The Secret Of Happiness

There's been a lot of guff written about happiness in recent times. On the one hand, you've got the positive thinking gurus peddling their often simplistic fast track to deep joy and on the other you've got the doom-mongers telling us we're richer, healthier and unhappier than we've ever been.

Despite being somewhat cynical about the way happiness is regarded as the panacea for all ills, I confess to being part of the industry which promotes it as a life-affirming goal. Some see happiness as sentimental dream or fleeting fantasy. But I realise through my work as a hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner that it is possible to create a happy state of mind and spread a little of this magical ingredient.

What makes you happy is only relevant to you. A loving partnership and strong friendships are more highly prized than material things by most of us. It's a given that happiness is not necessarily about millions in the bank, a yacht on the Med or any of those affluent trappings. Many are the tales of how lottery winners lose their friends, community, identity and even their loved ones over arguments about new found loot.

There's no question, cash equals freedom of choice. More to the point, earning it equals a healthy sense of self worth which no trust fund kid will ever know (hence the less than life-enhancing addictions that often fill the gaps in their lives).

In a wealthy western culture, few of us go hungry or lack material goods. The poorest and most disadvantaged have access to housing, healthcare, education, the welfare state, iPods, mobiles and flat screen TVs.

What makes the starving happy is a good meal. It takes more than that to sate an emotionally starved but nutritionally nourished appetite. Whilst not life-threatening, such a condition undermines energy, motivation and focus, impairing the ability to set and achieve goals. High flyers in both primitive and technological societies often start out the hungriest and succeed simply because they try harder.

So it seems that the old fashioned Protestant principle of good old hard graft leads to a very secular kind of satisfaction. And being a bit peckish is no bad thing. It makes those little snacks in life so much more tasty. In this indulgent era of comfort and excess, those who make an effort and choose energy over inertia, those who curb their appetite enough to truly savour all that is plentiful and those who take the time to nurture their loved ones are the winners in the happiness stakes.

Karen Martin

http://www.hypnotherapykent.co.uk

The Secret Behind Happy Hour in Regards to Staff Management

Most people work long hours meeting deadlines and satisfying clients, making most workers lack the time to socialize. The closest that the working class generation comes to socializing is through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or Tagged.

Happy hour has proved to be a very powerful tool in promoting teamwork and smooth flow among staff. Many companies have adopted this fun way of doing things and have actually discovered an avenue that opens up revenues for relaxation. Happy hour is usually a time that is set apart probably once a month, from two in the afternoon when every member of staff officially downs their working tools and mingles with each other and get to know one another well.

At happy hour, the CEO holds hands with the cleaner. This is very powerful in propagating trust between management and staff. You can bet that a company which goes one on one with its employees hardly ever experiences problems when it come to staff management.

It is through such activities that a salesperson can get to have a feel of what the IT person does on a day to day basis and vice versa.

A budget for snacks is provided and all kinds of goodies and soft drinks are shared among employees. Mind you this is not like a party, so alcoholic drinks are strictly forbidden. For the management team who are used to driving to and from work the exercise thereafter proves to be very helpful.

After a successful happy hour which works well preferably on a Friday, the team is ready to face another month of sitting behind their desktops, laptops, steering wheels or whatever else they sit behind without complaining and generate huge profits for the company. In addition, the managers are able to easily apply sound staff management.

Stephen writes rich content on Online Business Programs. He is an Online Business Merchant and his webpage is on Money Making Ideas and Home Business Strategies. Visit his informative and insightful website at: Money Making Secrets [http://moneymakingsecret07.blogspot.com] for Updated Internet Business Solutions.

Great People Skills Are The Secret To Happiness

Having and developing great people skills will bring you happiness in work and in your social and private life. Great people skills tend to attract people. People with great people skills are generally the first to get promoted at work; they are the ones who have good relations with the opposite sex; they are the ones who people gather around at social events and because of these factors, they are the ones who are happier with their overall life.

The number one key to having great people skills is to care about yourself, and equally important is to care for others. Caring about yourself is not about thinking of yourself first. But rather, it's more about respecting yourself and maintaining a way of life that reflects that you care about yourself. When we care about ourselves we reflect that to others in our verbal and non-verbal behaviors. This is reflected in how we care for others. Thus, caring is a great people skill brings us happiness in itself.

Caring people treat others with kindness, rather than cruelty. Kindness can mean different things to different people. However, kindness is rooted in respect for another. This respect is demonstrated in behaviors like intently listening to the other without judgment or interruption, as an example. When we truly listen to another person we become engaged and participate in a meaningful conversation and interaction with them, aiming to developing a relationship that helps them.

One great people skill that will lead to happiness is trustworthiness. When people trust us they want to be around us because they know that they can talk to us about anything regarding their lives, knowing that what they say to us stays with us. A trustworthy person doesn't run around telling the secrets of another, but rather keeps that information to themselves. Also, the trustworthy person doesn't use that information against another.

Another example of a trustworthy person, but more related to honesty, is the one who finds something of value that belongs to someone else. But rather than keeping it for themselves, they do everything in their power to return the valuable to its rightful owner. When a person behaves in a trustworthy and honest manner they will most certainly experience happiness.

Reliability is another people skill that leads to happiness. Family, friends, acquaintances, and employers want to be able to rely on us, for whatever might need to be done or taken care of. Related to reliability is commitment. When happy people make a commitment they follow through with that commitment and, if for whatever reason they can't fulfill that commitment, they take the responsibility of letting the other know. Reliability, commitment and responsibility are all interrelated and each is a great people skill that enhances one's happiness.

The ability to connect with others is a great people skill to have. People who are able to connect with another are empathetic and that empathy is reflected in their conversational relations, both verbally and non-verbally. The body language of the person who can connect with another demonstrates an interest in the other and has patience, which is obviously seen in one's body language. Their body language is presented in such a way that it draws the other in, rather than rejecting them.

Great people skills obviously rely on knowing the appropriate thing to say. Their language is not abusive or threatening, but rather it is insightful and caring. It takes account of what other people are feeling and thinking and reacts to them accordingly in verbal and non-verbal communication. Having great people skills is a real gift because it allows you to put other people at their ease; communication will be made so much easier that you are bound to be happier.

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. This report reveals the secret strategies all high achievers use to communicate with charm and impact. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/blog

The Secrets about Happiness

My purpose with this article is to give an understanding of where happiness comes from.

So - where does happiness come from..?

Experiencing happiness is a magnificent ability we are born with,

a wonderful gift we all have in common as human beings.

From the perspective of evolution, happiness can be seen as a

fundamental teaching-tool that nature uses to further our success

as a species.

This tool is especially notable in connection with life's fundamental

needs - in that when we satisfy the basic requirements of sustaining

our existence, we automatically derive a sense of happiness.

For example, happiness is an unmistakable reward we experience

when we eat, drink, meet friends or love. And our happiness is

generally stronger the more pressing the need - The first taste of

water never tastes better, or gives more joy, than when our throats

are very dry and our thirst is very great.

This guiding, or teaching if you will, clearly helps us maintain the

conditions we function best in.

It's for this very purpose that pain overrides almost all other

emotions. In this way, we can't side-step or ignore this alarm-signal

that something is very wrong. It remains with us as an acute

reminder that something must be done.

In general, we experience negative feelings more intensively than positive ones, moreover, these unpleasant feelings are more easily activated.

Happiness is also a feeling we often must strive to experience, while its opposite comes upon us on its own: For while fear, anger and sorrow are instinctive responses to the outer-world's dangers and eventual set-backs, nature has created pleasant feelings and sensations as not so subtle lures to draw us into and maintain desirable, life-favoring situations.

