Sir John Templeton believed that each human being “has an excellent opportunity to leave the world a better place than we found it through our choice of how we live our lives.”  The ‘Laws of Life’  included in Sir John’s books are commonly associated with principles that guide individuals in their personal and professional lives.

To be a happy and useful person, it is important to understand and practice simple rules of life. Laws of life are simply a “set of rules” by which we should live and come from a variety of sources and faith traditions – the major sacred scriptures, various schools of philosophical thought both ancient and modern, storytellers such as Aesop and  scientists and historians.  There are literally hundreds of rules we can live by that help us develop positive character traits such as love, kindness, gratitude, respect and courage.

Most families and religions also seek to teach the rules they were taught. Some rules are so clear they are universal in their meaning and on which most people can agree are true. For example, honesty and truthfulness rank high as values in cultures and societies around the world.

In previous competitions, students wrote essays and produced videos centered around a particular theme and topic, with specific laws assigned to each division. Last year we upended that tradition and asked participants to select and write about their own personal law of life or character trait that they wanted to live by.

Participants responded to this question in a magnificent way! The essays and videos were filled with wisdom, creativity, insight, and appreciation for the laws and character traits exemplified in daily life. We will continue with this tradition for this year.

Instead of assigning laws/rules to write about for each division, you will select your own law/rule or positive character trait you think is important to live by. For example, you may think that the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is an important rule to live by. Another example is the rule “Honesty is the best policy”. There are many others that you may have learned from your family, in church, or from your teachers. You can select any one you believe is important to practice in your life.

You also have another option to select any positive character trait you think is important to develop and display in your everyday life. For example, you may think that forgiveness is an important attribute to develop. Or maybe you think that perseverance, kindness, faith, patience, or love are important attributes. You can select any of these, or others not mentioned, to write about. 

Remember whether you select a rule/law or character trait, you must write about why it is important to you,  how it impacts your life, and give real-life examples of how you cultivate this in your daily life.

Here is an opportunity for you to reflect on and affirm/anchor your personal core values, write about them, and share them with a worldwide audience.

Visit the resources page for helpful writing tips as you craft your essay.