A 70-year-old's secret to a full and happy life
I was raised by my grandparents.  They were born in the 1910s, and grew up in the midwest during the dust bowl and great depression.  My grandfather lost most of his buddies in Guadalcanal and Burma during World War II, and, in his own words, fully expected to become worm food himself.<p>He said little, but one phrase he did repeat more than any other was simple: "Any day you're breathing is a good day."  To him, every day, every year, every one of the six decades past 1944 was a cherry on top gift.<p>Growing up in the 1970s in the United States, conducting nuclear attack drills with regularity, many of us felt that it was fairly likely that we would be incinerated before our 21st birthdays.<p>"Every day you're breathing is a good day."<p>There are certainly limits to these 8 simple words, but radical gratitude is at their core.<p>It's quite likely that everybody reading this post is having a FAR better life than 99.9% of every other human being who exists and has ever existed.<p>I'm a generally happy person because, from a young age, I have chosen to focus on that simple truth.<p>This perspective need not lead to complacence.  Those who know me will say that I've always been a driven person, personally and professionally.<p>Every day you're breathing is a good day.  Thanks, grandpa, for the wise words.  He would have celebrated his 100th birthday last month.