The above is a brief description of happiness from a fundamental perspective.

The fantastic thing about happiness, however, other than what's been described above, is that it originates within us.

The latest research reveals that it is primarily the outlook we have to the world around us that determines our sense of happiness - not the world in and of itself. Everything we believe it takes to guarantee a happy and meaningful life - money, education, children, travel, and so on - don't have a greater impact on our happiness-barometer than our fundamental outlook, not in the long run; nor do difficult, even tragic experiences - divorce, sickness, or the death of people we hold dear. These researchers hold that most of us exaggerate the impact stressful experiences make on the course of our lives. With most of these experiences, even the worst of them, we're able to put the greater part of their affect behind us.

Obviously, there's a limit to how much adversity people can live with and still feel happy and content with their lives. This limit, or border, is passed, as previously noted, in connection with having enough food for the day, a roof over our heads, and people around us we can trust. Most of us have these fundamental necessities of human life.

In general then, it's not a lack, or an abundance of life's necessities that determines our happiness in the long run, but rather our fundamental outlook, our basic way of looking at ourselves and the world around us.

People who are happy and content are those people who perceive, value, and apply their strong sides, accept their weaknesses and take life as it comes.

Download your free Happiness booklet with tips for happiness at: [http://self-esteemnow.com/to_your_happiness.pdf]

Julia Nestler is a Personal Self-improvement Trainer and Author of the breakthrough book "How To Find The Secrets Of Your Self-esteem"

Download your *3 free chapters* of the "How To Find The Secrets To Your Self-esteem" program at: [http://www.self-esteemnow.com/index2.htm]

The Secret of Happiness

There's been a lot of guff written about happiness in recent times. On the one hand, you've got the positive thinking gurus peddling their often simplistic fast track to deep joy and on the other you've got the doom-mongers telling us we're richer, healthier and unhappier than we've ever been.

Despite being somewhat cynical about the way happiness is regarded as the panacea for all ills, I confess to being part of the industry which promotes it as a life-affirming goal. Some see happiness as sentimental dream or fleeting fantasy. But I realise through my work as a hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner that it is possible to create a happy state of mind and spread a little of this magical ingredient.

What makes you happy is only relevant to you. A loving partnership and strong friendships are more highly prized than material things by most of us. It's a given that happiness is not necessarily about millions in the bank, a yacht on the Med or any of those affluent trappings. Many are the tales of how lottery winners lose their friends, community, identity and even their loved ones over arguments about new found loot.

There's no question, cash equals freedom of choice. More to the point, earning it equals a healthy sense of self worth which no trust fund kid will ever know (hence the less than life-enhancing addictions that often fill the gaps in their lives).

In a wealthy western culture, few of us go hungry or lack material goods. The poorest and most disadvantaged have access to housing, healthcare, education, the welfare state, iPods, mobiles and flat screen TVs.

What makes the starving happy is a good meal. It takes more than that to sate an emotionally starved but nutritionally nourished appetite. Whilst not life-threatening, such a condition undermines energy, motivation and focus, impairing the ability to set and achieve goals. High flyers in both primitive and technological societies often start out the hungriest and succeed simply because they try harder.

So it seems that the old fashioned Protestant principle of good old hard graft leads to a very secular kind of satisfaction. And being a bit peckish is no bad thing. It makes those little snacks in life so much more tasty. In this indulgent era of comfort and excess, those who make an effort and choose energy over inertia, those who curb their appetite enough to truly savour all that is plentiful and those who take the time to nurture their loved ones are the winners in the happiness stakes.

Karen Martin

http://www.hypnotherapykent.co.uk

Needful Life Phrases About Happiness - Be Secretly Happy No Matter What is Happening in Your Life

Can you keep a secret? I mean, can you keep a really, really important secret? If you can, then you have a big head start on keeping yourself happy.

Tragedies of many "sizes" happen all the time. Events occur that are way beyond your control. What do you do to keep yourself going?

Steve came through the door of my office looking as though he had been run over by a pickup truck and left for dead. He was literally dirty, clothes torn, blood dripping from his left nostril.

"What happened to you?" was all I could manage.

"I just got mugged up town on my way to see you. That's way it been going these last several weeks," Steve said. (Not his real name.) "My life is a wreck. I messed up and my wife left me and took the kids. I was laid off my job after 17 years. My mother died two weeks ago. Father was already gone. My house is about to be foreclosed. I am just not happy."

Pardon me, but I almost laughed when he said, "I am just not happy." I managed to stifle the laughter, however. Steve didn't say that to be funny. He said it because it summed up his entire life at that moment.

We went to the restroom across from my office and got the bleeding stopped and his face washed. Then back to my office so we could talk. He told me the usual tale of how he had been raised to believe if he just had the right stuff, the correct job, lived in the proper neighborhood, drove this certain car, he would be happy. Instead, all these, plus his family, were gone in a few weeks time.

I said, "I'll teach you a secret. It won't cure your problems, but it will help you deal with them. Can you keep a secret?" I am sure this sounded much too light for him, but he was game for anything at that point.

I told him happiness resided on his inside, not his outside. I said to him that I was not making light of his circumstances, but the secret was he could be happy even in the midst of great discomfort or tragedy if he remembered this secret and applied it in every circumstance.

"You have seen, unfortunately, first had, that depending on outward situations does not bring happiness," I said. "You need to develop an inward space, a hiding place, if you will, where your happiness is locked away. Then nothing can finally destroy you."

I told him all he had to do to have and keep this secret was to decide it was so. Decide that at the Core of the Universe, and therefore his own core, there was deep, profound and everlasting Harmony that nothing could disturb or demolish. He needed to latch onto that Harmony by being in touch with It daily. Taking just a few minutes a day to deeply concentrate on being happy on the inside. That he needed to see this happiness radiating out to "cover" all contingencies.

Is there such a place within each of us? Oh, yes. Make no mistake, we are hardwired to the Core of Harmony of the Universe.

So, I told Steve, the world can be falling apart around us, yet we can remain cocooned in our happiness. Not as a means of permanent escape from the substantial world. But as a place of retreat where we can refresh our spirits and regain our strength for the fray. Steve left a little bit better off than when he appeared dirty and bleeding. As I heard from him over the weeks to come, he was feeling much better about himself and his world.

You, too, can feel much better when you develop and maintain this secret place of happiness within you. It takes just a few minutes each day to retreat to this site of refuge, to reequip yourself for whatever is happening in your physical world. Does it cure problems? No. But it surely helps you deal with them. Decide now, right now, that you have this secret of happiness within you.

And I invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to a Force-Source-Resource where you will find more about inward happiness. Just Click Here. There are several to choose from. One is titled, "Two Life Phrases for Self Development 'I Am My True Self' and 'I Am Conscious'" Remember, one bit of information can give you a lifetime of satisfaction. You'll get that info here.

My blog: http://themeaningoflifewithdrbob.com/blog where we talk about the meaning of life, which is to be happy.

24 Secrets To Happiness

Are you happy? Would you like to be even happier? You can if you understand what brings true, long-lasting happiness. We all have the ability to create a happy life and we all deserve it.

I learned a lot about happiness from my clients. As a Marriage, Family Therapist for 27 years, I first discovered what happiness is not. Many of my clients of all ages had many things happening in their lives that anyone would think would make them happy. To my surprise, men and women who had beautiful homes, cars, successful careers or businesses, good health, wonderful children, and free time to travel and participate in sports, were still very unhappy.

