If you want to live a happy life and achieve all your goals, there’s one essential trait you can’t go without: Being kind.

Franklin D. Roosevelt put it well: “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.”

And yet, cruel people are everywhere. You see it in the workplace, relationships, families, and on the street.

One thing I find is that many of us mistake kindness for weakness. But who says you can’t be kind and firm and the same time? Many think it’s one or the other.

When we study successful people, billionaires, and athletes, we always talk about their work ethic, creativity, and leadership. Those things are essential, and we can learn a lot from them. But one thing that gets less attention is kindness.

That’s why this article and the following observations are about kindness. Kindness has the ability, more than anything else, to improve your life instantly.