the lingering scent of solipsism with a hint of self-loathing. But, as it were, there is still an open reference to selfishness. Pop selfishness?

I am not sure what I think about some of these but my personal favorite was left out. General Lee's most quoted phrase is somethin like...To do ones duty is the most sublime of all ventures, one can never do more and one should never want to do less." If you think something (whatever it is) is your duty you will feel happy doing it.

Yes, Herb, I'm familiar with that inspirational trilogy of wisdom-laden poetry. Thanks for mentioning them.

If you like Kipling's "IF" you'll love "DESIDERATA" by Max Ehrmann. Also, "INVICTUS" by William Ernest Henley. You may be familiar with parts of them, or all of them, but I find much inspiration in them. Also, like the Kipling, you won't need an interpreter to understand them.

Indeed. As the song goes, "I can't be right for somebody else if I'm not right for me..." That doesn't necessarily put being right for others as a priority. Being right for yourself is the first requirement to attract those who are right for you.

As for being judgmental, by all means judge so you can avoid vexatious situations and people. "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative..." Those who see no difference are oblivious, a case of ignorance is bliss. Happy people are those with the freedom and control of what they allow into their lives, people capable of non-contradictory integration and opportunities for healthy rants. Thanks, Mamaemma.

Kipling: "If you can fill the unforgiving minute | With sixty seconds' worth of distance run..."

Rollercoaster of life: "If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same..." (Kipling again.)

It's a good list. This one, "You can’t stop a happy person from reaching his or her goals. They know life is short and not following through would feel like premature death." really hits home for me. Most people don't think like this. In fact, they think people who do are nuts...

Happy?
Maybe a better word would be slap-happy.
There are some good things there but it is way too vanilla to ever be a guide for living. There is no provision at all for the times the roller-coaster of life tips to the downside, and don't tell me that doesn't happen to everyone now and then.

Muslim refugees would attack that girl siting on a skateboard in the photo for not wearing a tent in Hawaii.

Are they happy, or just oblivious?

Certainly are not tenets of Islam.........

Please! "The happiest people see no difference between anyone and any situation?" They make no judgments? This is new age crap, in my opinion. Certainly not objectivist. Read carefully. The author is saying to take care of yourself so you can give more to others.
Ok, that's my rant.

Nice. I could see Ayn Rand endorsing this.

very fine list -- and it follows objectivism well ! -- j
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