When I guided them through a process called HART, which stands for Holistic And Rapid Transformation, they changed their negative thoughts to positive ones. Then the clients were able to realize the messages below, and believe that happiness was in their grasp. As they focused on what they could do to feel true happiness, their lives improved dramatically.

The following 24 guidelines can assist you to enjoy this wonderful feeling.

Happiness Is....

1. Experiencing my life as an exciting journey.

2. Courageously doing what I want to do even if I'm scared.

3. Realizing that I have everything inside of me to make me happy.

4. Knowing that I'm the only one who can decide what is right or wrong for me.

5. Thinking positive thoughts which are attracting to me what I want and need.

6. Forgiving myself and others for what I perceive to be not okay.

7. Accepting that I'm okay even when I blunder and learning from my mistakes.

8. Realizing that I'm only responsible for my thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

9. Understanding that what people say or do is a reflection of them and not of me.

10. Listening to my inner wisdom, my intuition.

11. Stimulating my mind and caring for my body.

12. Balancing my life between work and play.

13. Understanding that every precious moment is all that matters.

14. Being caring and loving and pursuing my interests and talents.

15. Learning from my past, setting goals for the future, and focusing on the present.

16. Allowing myself to feel all of my emotions and to express them in healthy ways.

17. Taking the time to smell the flowers.

18. Sharing my truth in a loving way.

19. Overcoming my fears and resolving all my problems with win-win solutions.

20. Accepting changes, and flowing with them.

21. Understanding that my true success of each day is how much I have expressed caring to myself and others.

22. Being grateful for all that I have and for all that I am.

23. Accepting that I am okay and I deserve to be healthy, happy, and successful.

24. Giving and receiving unconditionally.

Copyright 2007 by Helene Rothschild, MS, MA, MFT, a Marriage, Family Therapist, intuitive counselor, speaker, and author. Her newest book is, "ALL YOU NEED IS HART!?. She offers phone sessions, teleclasses, books, e-books, MP3 audios, tapes, posters, independent studies, and a free newsletter. http://www.lovetopeace.com , 1-888-639-6390.

Ultimate Secrets To Happiness - Learn Them In Less Than Ten Minutes!

An abiding feeling of happiness is the end goal of your existence as a human being. If you're feeling happy, right now, then nothing else matters. And if you're not feeling happy right now, then nothing else matters.

Here's a thought experiment. Think of something you want. Perhaps you want a new car, or a more spacious house. Perhaps you want something important for a loved one, such as for your son or daughter to get in to their first choice of college.

When you ask yourself, "If I had that, fully and completely, what would that give me that's even more important?", what comes to mind? Write down the answer.

Repeat asking this question on your new answer, over and over again, until you get to a point where the answer doesn't change.

That "fixed point" answer is usually something abstract and spiritual like "happiness", or "peace", or "oneness". It's very unlikely to be something like "popularity" or "money" or "a new boat". This simple exercise illustrates the point that we don't seek things in the material world because those things themselves are meaningful to us. Instead, we seek those things because we want to experience the feelings that we believe they will give us. And perhaps the most important feeling of all is that of happiness.

Experience shows that a lasting experience of happiness is created by some life experiences but not others. "Getting what you want", is always fun, and will boost your mood for a while. This is true whether the thing you want is something material, like money or possessions, a goal like earning a university degree or running a marathon, or something more abstract like recognition from peers or popularity among other people. However, after you adapt to having that thing you want as part of your life, it will no longer boost your mood. "Getting what you want" can never create lasting happiness.

On the other hand, there are a few habits that you can practice regularly that will create permanent positive shifts in your level of happiness.

Meditate. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the positive benefits of meditation on practitioners' moods and experience of well-being. It's not an accident that the so-called "happiest man in the world", Mathieu Ricard, is a Tibetan Buddhist monk who is a highly experienced practitioner of meditation.

Express gratitude. Approaching your life from a standpoint of gratitude is likely to create a feeling of happiness. People who are envious and resentful are always focusing on what is "wrong" with the world rather than what is "right". Fighting with reality is a proven and well-worn path to negative emotions. Conversely, when you practice living in a state of gratitude, it's hard to avoid loving reality exactly as it is, and this is a great road to happiness. This doesn't mean that you can't work to change things that are imperfect or fight injustice. However, it's always better to do this kind of work from a place of acceptance rather than a place of resistance.

Be loving. Lester Levenson said that when he felt loving - and thereby expressed his love for other people - he would automatically experience a feeling of happiness within. When you give away or express what you feel like you are missing or lacking in your life, this often turns things around for you. You can rediscover what you thought was missing. Volunteering your time to help others is one scientifically validated way to put this principle into effect.

Serve a purpose greater than yourself. For many people, this comes from a religious or spiritual practice, though it's not necessary to be a believer in order to put this principle into effect. It could be a goal such as raising children well, growing a business or a non-profit in order to give value to others, or simply living in alignment with a personal code of ethics or philosophy. As described by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a so-called "flow state" comes from a forgetting of the self and the ego, and immersing yourself in challenging, creative activities that you truly enjoy. When you are able to spend much of your time in a state like this, time passes, work gets done, and you experience happiness naturally.

It may sounds like a cliche, but it's true nonetheless - happiness does not arise from what you have or what you earn, but from your mindset and from your actions in the world. By practicing the habits described in this article, you can increase your experience of happiness in life starting today.

Dr. Jack Bennett is a life coach and blogger. Jack writes about happiness, habit and behavior change, and personal development at http://thirtytwothousanddays.com. He is a endlessly curious guy who's passionate about living a life of happiness, abundance, contribution, and inner peace.

The title of his web site refers to the approximate length of a human life - a reminder to seize the day and take action on the dreams and goals that are most important to you.

To learn more about the transformational life coaching services offered by Dr. Bennett, please visit his coaching page at http://thirtytwothousanddays.com/blog/coaching/ where you can sign up for a complimentary 30 minute coaching session.

The Secret of Happiness and Success

To have success is also to have happiness. While success means different things to each of us, without success we are not happy. Being successful is a two-part process; first, there is determination and second there is belief. The secret is that both of these begin in the mind.

You cannot be happy if you allow others to decide your fate, to allow life to just rather push you along life a leaf in a river. This will create resentment, lost opportunity, conflict, and more importantly; unhappiness in your life.

We all must choose our own life; you are responsible for your life, your success, and your happiness. Nobody can do it for you, for example if I eat a pizza, will you feel full? If I take a shower, will you smell better? Of course not, but I hope that helps you to understand that you are who is in charge of your life.

The conscious decision

We all make choices every day, what to eat, what to wear, and so on. The big decision we must make is what to do. We decide what to do, and it is this choice that we must be aware of, if we are to achieve our success and happiness.

We must be prepared mentally, spiritually, and physically to make the choices that affect our lives. To do any less is to surrender to being just another face in the crowd, to being an anonymous member of society. We must determine what it is that means success to us, what does success mean to you is the thought that must be present in your mind at all times.

Choosing the direction

If you go to a bus station and ask for a ticket, the teller will request a destination. If you do not tell the teller a destination, you will not get a ticket to ride. Just as in your life: If you do not know where you are going, you will never get anywhere.

You decide what you want to do, and where you want to go. Without a clear idea of what you want to be means that you get what is left over from other peoples efforts, if anything at all. There is no such thing as something for nothing, everything has a cost. To not choose costs you any chance of success, to not know what you want costs you your happiness.

Making the choice

Decide first what it is that you desire, what do you desire to do or be? You can take this first, and most important, step towards success and happiness. Without this destination, there can be no journey.

