What Are Your Core Values?

I recently had lunch with a group of my friends and business associates, the conversation turned a very important but overlooked part of life; it turned to personal core values and why so very few people today have them.

If someone asked you to give him or her, the core values by which you live, could you tell him or her, what they are? Successful people in all walks of life, whether they're students, housewives, employees, business owners, no matter who they are or what they happen to do, really need to have a set of core values to live by.

My friends and I came up with six values we all felt should guide the life of any person who desires to live a successful and happy life. See if you agree with them.

1. Awareness. Without awareness, a person becomes little more than a machine, marking time and living mechanically. You need to be consciously aware of the need to be aware; to notice things, to see things, to be curious, to maintain a youthful zest for what's going on around you; to see the limitless opportunities begging for attention everywhere.

2. Skepticism. You need to have to have a good and healthy skepticism. You need to be a challenger of the way things have been done in the past. All human advancement has been brought about by people who have refused to believe that just because something is done a certain way it is the best way, or even a good way. You need to try to get the facts for yourself instead of just going along with the crowd. If something has always been done a certain way, there's likelihood that it's obsolete.

3. Integrity. You must be a person who others can trust and believe in. You should never compromise with what you believe to be honest, and because of this you will be a person of great value that others can trust implicitly.

4. Courtesy. This is always the mark of a well-rounded, successful person. You should always be courteous to other people no matter who they or what their social or economic status in life is.

5. Learning. You should learn something new every day of your life. You do this because you know that life is a lifetime journey of learning and without knowledge you cannot succeed.

6. Commitment. You commit yourself completely to what you choose to do. Unlike millions of people who have no goals, you put your whole heart and soul into accomplishing what you want.

If you have these six core values you will become outstanding in every area of your life and opportunities will continuously come your way. Whatever you set out to do you'll do to the very best of your ability and you'll do it a little bit better each time.

You may and should have other core values to live by, but I think these six will most certainly guarantee your success and happiness in life.