The Rules of Life: A personal code for living a better, happier, more successful kind of life, 5th Edition
- By Richard Templar
- Published May 15, 2026 by Pearson Business.
About
Features
- Establish a firm centre to recharge and navigate daily life safely.
- Support family and friends while protecting your time and boundaries.
- Manage the complex mix of love and responsibility with children and parents.
- Interact with the wider world to build respect and lasting connections.
- Apply principles designed to increase your overall sense of contentment.
Description
- Copyright 2027
- Pages: 272
- Edition: 5th
- Book
- ISBN-10: 1-292-49964-8
- ISBN-13: 978-1-292-49964-2
Do you know people who seem to glide through life without any struggle? They always say the right thing and handle every crisis with total calm. You might wonder if they know something secret that you do not know. The truth is that they simply follow a personal code of conduct. You can learn these guiding principles to find the same success and happiness.
- Establish a firm centre to recharge and navigate daily life safely.
- Support family and friends while protecting your time and boundaries.
- Manage the complex mix of love and responsibility with children and parents.
- Interact with the wider world to build respect and lasting connections.
- Apply principles designed to increase your overall sense of contentment.
The Rules of Life distils everyday wisdom into short, usable rules. Organised across personal life, partnerships, family and friends, and wider social Rules, the book is structured for quick reading and easy recall.
The book includes rules specifically focused on finding and maintaining happiness. You will learn to spread happiness around you. The result is a calmer, kinder approach that feels achievable. Ideal for anyone feeling stuck or overwhelmed who wants a practical code for living better.
Sample Content
Table of Contents
Rules for you
1 Keep it under your hat
2 Youll get older but not necessarily wiser
3 Accept what is done is done
4 Accept yourself
5 Know what counts and what doesnt
6 Dedicate your life to something
7 Be flexible in your thinking
8 Take an interest in the outside world
9 Be on the side of the angels, not the beasts
10 Only dead fish swim with the stream
11 Be the last to raise your voice
12 Be your own adviser
13 No fear, no surprise, no hesitation, no doubt
14 I wish Id done that and I will
15 Its OK to give up
16 Count to ten or recite Hickory dickory dock
17 Change what you can change, let go of the rest
18 Aim to be the very best at everything you do not second best
19 Dont expect to be perfect
20 Dont be afraid to dream
21 If youre going to jump off a bridge, make sure you know how deep the water is
22 Dont dwell on the past
23 Dont live in the future
24 Get on with life its whooshing past
25 Be consistent
26 Dress like today is important
27 Have a belief system
28 Leave a little space for yourself each day
29 Have a plan
30 Have a sense of humour
31 Choose how you make your bed
32 Life can be a bit like advertising
33 Get used to stepping outside your comfort zone
34 Learn to ask questions
35 Have dignity
36 Its OK to feel big emotions
37 Keep the faith
38 Youll never understand everything
39 Know where true happiness comes from
40 Life is a pizza
41 Always have someone or something that is pleased to see you
42 Know when to let go when to walk away
43 Retaliation leads to escalation
44 Look after yourself
45 Maintain good manners in all things
46 Prune your stuff frequently
47 Remember to touch base
48 Draw the lines around yourself
49 Shop for quality, not price
50 Its OK to worry, or to know how not to
51 Stay young
52 Throwing money at a problem doesnt always work
53 Think for yourself
54 You are not in charge
55 Have something in your life that takes you out of yourself
56 Only the good feel guilty
57 If you cant say anything nice, dont say anything at all
Partnership Rules
58 Accept the differences, embrace what you have in common
59 Allow your partner the space to be themselves
60 Be nice
61 You want to do what?
62 Be the first to say sorry
63 Go that extra step in trying to please them
64 Know when to listen and when to act
65 Have a passion for your life together
66 Make sure your love making is making love
67 Keep talking
68 Respect privacy
69 Check you both have the same shared goals
70 Treat your partner better than your best friend
71 Contentment is a high aim
72 You dont both have to have the same rules
Family and friends Rules
73 If you are going to be a friend, be a good friend
74 Never be too busy for loved ones
75 Let your kids mess up for themselves they dont need any help from you
76 Have a little respect and forgiveness for your parents
77 Give your kids a break
78 Never lend money unless you are prepared to write it off
79 Keep schtum
80 There are no bad children
81 Be up around people you love
82 Give your kids responsibilities
83 Your children need to fall out with you to leave home
84 Your kids will have friends you dont like
85 Your role as a child
86 Your role as a parent
Social Rules
87 Were all closer than you think
88 It doesnt hurt to forgive
89 It doesnt hurt to be helpful
90 Whats in it for them?
91 Hang out with positive people
92 Be generous with your time and information
93 Get involved
94 Keep the moral high ground
95 Just because you have, doesnt mean they have to
96 Do compare yourself with other people
97 Have a plan for your career
98 Look at the long-term ramifications of what you do for a living
99 Be good at your job
100 Be aware of the damage you are doing
101 Be for the glory, not the degradation
102 Be part of the solution, not the problem
103 Check what history would say about you
104 Not everything can be green
105 Put something back
106 Find a new Rule every day or occasionally at least
The Rules of happiness
1 Take the long view
2 Do something youre good at
3 Like yourself
4 Look from the other direction
5 Spin it
6 Mix it
7 Find a distraction
8 Know who you value
9 Break down the blocks
10 Take control
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