Then determine that it shall be, that it will happen, that you will make it happen, that it will be yours. Feel the burning desire to see it through to completion, and you will start taking the steps needed to make your desire a reality in your life.

Then have faith in yourself. When you first start an endeavor you have to have a little faith, you are learning new things, doing new things, and you will get better as time goes on, but at first, it will seem difficult, and that is why you need to have faith to get you through the start up.

Soon after you begin, you will notice that your skills are getting better, that your ability to do things becomes easy and second nature. This is where faith turns into belief. Now you know you can, you can prove it, you can have it, and you can do it.

Then you will have success, you will have happiness, and above all: you will have your own life.

Be Blessed.

Did you find the information useful? You can find more about it at my Blog: True Happiness

Balance in Business, Passion in Life - The Success Secret of Happy Entrepreneurs!

How to bring back the balance in your business and the passion in your life.

Do you remember when you first started your business, how energetic and optimistic you were? You were busy enjoying your work and your life.

Then somewhere along the way, routine and reality set in and your business kept demanding more and more of you. To cope, maybe you put relationships, hobbies, friends and your health on hold.

Do you want your business to thrive and excel without it consuming all your time and energy? Would you like to have more time for the important people in your life (including yourself)? It is possible to run a successful business while enjoying life to the fullest.

It starts with strategically re-thinking and prioritizing what's important in your life. It's a fact that there is not enough time in the day to do everything that you'd like to do.

In order to both run a successful business AND have a complete life, you need to tackle this challenge from two fronts:

1. In business - Allocate your time and run your business as efficiently as possible, and 2. In life - Build and maintain your "non-business" relationships, interests and other areas that create meaning, zest and fun!

Many of the business activities on your plate can be delegated or outsourced to free up your time. It's true, they may not get done as well as you do them, but does everything have to be completed in your style? Maybe letting go a little can free up your time for more important activities...

Some items are strategically important and need to be handled by you. Oftentimes, a bit of re-think will help you deal with these tasks in a more expedient fashion than today. E.g. how are you on time management? Prioritizing? Are you up to date on technology that can cut your workflow?

Then there are the activities that with a little innovation you can stop doing altogether - the true time wasters. Find them and delete them!

Here's a vital key to entrepreneurial success: When creating more meaning in your personal life, your business becomes more successful as well. This is an area where there's no trade off - you CAN both eat your cake and have it too!

About the Author:

Anders Moller has worked, studied and lived the subject of balance in business and life in his own companies for over 20 years. In his latest guide Balance in Business - The Success Secret of Happy Entrepreneurs, Anders shows you how easy it is to create this life/business balance in your own life, with thought-provoking ideas and practical examples from everyday situations. For more information visit [http://www.balancemybusiness.info/]

Secret To Happiness

The secret to finding lasting happiness in life is simple. All it requires is a willingness to focus your attention on what is right in your world. If there's a hole in the roof, do you have a bucket to catch the rain? Try to find the silver lining in each situation and you will be happier in the long run.

Imagine if we lived in a country where the majority of us were happy. There was a time not to long ago when this was so, we trusted our neighbors, helped out strangers in need, and hoped our children would have a brighter tomorrow. We can make these same hopes and dreams come alive again. To do so we need to begin to belief that we are all doing our best, and contributing to the common good.

Are you striving to be the best you can be? The chances are great that you are. If you are, isn't it likely that others are setting similar goals. We all want to feel good about ourselves, and provide for our loved one's. So here a happiness challenge acknowledge your wish for happiness and as you do so affirm the right of others to be happy as well. See yourself in a country full of happy people all with similar goals but each person unique in his or own way. With that image in your minds eye go out and meet others who are striving to make the world a better place.

Are you up for this challenge? Your happiness may depend on it. We need to trust each other a little more and fear each other a little less. See if you can replace your fearful or judgmental thoughts towards others with thoughts of hope for their well-being or acceptance for your status in life. Intolerance prevents us from becoming the people we want to be. If you want to feel good about yourself you need to perceive others as good as well.

Happiness is simple, its about focus, vision, trust and good will. Thomas Jefferson said it best when he said happiness was dependent on our ability to love others. Belief in yourself and others, and you'll begin to discover we are living in a happy world.

Vince Chiles, LCSW is the author of a self-published book Happiness in Five Minutes a Day which is scheduled to be released to the public 3/26/08. Information about Vince and his book can be obtained by going to [http://www.happinessinfive.com]

Secrets of Happy People - Positiveness

I believe that we have all experienced the feeling of happiness at some time during our lives. For some, it may be a feeling that they experience often. For others, feelings of happiness are few and far between. One thing is for certain, we all desire happiness. Money, work, relationships, in fact everything that we do is geared towards attaining a state of happiness in our lives.

Who you are and what you are passionate about, your life experiences and your expectations all play their part in determining the level of happiness in your life. Some people need a sense of success in their professional lives whereas for others, a good personal life matters more than anything else. Regardless of what brings you the greatest happiness, you need to recognize that you are in charge of your own happiness. You decide how you choose to define happiness and the conditions for you to experience it.

Positiveness

Are you an optimist, a pessimist, or a 'realist'? Most pessimists or 'realists' have developed a negative perspective because of past disappointments. They rationalize that if you don't expect much, then if something good happens you're pleasantly surprised, and if something bad happens then it's as you expected anyway.

This sounds sensible, but the reality is that if you have a positive point of view you give yourself more options. Rather than focusing on the problem, you give yourself the option of finding a solution. Rather than focusing on what's bad about the situation, you give yourself the option of seeing the good that is in it. Rather than focusing on how the event hurts you, you give yourself the option of learning and benefiting from the event.

Considering that most people who are miserable and going nowhere with their lives are pessimists, and most people who are happy and successful are optimists, which would you rather be?

If you want to be confident and attract success on your own terms, download Thad's free special report: "How To Find Your Passion In 3 Easy Steps" at [http://www.9dayspassionandpurpose.com/]

Visit http://www.PassionLifeCoach.com/Blog/ to feed your mind with more healthy, wholesome inspiration.

Believing In You!

Thad, The Passion Life Coach

Happy Talk and 3 Simple Secrets to Happiness

What is the one thing you want more than anything else for the people you love the most? If you had a magic wand what would you grant your family and friends? What is it that everyone wants?

To be happy!

How can you make other people happy until you are happy? How can you be happy?

Lester Levenson, creator of The Sedona Method, discovered the key to happiness. He searched for 47 years and nearly died in the process but he did find it. Do you want to know what it is?

Lester had a breakthrough after much soul searching and found out how to be happy only after reviewing his entire life. He spotted a common pattern, one that was present in every happy moment.

Whenever he was feeling love towards another person he felt happy. And whenever he felt any other feeling he was not happy.

Test this principle for yourself. Think of a time when you were blissfully happy. Did you feel loving at that time? This works for me every time. Is this easy or what? Simply amazing!

If this sounds too simple to work I know that you have not tested it for yourself. Turning on a light bulb is easy too only because someone else figured it out!

Now it is time for Happy Talk or how to talk in a way that makes your family and friends happy...

1. Be Happy Yourself

Spend twenty minutes asking yourself:

who do I love most in my life?

what do I love most about myself?

what things do I love most in my life?

After doing this exercise you will feel much happier. And you will have done it without having to spend any money on expensive clothes, cars or holidays!

2. Spread the happiness

Now that you feel happy you will radiate this to whoever you spend time with. Happiness is infectious. Just be yourself and top up the happiness by quietly asking yourself the above three questions when you are in company.

3. Show your friends and family how to be happy

Depending on how well you know your friends you may want to approach this step in one of two ways.

