I recently had the great classicist and military historian Victor Davis Hansen on my YouTube

show The Sad Truth. Victor ended our conversation with the following. It's so nice to see an

academic who smiles. I don't do it enough, but you do. His comment moved me deeply. Sure, my positive demeanor is partly my

nature, but like everyone else, I've had my share of misfortune and disappointment. I grew up

literally in the middle of a war zone in Beirut, Lebanon. I had a promising future as a soccer

player kicked out from under me by a devastating injury.

I've lost coveted teaching positions because of my iconoclastic political views.

The list of personal setbacks is very long.

So I'm sure is yours.

That's just the way it is.

And we all know it.

But I refuse to let life beat me down. I don't

want to be unhappy for five minutes longer than necessary. Life is too precious and too short. To that

end, I've given the subject of happiness a lot of thought. Here are seven ways to maximize

your happiness. One, find the right spouse.

The most important person in life is your spouse, so choose wisely.

He or she is also the person you are going to spend the most time with.

This is why liking your spouse is even more important than loving them, although thankfully,

the two usually go together. Spending time with someone with whom you share values, who is

your best friend, is bliss. Spending time with someone who doesn't share your values is torture.

Navigating relationships, even the best ones, is a tricky business. So

approach your marriage with humility. You're not perfect and neither is your partner.

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