If you want a guaranteed happy, productive, loving life follow these steps

Suggestion #1:

Write a list of all the good things in your life – all the things which you would miss if you no longer had them – and then list the things that you want but do not have. Say, “Thank you Creator for the blessings You have given me; Please Creator, give me the things I want.”

Bonus: It should be mentioned, that the wisest prayer of all – according to Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov – is that The Creator should give us what He knows is best for us. One lady I know, whom The Creator had always given her whatever she requested, stopped praying for what she “thought” she wanted, and prayed instead for what The Creator knew would be good for her. She realized that what she thought would make her happy, often led her to misery. The Creator’s plan however, always led her to happiness!

Big Bonus: The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn – the greatest modern leader of world Jewry – explains a truly remarkable thing. Although of course, The Creator needs to recreate reality for it to continuously appear as mentioned above, nonetheless, as He is Infinite, He could have simply imbued matter with enough energy to last as long as he wanted it to. The reason He chose continuous creation, is, so that we could always feel grateful for this great gift, for gratitude equates to happiness! When you are doing nothing, after every breath you take, say, “Thank You, Creator, For Everything!”

Suggestion #2:

By tuning into good energy – by being grateful for what one has and trusting that things will get better – one creates good destiny and hence a better future.

Bonus: Even by just imagining that The Creator will help you, i.e. telling yourself just that, “G-d will help me,” creates this as a future reality.

Big Bonus: Additionally it is very powerful to hand over your problems to The Creator, as the verse states “Throw your package of problems to The Creator, and He will carry them.”

I think, that, as a loving parent, The Creator enables us to choose our own mistakes as He does not want to force us into anything; however, just like a loving father would, He steps in and provides when we say, “Sorry, it is too hard for me to handle.” (The only thing we need to be careful about is to not take our problems back from The Creator after he has successfully handled them. Human nature is such that we like to think that we deserve the credit! However, the way the trust-system operates, is that The Creator allows whomever you trust – including yourself – to be the provider. So by taking your problem back – in other words, by believing you were the source of your blessings – you then actually recreate the problem! As Einstein states, “We cannot solve our problems, using the same mindset in which we created them.”)

Suggestion #3:

Specify a few people who you want to start loving unconditionally (with no expectation of reward whatsoever).

Suggestion #4:

Try to think of all the people who have insulted you. If need be, write them down and write, “I forgive these people.”

Bonus: If something bad has occurred to you, write down as many positive benefits that you can conjure up, that may have come from it.

Big Bonus: Instead of feeling anger and resentment, try to feel compassion for the low spiritual state, a person who is denigrating or harming you, must be in.

Big Big Bonus: Every night before going to bed do the first suggestion – thus eliminating any new resentments.

Big Big Big Bonus: Every night before going to bed ask yourself “what acts of kindness and growth have I achieved today?”

Biggest Bonus: When bad people make fun of you—even if they come up with convincing arguments—you should not only ignore it, but see it as a message from The Creator to continue your efforts, to the point that it doesn’t even bother you.

Suggestion #5:

As you wake up, read the list that you made in Suggestion # 1 and say, “Thank you Creator for …” (If need be, you should think of people who do not have these things and it will strengthen your gratitude for what you have. This does not mean feeling superior to them; in fact by becoming happy you will be enabled to become a more loving hence giving person.)

Bonus: Additionally, it pays to mention, that before we go to sleep we should ideally a. Read our gratitude list B. We should account for our actions, speech, and thoughts during the day. Many Chassidim – disciples of Modern Jewish Mysticism spend hours, literally making an inventory of all of their thoughts, speech, and actions – seeing if they were good or not, and furthermore planning good behavior for the morrow. C. We should say the verse (part of the bedtime prayers, but the most important theme of it) “I hand over my soul to you (G-d.) Please care for it, G-d of Truth.” (This is very important, for the Kabbalistic belief – as mentioned – is that the soul goes into heaven at night and depending if we did the above three things, is how high it will ascend. The higher it goes – the more The Creator cares for it, protecting it from demons which pain a person at night through nightmares – hence the more refreshing and beneficial is the sleep and the subsequent day.)

Suggestion #6:

Resolve to love unconditionally the people you have chosen, and try to do acts of goodness and kindness during the day for them.

Bonus: I was giving this course in a Corporate-Headquarters in Manhattan (this book was designed for a course) and the CEO of the company asked, how one can actualize acts of goodness and kindness for those whom one chooses to unconditionally love, daily? The Rabbi who introduced me to his company made the following practical, relevant and simple suggestion:
1. Think something positive about whomever you have chosen to unconditionally love, daily.
2. Say something positive – like call your wife or husband or child or best-friend and say – “I just wanted you to know that I am thinking about you!”
3. Buy them a small present, for it shows them (especially your wife) that they mean the world to you, for you have taken some of your time, which you could have spent selfishly, and instead acted selflessly!