MISHAWAKA — Some people brighten up a room as soon as they walk in, said coach Muffet McGraw of the University of Notre Dame.

“Some people do it when they leave,” she said as her audience laughed inside the Windsor Park Conference Center.

“Which one are you?”

It’s a question she posed Thursday afternoon to more than 200 people who attended the seventh annual Samaritan Awards. The event honors St. Joseph County organizations whose polices and practices demonstrate an excellence in providing a family-friendly work environment.

As keynote speaker, McGraw shared the makings of a successful life and the values she and her husband place on one of life’s greatest feats -- balancing a demanding career, home and family.

“Balancing the career and kids takes a lot of teamwork,” she said. “I think anyone who works and has kids has to be an expert in time management.”

Of course, one of the most important things to remember, McGraw said, is to simply give up the idea of trying to be perfect.

“The greatest cause of unhappiness in our lives,” McGraw said, “comes when we start comparing ourselves to others.”

It’s easy to gaze at the family down the street that never seems to have a dandelion in their yard, McGraw said. The family that seems to juggle a plethora of balls without ever letting one of them hit the ground.

But don’t let it get to you.

“We need to give up the punishing quest for perfection,” McGraw said. “It’s a quest that causes us to doubt ourselves.”

McGraw said she also challenges people to remember several key philosophies that will take them far in life.

First, life is a journey, she said. So enjoy the ride. Learn to color outside the lines.

“Stop focusing on the rear view mirror,” she said, “and live in the moment.”

It’s amazing, she said, how fleeting life can be. And yet so many of us sit in our offices thinking about what we need to do at home. Then, when we get home, we’re thinking about what we need to do in our offices, she said.

“Now is the only time we own,” McGraw said. “The rest belongs to chance.”

So many people, she added, don’t focus on being happy now. They have a future timeline for when they’ll finally be happy.

“When the kids are in school,” McGraw said as an example. “When I lose 10 pounds. When scientists discover that chocolate is ... one of the four food groups.”

Being happy today, she said, is looking in a mirror and liking what you see. Of course, it’s just as important to remember that life isn’t fair -- so don’t always expect it to be, McGraw said.

“Whatever job you have,” she said, “whatever role you play in life, be the best at it.”

It all comes down to having a positive attitude.

“You can’t succeed in life without one,” McGraw said. “The great thing about life is that every day we get to wake up and reinvent ourselves.”

It’s a vital goal that, in the end, makes our lives most rewarding. But before you look at the end, you have to go back to the beginning. Back to those first moments when a baby enters the world.

When a baby is born, McGraw said, it cries -- and the whole world rejoices.

Now think about the end of your life.

“Live so that, when you die,” McGraw said, “the world cries, and you rejoice.”