Happiness is a Choice

It is hard to achieve good things in life, which can be love, happiness, health… For each of them, people have to struggle to be granted with the fruits of their hard work and determination.

A century ago most of the mankind worried about surviving; to have enough food to eat, to have a safe place to sleep. Nowadays people may worry about the bad weather, the shape their body or the job they have or they would like to  have. Although there are still people struggling to have their basic needs for food, peace and shelter to be satisfied. But let us admit that most of us enjoy the luxury of little free time when we think whether we are happy or not, and what we need to be happy. 

It’s hard to be happy, and there are a number of things you should work hard on to achieve it. These are things that will frighten you, things that others can’t do and things no one else does. Of course, hard things are the easiest to avoid with a plenty of excuses. Achieving happiness means to step out of your comfort zone and do hard things that many educated and wise people don’t dare to do.

It’s now and TODAY that you should start following the ideas below which will lead you to an amazing life:

1. Take small opportunities every day

Cross out all your fears to take as many chances as you want from life. Big things come out of small ones; so don’t ignore the small to achieve the big one. With no fear, you will get the best chances in your life by overcoming the greatest challenges. A good choice, or a  bad one, you will not know until you take your chance and don’t let others build your own life. 

2. Bother less about what other people think of you

You don’t need anybody’s approval to follow your heart or to be what they want you to be. What is inside your soul is what you are and the judgements by others have little to do with it. Asking for everybody’s approval is not the road to greatness.

3. Ignore what others do or achieve

Life is about living and outgrowing your OWN life, not competing with anyone else. Life is about knowing and breaking your own limits and outdoing your past, not that of the others.

Invest in your life on an everyday - basis. In reality, a few people will stay hundred percent true to you and one of them should be you. Invest in your health, education and  your daily  to-do’s. Most important is to create a life that is beautiful inside and for you, not for outside and everyone else.

 

4. Put your heart into your work. 

 Love what you do. Put your heart in your goals that move you and work hard. In the end what you feel is love when you are tired and still struggling.

5. Don’t fear the mistakes of the past. 

Sometimes you need to make mistakes and feel like a fool. Most of the successful people are those who have overcome so much challenge in their lives. They have fallen and found enough strength to stand up. Let your mistakes of the past teach you how to be stronger for later on.

6. Never give up. 

When everything is going wrong, just take a breath for a moment and think about most successful and happy people, who are not always winners; they don’t give up when they lose. Your spirit is strong to struggle the challenges which will take you not to an easier life, but to a prosperous and happy life.

7. Fight for what you believe in. 

You can still achieve things that others think is impossible to. Your efforts and struggle to achieve what you believe in will give you the best of the results either you win or lose in the end. Eventually, things will fall into their place… you will feel content to have done enough for what you got or for what you lost. Things will be the way they are meant to be…

8. See the good side of everything. 

Random circumstances are not what shape the happiness in your heart and mind. The positive mind and thinking brings you to beautiful things. Smile now, by trying to see the good side of everything. Sometimes smiling simply means how strong you are, not how happy you are.  

Brief History of Martini: Classic Martini Recipe

”I had never tasted anything so cool and clean.” “They made me feel civilized.”Ernest Hemingway novel Farewell to Arms.

They may serve you a drink with a long-stemmed “V” shaped glass, which doesn’t mean yet it is the best Martini for you. For many people, classic Martini is a mixture of gin and vermouth and only – nothing more, nothing less.

What is the modern definition of a classic martini?

classic Martini is a mixture of gin and vermouth and
only – nothing more, nothing less.

It is gin (vodka), dry vermouth and an olive oil or lemon twist garnish. However, the current martini is far from its old origins, even if given a long definition of it.

The earliest story on the origins of Martini comes from the Gold Rush in San Francisco. It was sometime in 1870s when a bartender named Jerry Thomas invented a special drink for a miner who wanted to exchange something special for a gold nugget. The miner came from Martinez, California, which was the reason Jerry called the special drink Martinez… The initial recipe was bitters – 1 dash, maraschino – 2 dashes, a glass of sweet vermouth, a pony of sweetened gin and a slice of lemon. As a matter of fact, there is nothing near to today's definition of Martini consisting of gin  and vermouth.

With the turn of the century there came some other variations of the martini, which contained sweet vermouth and gin (equal parts), sometimes with orange bitters. Here again, no similarity with the definition of modern classic martini.

Another story glorifying the invention of martini goes with an Italian bartender and immigrant in New York City Martini di Arma di Taggia. He claimed to invent the drink before World War I. His recipe consisted of equal parts of dry vermouth and dry gin, plus orange bitters.

Martinis owes its popularity to the marketing of gin by liquor companies during the 1950s. The popularity of martini also decreased due to the marketing of vodka in 1970s. At any time, the product placement and the celebrity endorsements increased the popularity of Martini; celebrities like Ernest Hemingway, David Niven, Hamphrey and Marlene Dietrich were seen drinking Martini in public, and more powerfully, on screen, so that anyone else wanted to drink Martini as well.

How to Make Classic Martini? Here is the Perfect Martini Recipe

Yields: 1 serving

Prep time: 5 min

Ingredients at hand:

Gin or Vodka (your choice) * – 2 ounces (1 ounce is 28 grams)

Dry vermouth – ½ ounce

Green olives – pimento (large ones)

Ice Cubes

Twist of Lemon

* 1 ounce is 2 tablespoons - 1 shot glass = 1 1/2 ounces.

How to prepare Classic Martini?

Like, we do with beer glasses, in this case we put the martini glasses into the freezer.

Fill the cocktail shaker with ice cubes and pour gin or vodka inside. Shake at least 10 seconds.

Pour the shake into a martini cocktail glass (no ice should be in the glass).

Garnish either with olives or a lemon twist.