Every person goes through a cycle of life. Some people have short lives, others have long ones. But they all have one thing in common: living with a purpose. No one lives without contributing anything. There aren’t people who just go on the ride of life and just watch. Rather, people do something with their lives, and everyone has different interpretations as to how to live.

One reason people live is to be successful. It isn’t rare to see people living a life where they try hard in school and get good grades; and then moving on to college, getting a job, and finally being rich. A lot of people think this is a great way to live. They live life to their fullest, and do everything in their power to be as successful as possible. And in return, these people get nice things. Luxury cars, nice houses, diamond rings; these are the things that qualify peoples’ success. And to them, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Yet, there’s another approach to life. Some people live to be as happy as possible. In my opinion, that is better than being extremely successful (it doesn’t hurt if the two mix.) The people who are happy in life don’t regret anything. These people realize that the former group of people try hard to make money, and in return get some satisfaction. But to the latter group of people, they realize being happy constantly is more rewarding than the minimal satisfaction from work. These are not the people who do jobs for the money, who wake up at 5 AM to go to work, who don’t get time off on the weekends. Rather, these people live simple lives, living every waking moment to make themselves happy, and taking the time to appreciate life for the way it is.

However, there is even a third group of people: the selfless ones. The former group of people know not to waste life. The latter group of people know to appreciate themselves and the world around them. Yet, this third group lives on the highest level. Not only do they make themselves happy, but more importantly, they make the people around them happy. They know to appreciate the people that make them happy, and know to return the favor. Life is not all about doing things for yourself, but rather positively changing the lives of others. There is no better feeling on Earth than the feeling you get when you touch someone’s soul, when you know that his or her life is going to be better because of you. The lives of these touched people can escalate to a whole new level of greatness, because they know other people care about them. And in return, they can touch the lives of extended groups. In this beautiful cycle, everyone should be able to improve the lives of everyone around them and make the world a better place.