If you want to play it safe ask your friend to talk about times when she was happy. Let her talk and just listen as she relives those wonderful times from the past.

Share your own favorite moments too. Enjoy yourself!

If the people you are with are more open to the ideas we are discussing here take them through the steps I covered above in section one. Ask them these questions:

who do you love most in my life?

what do you love most about myself?

what things do you love most in my life?

The Dalai Lama teaches that the purpose of life is to be happy. Go on and live a life of purpose with your family and friends!

About The Author

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm

Shaquille O'Neal's Secret of Happiness

"There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way", goes the

saying. So happiness is not something you have to go searching

for somewhere. NBA star Shaquille O'Neal has a unique formula

for happiness that I want to share with you.

In an interview after a match that coincided with his birthday,

Shaq was asked how he was going to celebrate his birthday. He

said that he was going to thank God for the blessings in his

life; and this is the witty and funny bit of Shaq's answer:

"Actually everyday is my birthday."

Shaquille O'Neal's statement is a very powerful key to a happy

life. If you approach each day of your life as your birthday then

everyday will be a happy day for you. And indeed you have the

right to declare everyday your birthday.

Think of the thousands of people who sleep each night and never

wake up again then you will forever see the need show appreciation of your God-given life by living it to the fullest everyday.

Sometimes I think of sleep as death and it has many similarities with death. So with this in mind you could always regard waking up each morning as a new birth and then like Shaq everyday will be your birthday.

After all isn't life a process of continuous renewal? I love this quote which I use as an affirmation every morning: "yesterday has gone. So have all its problems. Today is new and full of miracles and opportunities if you will but look for them."

In Life's Good the author recommends this biblical quotation as a

daily affirmation: "This is the day which the Lord has made; we

will rejoice and be glad in it". He advises to change the word "you" to "I" and personalize the affirmation.

Come on be a Shaq and make everyday your birthday!

Quality Time Matters - The 3 Secrets of Happy Couples

How would you define spending quality time together with your partner? Here's a hint - it's about much more than sitting on the sofa watching TV. Truly happy couples know that real quality time should be spent talking to each other, finding out more about each other, fulfilling each other's emotional needs and doing things together. So if you're looking for the best relationship or dating advice, start with learning how to spend quality time with the one you love.

For most married couples, it's probably just a few hours a week, if that. Now go back in time to when you and your significant other were first dating. Chances are you spent about 15 hours a week basking in each other's undivided attention, and it felt fantastic!

What happened? It's a matter of priorities. Your relationship-nurturing the bond that you and your partner share-slipped a bit (or maybe a lot). For many, work, finances and kids moved to the top of the list. The problem is that when you neglect your relationship, you drift apart. This drifting leaves room for negative feelings and emotions to creep in: loneliness, resentment, apathy, anger, even falling out of love.

Acclaimed clinical psychologist Willard F. Harley Jr. talks about the 'promise of time'. He emphasizes this concept with couples about to enter into marriage, but it's relevant for all couples, no matter how long you've been together. It's basically the promise of spending time together each week giving one another quality, undivided attention.

In his clinical practice, Dr. Harley's first assignment for many couples trying to rebuild their relationship is the exercise of giving each other 15 hours of undivided attention for one week. Fifteen hours! He's had many couples try to convince him that this just isn't possible, mostly because it seems totally impractical. But, in the end, couples usually agree that without time they're never going to re-create the love they once had for each other.

To really make time for one another, Dr. Harley advises that couples follow The Policy of Undivided Attention.

There are THREE PARTS to The Policy of Undivided Attention:

Privacy. The time you spend in each other's company should not include children, relatives or friends. Privacy is paramount because it allows you to give each other, and your relationship, your full, undivided attention. This might be difficult, but it's necessary. The presence of others (and especially children), while wonderful, interferes with affection and intimate conversation.

Objectives. During the time you are together, try to meet the emotional needs of affection, sexual fulfillment, intimate conversation, and recreational companionship. This isn't an easy task. Obviously, each person is different, but evidence shows that romance for husbands tends to be sex and recreation, whereas for the majority of wives, they find affection and intimate conversation romantic.Dr. Harley's advice is to try to do all of these things when spending time together. This is a tall order, so it's important to talk openly with your partner about one another's emotional needs. Confusion often arises when one person assumes their needs are the same as their partner's. This can lead to frustration, anger and feeling misunderstood. Only through open dialogue can you learn about your partner's needs and how to fulfill them and vice versa.

Amount. The number of hours spent together should reflect the quality of your marriage. If your marriage is satisfying to both of you, 15 hours of undivided time together is probably enough. If your marriage is less than satisfying should you spend more or less time together? The answer is you should spend even more time together.

Michelle Rogers
Contributor, FinerMinds.com

Visit http://www.finerminds.com for even more secrets to living a healthier, happier and wealthier life.

7 Secrets of Happy Couples

Why do some couples stay happy together for a lifetime, while others are in conflict almost from the beginning?

Part of the answer is compatibility - making the initial choice of a partner with whom you share common values. Equally much, however, depends upon the choices each partner chooses to make during the relationship. Here are seven choices made by happy couples:

1. Trust: Suspicion and jealousy are the death knell of any relationship. If the other is going to cheat or otherwise dishonor the relationship, suspicion and jealousy will not prevent it, and such a relationship is fatally flawed in any case. Unwarranted suspicion and jealousy create misery in a surprising number of relationships. If you want to live happily, trust your partner completely. If they dishonor your trust, deal with the situation then. In the meanwhile, your will have been happy.

2. Open Communication: Tell the truth, tell the whole truth. If you didn't want to share your whole life with your partner, why are you together? If you make a mistake, admit it. If you have doubts, talk about them. Secrets and lies kill a relationship. With truth and openness anything is possible. Even if something is unforgivable, it is better to deal with it quickly.

3. Honoring the other's point-of-view: People disagree, couples disagree. Understanding that the two partners in a couple remain individuals is crucial to a happy relationship. Why would you expect that you and your partner should agree on everything? Honor that one of you is a Republican and the other a Democrat. Honor that one of you is a vegetarian and the other loves a great steak.

4. Self-Confidence: Co-dependence is another frequent cause of failed relationships. Happy couples know that they don't need each other. Each partner is a completely whole and valid individual who has entered into a voluntary partnership. Neither "owns" the other, nor "can't live without" the other. Each has their own interests and friends, as well as having mutual interests and friends.

5. Generosity: Greed and selfishness kill relationships. True love is generous in spirit. Mostly, generosity is not about material things, although that is also important. To have a happy relationship, be generous of your time, your love, and your attention.

6. Forgiveness: Resentments and thoughts of revenge and vengeance have no place in a happy relationship. Happy couples forgive each other completely for everything the other has ever done or failed to do - no exceptions.

7. Gratitude: Happy couples are continuously grateful for each other. Every day there are a myriad of reasons to be grateful for your partner. Find those reasons each day, and thank your partner every day.

Sign-Up for Jonathan's Daily Inspiration - Daily Quote email, and read his article: 7 Secrets for a Happy Life.

Jonathan Lockwood Huie is an author of self-awareness books. He has been dubbed "The Philosopher of Happiness" by those closest to him, in recognition of his on-going commitment to seeing Joy in all of life.

** Today is your day to dance lightly with life. It really is. - jonathan lockwood huie**

The Secret to Happiness is in Seeing

Do you realize that you are a Divine Being having a human experience? Everyone and everything that exists is a unique expression of the Divine. When you look at other people from your heart's center, feeling your love, you will see that Divine in every single person you pass by even if you don't stop to talk.

