Stan Marks: The secret to a happy life

How much has your life been influenced by what others have said or written? Over the years, I have interviewed many famous people -- Jewish and non-Jewish -- who have told me their "secrets" for a happy, rewarding or engaging life. Musician Yehudi Menuhin insisted on always extending one's awareness. He spoke of the importance of yoga in his life, which kept him so very energetic and young.

He did yoga daily, which he insisted helped him to perform. He explained that one should never stop inquiring, learning, teaching and having an interest in young people. After all, the world's future was in their hands. I tried yoga with Yehudi but I decided to leave it to the master musician. He did advise me to keep at it and discover what a great difference it would add to my life -- yoga was one of the world's blessings.

Isaac Stern, one of the best joke tellers I have met, said music was a key to world understanding. He said we should ensure that all the world's children would be helped to appreciate all the arts, especially music. He laughed when I asked why there were more Jewish violinists than pianists. "In a pogrom it was far easier to just pick up a violin and flee than take a piano," he explained.