There’s no better exercise for strengthening your heart than stooping to lift somebody else. Think about it: your best friends are the ones who encourage you. Who wants to hang around somebody who always puts you down? Dr. Maxwell Maltz interviewed the son of a successful businessman. The boy had refused to take over the family business after his dad’s death, even though it would’ve made him wealthy. He explained, 'You don’t understand the relationship I had with my father. He was a driven man who came up the hard way. His objective was to teach me self-reliance, and he thought the best way to do it was never to encourage or praise me. Every day we played catch in the yard. The idea was for me to catch the ball ten straight times. I’d catch it eight or nine times, but always on that tenth throw he’d do everything possible to make me miss it. He’d throw it on the ground or over my head, so I’d no chance of catching it.' He then paused tearfully and said, 'That’s why I have to get away; I want to catch that tenth ball!' This young man grew up feeling he could never measure up, never be perfect enough to please his father. Sound familiar? William James said, 'The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.' Most of us think wonderful things about people, but we never tell them. Praise becomes valuable only if you impart it. So, today go out of your way to encourage somebody.