Look for it. I absolutely guarantee you'll see it. You'll see it in every animal and you'll see it in Nature. Everything in nature - whether it's a tree, a flower, a river or whether it's a magnificent rock/stone or mountain-is Divine.

Everything is an expression of the Divine and every organism vibrates at its own unique frequency. Everything has a healthy vibration level. When it falls below that level it is not healthy. When it stays at that level, it's healthy.

So look for the Divine in everything. You will be fulfilling your love and your soul, and enriching your life when you're seeing the Divine every place you go because you'll understand the real truth behind the expression "We are all One. We are all connected."

When you look at someone who is living in scarcity and they don't have a home, you will recognize that their situation is impacting you, and the good side of that is your situation impacts them and they just may turn their life around because they see "Oh! I don't have to live this way. I have a choice."

Recognize that the butterfly in China flapping its wings affects the weather pattern I will experience here in Idaho in the United States. Everything that you do impacts everybody else. Everything that everybody else does impacts you.

Think about when you go into a crowded place. Sometimes you feel your energy rise. Sometimes you feel your energy zapped right out of you. Other people's energy impacts yours just as yours impacts other people.

And we are all Spirits, and when people recognize that we are all connected, that we are all one community across the entire world, across the entire Universe, life becomes easier for everyone.

So, recognize the Love of the Light that's within you and see it in everyone and everything. That single change in how you see others and everything will instantly open your eyes to new possibilities

The possibilities for your life are absolutely endless. From a point of your Divinity, and your love and your energy and the Spiritual being who You really are in your essence--you can be anyone who can do anything and have anything. When you know that truth in your heart and you're living it, when you recognize it's true for everyone and everything, your life will instantly change. It won't happen little by little. It will happen instantly!

Ali Bierman shows you how to be happier and manifest with awareness by changing your unknown belief systems that stop you cold. Grab her free ebook What You Don't Know You Don't Know to make your life happier by manifesting your dreams now at http://www.creatingthelife.com/ebook2.html

The Best Secret To Happiness Now! Find Out The Key To Happiness As A Woman And As A Mother

Do you ever wonder what happy moms have that you don't? Do you ever wish you knew their secret? Do you find yourself envious of your mom friends or acquaintances who appear to "have it all"? Why are some people so darn happy all the time? Is it their wealth? Their career? Their "perfect" husband?

In my years of study on the subject of happiness I've come to realize something very simple, yet so very profound. You may have even heard of it before, but it's something to always keep in the forefront of your mind. Here it is, the key to everlasting happiness: In order to be happy, you must be happy now.

Most of us say, "I'll be happy when....", or "When this is over I'll be happy", or "If only this were different, then I'd be happy". Well, I have news for you, fellow moms, you will never be happy if you can't be happy now, in your present circumstances. Now before you rush to correct me, hear me out. This does not mean you have to remain in the state you are in currently forever. It does not mean you need to "settle". No way! If you want more from life then you must pursue it. If you feel you were made to be or do more, or if you don't feel you've reached your dream life yet, then please continue after it.

However, you must learn to be content with your present, with wherever you are in life right now. Be happy about something in your life. Feel gratitude for at least one aspect in your life. We can all find something to be thankful for, proud of or content with. Find one or two or three parts of your life that make you feel good, then concentrate on these feelings and use them to expand the feeling of happiness and appreciation. Then use this feeling as motivation to change that which does not suit to your liking.

We will always have parts of our life we want to improve upon, whether it be our looks, our finances, our relationships, our spirituality, or any other aspect. And this is ok. But the key is to find contentment with where we're at now, knowing we will make improvements as we're able. Enjoy the moment, savor the present, be grateful for where you are, because let's face it, it could always be worse. So dwell on the good you experience now, and work on changing that which is less than satisfying.

This will propel your happiness to new heights today. It will also help inspire and motivate you to move towards your happiness goals. Be happy now, yet continue to seek more.

There is so much more to discover in this journey to everlasting happiness. This is just the very beginning. To learn more about how you can be happy as a woman and happy as a mother every day, please visit [http://www.happymombook.com/] It's completely FREE!

Tanna Phares is an author and mother of three young children. She helps women across the globe find enduring happiness in their lives as mothers. You can learn more about her by visiting  http://www.littlemamabiglife.blogspot.com/.   

Secrets of Happy Couples - You Can Learn to Have It

Do you ever wonder how those happy couples do it? Do they share some secret that nobody else knows? Would you like to know how to maintain the in-love feeling over the long haul? Sometimes it seems like happy couples are rare, but you can learn to be part of one, too.

Secret 1 - You will have to be willing to work at it.

Couples who have been together for decades will admit that it's not easy to be with one person for that long. But, it is worth it to have a solid, lifelong relationship. Both partners have to be willing to put in some work. This might mean making compromises.

Remember why you wanted to be with him in the first place. And ask him to try to remember why he is with you. You can maintain an appreciation for each other if you don't forget that those personal qualities that you were first attracted to are just as special now.

Secret 2 - It's all about communication.

Happy couples know that being able to talk to each other is of paramount importance. It doesn't matter whether you are mad, disappointed, or not in the mood to listen. Once you calm down, you need to be able to talk things through. If you can't, resentment and misery will set in.

Communication doesn't always come naturally. This might be one of those areas that require a lot of work. You both need to help to create an atmosphere where you feel comfortable coming to each other with problems. You also both need to remember to talk about the good things as well. Reinforce to each other why you are in love.

Secret 3 - Stick with it through good and bad.

There will be good times, and you should appreciate those, rather than taking them for granted. There will also be times that are not so good, and yet others where you will wonder why you ever got together in the first place.

You should both be prepared to work things out even when times are tough. Every couple goes through ups and downs, and you should be ready and willing to work through the rough patches. When you both know that you'll be there for each other no matter what, you will be one of those "happy couples."

Imagine what if you could make any man adore you, chase you, love you, and commit to you? Click Unforgettable Woman Advice and learn 77 Secrets that 99% of women have never heard. You have got to see this!

This article is contributed by Tina Jones from the Unforgettable Woman Publishing Team. She works together with founder Alexandra Fox and writes dating/relationship articles for women. You can find more about Unforgettable Woman Publishing by visiting their website.

The Secret to Happiness - It's All in Your Head

If there's a word that seems destined to provoke fear, anger and sadness, it's "cancer." So imagine my surprise when my friend Angela, after being diagnosed said, "I had great news; it's only stage three."

Great news?!

It's all in how you think about it. The facts were what they were. She couldn't control them. But she could control her attitude.

You can always choose your attitude.

Every day brings a mix of the good, the bad, the routine and the out-of-the-ordinary. But that's not what determines your experience. Your attitude does... even if that may feel somewhat counter-intuitive!

Your perspective is one of the few things in life that's 100% within your control.

Change your thoughts, change your experience.

My client Art, a talented photographer and videographer, adopted a simple change in perspective that dramatically changed how he experiences his least-favorite activity: film editing.

While he loves producing his extraordinary museum documentaries, he hated editing hundreds of hours of video down to a mere few hours for a final piece. In fact, he dreaded it so much that it ruined the entire project for him!

Until he viewed editing through a new lens.

His work is exactly the same. But he no longer thinks of it as "beating this piece into submission." Instead he focuses on how he's interacting with the film to craft the story. As a result, his entire experience has changed.

Develop a one-track mind toward happiness.

Choose one situation. Focus first on one aspect of your life that's stirring up strong negative emotions. It could be a task similar to Art's editing, a challenging relationship, or something at work.

Name your current attitude. Simply describe your view... don't judge yourself or your emotions!

