At the core of our being, we all seek the solution to living a well lived life. Thoughts of living a well lived life speak to us on a soul level. These thoughts fill us with longing for peace and wholeness.

Who among us doesn't aspire to have someone say, at the end of our lives, that we lived our lives as a testimony, that we spent our time well? That opportunity is available to each one of us, through living our lives based on a unique set of 10 principles. The principles are: Courage, Faith, Reciprocity, Revolution, Creation, Friendship, Affirmation, Mission, Inspiration, and Beauty.

I discovered the value of living life based on these unique principles, from... well, from living my own life and observing how other people have lived and are living theirs.

In my work as a professional actress, playwright and theatre professor, I have trained and worked with hundreds of people, young and old. As an actress and playwright, I've observed and studied people's behaviors using my findings as the basis for character and story development, searching for those key traits that would be the catalyst to bring a fictionalized character into full view. Typically, when you're observing someone you don't have much time so you train yourself to observe with speed mindful not to be overt. You have to see what makes a person tick pretty quickly.

As a theatre professor I've had the pleasure of touching the lives of my students in a positive and meaningful way. Many would ask me how I knew what I wanted to do in life. Answering this question has never been difficult for me, because from an early age I knew that my purpose in life was to create. I knew that I represented the key of creation. I saw this key as my personal "identity tag," understanding that Creation was my driver. It has always defined how I lived my life. On a philosophical level, it was my identity. To put a different slant on things, living life honoring your dominant key is actually living your calling. You feel compelled to honor this force inside. To live your life in opposition to it is to live with far less fulfillment and diminished joy.

Experience has shown me that although we are called to continually be in awareness of and honor all 10 keys, each of us has one that is dominant. Just as Creation is my basis of conduct and operation, you too, are called to live your life motivated by your dominant key, or what I like to call your "identity tag."

Look at the list of 10 principles and spend some time reflecting upon which one resonates the strongest for you: Courage, Faith, Reciprocity, Revolution, Creation, Friendship, Affirmation, Mission, Inspiration, and Beauty.

I encourage you to explore your life thus far, discern your dominate principle and to fully embrace all 10 principles as a solution to living your life to the fullest.