However, a good life consists of more than simply the totality of enjoyable experiences. It must also have a meaningful pattern, a trajectory of growth that results in the development of increasing emotional, cognitive, and social complexity.

We can either help to make this world a more incredible place than it has ever been, or we can hasten its return to inorganic dust.

Isabel Losanda was campaigning with the Free Tibet Movement. They arranged for her to attend the AGM of BP to raise the issue of BP's investment in PetroChina, which was planning to build a pipeline through Tibet. Once she was in the meeting hall, Isabel changed into the costume of a Chinese soldier. Every time the Chair mentioned Tibet, she clapped and cheered. Every time her fellow Free Tibet protesters got to ask a question, she hurled abuse at them. And she congratulated the Chair on not letting terrorists disrupt the profits of the company. Humour is an excellent way to make a point.

I have no secret. There are no rules to follow in business. I just work hard and, as I always have done, believe I can do it. Most of all, though, I try to have fun.

Everyone needs something to aim for. You can call it a challenge, or you can call it a goal. It is what makes us human. It was challenges that took us from being cavemen to reaching for the stars.

Once again, I was the captain of my ship and master of my fate.

I believe in myself. I believe in the hands that work, in the brains that think, and in the hearts that love

They say a dying man relives his life in his final seconds. For me, this was not true. All I  thought was that, if I escaped with my life, I would never do this again. We fought hard all night to keep the balloon up. By dawn we were over the desert, where we could come down safely.

As we drifted to earth I sat up on the glass roof of the capsule, watching the beauty of the golden dawn as it broke over the desert. This was a day I never thought I'd see and the rising sun and growing warmth of the day seemed very precious. It made me aware that hard-won things are more valuable than those that come too easily. It reminded me to always enjoy the moment.

Respect is about how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.

If we agree that the bottom line of life is happiness, not success, then it makes perfect sense to say that it is the journey that counts, not reaching the destination.

Some individuals have developed such strong internal standards that they no longer need the opinion of others to judge whether they have performed a task well or not. The ability to give objective feedback to oneself is in fact the mark of the expert.