Identify alternatives. Regardless of the facts, you can choose a variety of reactions. Consider your options and get creative, even wacky, to push your thinking. Move around the room. Step outside and peer through the trees. How would a four-year-old see the situation? How about a ninety year old? Come up with at least five alternatives.

Choose your new perspective. Then practice daily. You're creating new brain-tracks. It will take time for your new view to replace the old one. Remind yourself by placing sticky notes on your bathroom mirror, in your car, on your desk. Journal about it. Dance around the room three times a day chanting it. Anything that works to keep it top of mind.

It's not what life hands you that dictates your experience.

It's how you think about it. Attitude trumps facts. Managing your perspective will go a long way toward helping you get and stay unstuck.

Get Sherry Essig's FREE "Getting Unstuck and Relieving Stress" kit along with her newsletter, The Way You Live Your Day is the Way You Live Your Life?, at http://www.flow-dynamix.com/getting-unstuck-and-relieving-stress-EZ.

Sherry Essig has over 10 years experience providing business-life coaching services and programs that help professionals live inspired, energized and unstuck. With a career spanning 25 years in the corporate world and running her own business, she knows what it takes to create change at work and in life.

You are welcome to reprint this article as long as you include the entire article and this resource box.

The Secrets to Lasting Happiness That Most People Just Do Not Know

We spend so much of our lives and put so much energy into chasing money, fame, power and possessions. Whilst the material world has it allure, it will not make us happy. Most people just do not know that happiness can only ever come from within. If you want to be happy, you need to know the secrets to happiness. Read on to learn how you can find permanent happiness and freedom from suffering.

Do you believe that happiness and sorrow are produced by external conditions - objects and events - things that happen to you, or things that you have or do not have that make you feel happy or sad? Most people do and that is why they spend so much time trying to get the things that they think will make them happy and avoid the things that they think will make them miserable. In reality, the emotions of happiness and suffering are just the product of your reactions to these objects and events. And these are all produced in your mind.

As human beings we constantly live by the judgments that we make. When something happens, we register how we feel at the time and we tend to start to associate that thing or event with the emotion that we felt. Of course our feelings at the time are the result, not only of what is happening, but of a complex chain of emotions relating to everything that has ever happened to us in our lives.

When we are happy, we are convinced that it is due to that external event or thing and then disappointment sets in when we no longer have what we thought made us happy. When we get something material our happiness is only temporary. We hanker after a new car or a new house or a new phone, but when we have them, we are generally only happy for a short time. Then, as soon as the novelty wears off, we lose interest and we soon move onto the next thing that we want that we think will make us happy.

If something is a true cause of happiness then it follows that the more we have of it, the happier it will make us. However, there is nothing in the material world that fits this criterion. If you take chocolate for example, you might feel that eating a chocolate bar makes you happy, but if you eat too many more you will start to feel sick. Maybe you think that having more money will make you happy, but when you get it you start to worry about taxes, theft and losing your income. The more money you have the more you need to sustain your expanding material lifestyle and the more worries that come with it. I said earlier that it is our reactions to these external conditions that produce our happiness or otherwise. For example, when you get a financial windfall, you will probably feel happy but then the worries mentioned above start to set in.

So what are the secrets to happiness and how can you be happy all the time? Well, there is only one way. When you can control the reaction of your mind to external events then you can achieve permanent inner peace and be happy all the time, no matter what is going on in your life. I'm not saying that this is easy. It takes determination and commitment and the belief that it is achievable. Most people will continue to look for happiness in the material world and never find it. What about you? Are you prepared to consider the alternative of taking control of your mind so that you can achieve permanent inner peace and find the secrets to lasting happiness?

Meditation is a powerful tool to help you take control of your mind and can help you find lasting happiness. Used regularly, it has proven benefits to mind and body which include increasing your sense of inner peace and well-being. Try the easiest way to meditate with a demo meditation track and experience the benefits for yourself. Or find out more about how to harness the power of your mind for life-changing effects with this meditation downloads page.

5 Secrets to Happiness

Happiness is the ultimate goal in life. People talk about wanting success, relationships, a nice home or car, etc. In reality, what everyone wants is the feelings and benefits they get by having those things. The following five secrets lead to happiness across your life.

1. Happiness is a do-it-yourself job. No one can make you happy. No one can give you something that will make you happy. Your happiness depends on you creating it for you.

2. Happiness comes from within. You will be happy when you decide to be happy and then take the steps that get you to that space, that inner space-where you know you are happy.

3. Happiness is not fleeting. Once you arrive there, you will never lose your spot. Yes, things will happen in your life that will shake you up. Things may happen that flip your world upside-down and seem to devastate you. Yet, because you are in a state of happiness, you will find your way through whatever comes your way. You will return to your happiness state quickly.

4. Once you reveal your happiness part to yourself, you will find that more and more events and people come into your world that promote even more happiness. The better you feel, the better your life will be-forever. There is no limit on how great you can feel.

5. Life was never meant to be anything less than joyous. You came into this world to learn specific lessons and accomplish some particular mission. When you discover your life purpose and live in alignment with it, every day will be a great day of satisfaction for you.

Your life purpose will keep you on track with endless motivation to succeed. The more you help others succeed, the better you will feel and the closer you will move toward your end goal in this lifetime.

Those simple secrets can drive your happiness and move you forward along the path to living Your Very Excellent Life.

Do you want to learn more about how to be happier and change your unknown belief systems that stop you cold? Grab my free ebook What You Don't Know You Don't Know now at http://www.creatingthelife.com/ebook2.html.

Quantum Psychology and Ebenezer Scrooge Reveal the Secret of Happiness

One hundred fifty years ago, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, which, in addition to being an entertaining ghost story, reveals deeper psychological truths. When the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, goes to bed Christmas Eve, he is an unhappy, solitary, miserly old man. He wakes up Christmas morning - transformed. Instead of "bah, humbug," he laughs joyously as he buys gifts, wishes people a "Merry Christmas," and plans how he will help Tiny Tim, the handicapped son of his clerk.

Scrooge did not transform his life by talking about his problems or working on his "issues." His transformation occurred while he slept and dreamed of four ghostly visitors. These ghosts are metaphors for what happens in real life.

The psychological insights expressed in A Christmas Carol correspond to the insights into personal growth provided by quantum psychology, which is a combination of Eastern philosophy and Western science. Perhaps the most revolutionary insight is that talking about problems does not bring about transformation but hinders it. Dreams are produced solely by the unconscious mind and just as we dream in pictures, fundamental change emerges from communicating with the unconscious mind in the language it prefers - pictures. When we do, the brain responds immediately.

Another shared insight is the connection between personal growth and higher consciousness. Scrooge's first ghost, Jacob Marley, who is Scrooge's deceased business partner, introduces the subject of higher consciousness. He warns Scrooge that success in business is not enough: "Man was my business, charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business." So also the changes that emerge with the practice of quantum techniques both improve our ordinary lives and bring about higher consciousness. For example we become courageous, enjoy life and have satisfying relationships; we also become compassionate, spiritual beings, which are characteristics of higher consciousness.

Ghost #2, the Ghost of Christmas Present, shows Scrooge the negative aspects of his present life. So also Quantum Technique #1uses the "negative feedback" of our current problems, such as job stress, to stimulate rapid personal growth.

Shades of Sigmund Freud, Ghost #3, the Ghost of Christmas Past, shows Scrooge scenes from his youth. So also quantum techniques free us from the past, both our traumatic personal experiences and the beliefs and concepts about life we acquired from our cultural indoctrination, which is a form of brain washing.

