There are times in the lives of human beings in which the world seems to dole out unfavorable circumstances, times when difficult situations seem to be firing at us with double barrels.  In these situations, we still hold the ability to choose our path.  Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Consciously or unconsciously we all strive to make the kind of a world we like."  This applies in the difficult times, too.

Take, for instance, the life of Viktor Frankl (1905-1997).  During World War II he spent 3 years at Auschwitz, Dachau and other concentration camps.  Of this time, Frankel wrote, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

Dr. Frankl had been Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School until 1942, when he was thrown into the horrifying circumstances of the death camps.  He survived these difficult circumstances and after his release,  became director of the Neurological Department of the Rothschild Hospital and director of the Vienna Neurological Policlinic.

Frankl authored 32 books that have been published in twenty nine languages. His last two books were Viktor Frankl - Recollections and Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning, both published in 1997. Man's Search for Meaning, considered one of "the ten most influential books in America," has sold over five million copies in the USA alone. 

He has received 29 honorary doctorates from universities in all parts of the world.  Twenty-nine Honorary Doctorates!  When you look at the list, it is mind-boggling!  Yet, this is a man who could have drowned in self-pity during those dark days in Dachau.  He chose a different path.

"What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life," says Leo Buscaglia.

There is ample evidence of this basic fact.  Success is a matter of envisioning the life you want, and making choices that will ultimately lead to that vision.  Too often, we make choices based on instant gratification, rather than on the ultimate goal.  By simply altering the base upon which your choice is made, you can dramatically alter the course of your life.