The last ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Future, who gives Scrooge a preview of what his future will look like - if nothing changes. Based on the basic principle that we only get what we ask for, although not always, quantum techniques require us to look to the future and choose what changes we want to make in ourselves and our lives.

Scrooge and quantum psychology reveal that the secret of your happiness lies within you, specifically within your unconscious mind, which contains a personal-growth learning program that knows how to transform your life- with a little help from you.

Since childhood, Jean's quest has been the search for knowledge, which is synonymous with power. Her intent is to empower individuals looking to jump start their psychological evolution and achieve higher consciousness. Her book, The Greatest Escape: Travel the Quantum Path to Personal Freedom, providers readers with the theory underlying two quantum personal growth techniques, which produce immediate results, without talking about problems. Plenty of colorful pictures enhance the learning and make the book fun to read. More information can be found at http://www.quantumboyd.com

Wealth and The Secret to Happiness

Happiness is a personal journey but when you watch television you would think the good life is a new car, skinny body, or winning the lottery. If you were to look at surveys, most American's say more money would make them happier. But what if you were to look inside at what really gives you joy?

You may ask yourself... what really makes me feel good inside? Is it what the American Dream promises? Individual wealth? Does money buy happiness? Some of you would most likely say yes. Some would assume there is a connection between more wealth and feeling happy, an assumption that many scholars have called the "cycle of work and spend"--working more to buy more. According to one Gallup Poll, four in five people earning more than $75,000 a year say they would like to be richer.

But does being richer really bring about permanent changes in your overall level of happiness? Does it really bring you the consistent level of joy we all so desperately attempt to achieve. Does being well off make for well being? Rich people to a certain extent are happier, especially in poor countries such as India where being well off enhances the sense of well being. But if you were to take a look in the "richer" societies, more money doesn't necessarily mean more happiness or well being. More money often results in the law of diminishing returns.

David Lykken observes in his own studies of happiness, "People who go to work in their overalls and on the bus are just as happy, on the average, as those in suits who drive to work in their own Mercedes". So whats the end result of all of this? Since the 1950's we have become twice as rich as a nation and no happier. The divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide rate has more than doubled, and teens increasingly are troubled with depression.

Social Psychologist David Myersthe calls this the American paradox. He says "More than ever, we at the end of the last century were finding ourselves with big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low morale, secured rights and diminished civility. We were excelling at making a living but too often failing at making a life. We celebrated our prosperity but yearned for purpose. We cherished our freedoms but longed for connection. In an age of plenty, we were feeling spiritual hunger."

So what can we do on an individual level? If being surrounded by the trappings of wealth, or lack thereof, ultimately does not make us feel happy then what will? Those things that make for a genuinely good life such as close relationships, showing gratitude and feeling appreciation for what we already have achieved in life is a good start. If material wealth is not the most important ingredient for a happy life, what is? Research has offered the following three suggestions:

1. Positive Characteristics - People who are optimistic, kind, forgiving, and grateful tend to have an abundance of happy experiences and happy lives.

2. Being in the Flow - Work and leisure activities that engage an individuals skill tend to lead a happier life. The area that lies between stress and the apathy of being bored, is a zone in which people experience being in the flow... an optimal state of mind in which, absorbed in an activity, they lose consciousness of self and time.

3. Close Relationships - We all have a deep need to belong. Those individuals who are supported by intimate friendships or a committed relationship are much likelier to declare themselves "very happy."

Ultimately, if you want to be happy, then recognize that happiness is a product of the way you think and behave and not your finances. Choosing to focus on what you desire in life while at the same time being grateful and appreciating what you already have is a good start. We are the captains of our ship. We write the book that is our life. Focus to make it happen.

Robert Hunt is the creator of MyGratitudeJournal.com - http://mygratitudejournal.com - An exclusive free and private on-line journal designed for individuals to write, learn and grow to they're greatest potential.

The Secret of Happiness?

There's been a lot of guff written about happiness in recent times. On the one hand, you've got the positive thinking gurus peddling their often simplistic fast track to deep joy and on the other you've got the doom-mongers telling us we're richer, healthier and unhappier than we've ever been.

Despite being somewhat cynical about the way happiness is regarded as the panacea for all ills, I confess to being part of the industry which promotes it as a life-affirming goal. Some see happiness as sentimental dream or fleeting fantasy. But I realise through my work as a hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner that it is possible to create a happy state of mind and spread a little of this magical ingredient.

What makes you happy is only relevant to you. A loving partnership and strong friendships are more highly prized than material things by most of us. It's a given that happiness is not necessarily about millions in the bank, a yacht on the Med or any of those affluent trappings. Many are the tales of how lottery winners lose their friends, community, identity and even their loved ones over arguments about new found loot.

There's no question, cash equals freedom of choice. More to the point, earning it equals a healthy sense of self worth which no trust fund kid will ever know (hence the less than life-enhancing addictions that often fill the gaps in their lives).

In a wealthy western culture, few of us go hungry or lack material goods. The poorest and most disadvantaged have access to housing, healthcare, education, the welfare state, iPods, mobiles and flat screen TVs.

What makes the starving happy is a good meal. It takes more than that to sate an emotionally starved but nutritionally nourished appetite. Whilst not life-threatening, such a condition undermines energy, motivation and focus, impairing the ability to set and achieve goals. High flyers in both primitive and technological societies often start out the hungriest and succeed simply because they try harder.

So it seems that the old fashioned Protestant principle of good old hard graft leads to a very secular kind of satisfaction. And being a bit peckish is no bad thing. It makes those little snacks in life so much more tasty. In this indulgent era of comfort and excess, those who make an effort and choose energy over inertia, those who curb their appetite enough to truly savour all that is plentiful and those who take the time to nurture their loved ones are the winners in the happiness stakes.

Karen Martin

http://www.hypnotherapykent.co.uk

Purpose: Is It The Secret To Happiness?

Happiness is something that we look for. It comes easy for some people, but for others, happiness can be very elusive. What is the secret in finding happiness in life? Is there even a secret to it? Is it just purpose or is there something else that can help you find happiness. It is true that purpose is one of the secrets that to finding happiness in life, but is it everything?

Purpose is very important to happiness, that in itself is a no-brainer. But, it is not as easy to find your purpose in life. Many people try for years and they still not able to find out what their purpose in life is. There are a lot of methods that you can use to help you figure this out. Some people even turn to mediums like numerology and astrological predictions to help them in finding out what the universe has set aside for them, you can do the same if you wanted to.

Why is purpose so important for happiness? It is because purpose is going to be what drives us. If your days seem endless and monotonous, there is a good chance that you may not have found your life's purpose yet or you may not have recognized it yet. Ask yourself, who or what do you wake up for? What are the reasons that you do to continue your life? Is it out of love and passion or do you do it because it is a mean to make money?

Purpose gives you direction and lead you to the right path of life. You will learn what is the real meaning of your life. It will give you the direction that you may be craving. Purpose, meaning, and direction are all keys to happiness. At the same time, you will also need love in your life. It does not have to be the romantic kind, it could be love from friends and family. No matter what you are doing, it is also important that you give yourself time and attention. If you do not do this, you run the risk of a burn-out and that does not contribute to your happiness in any way.

When you do use certain aids to help you find what your purpose is, keep in mind that tests, astrological predictions, numerology life path numbers are just guidelines. They are not end all be all doctrines that you cannot deviate from. Your happiness is dependent on you and it is your choices that can help ensure whether you are happy or not.

James Simon Morrison

Resources: If you want to learn more about astrological predictions, click on this link http://www.numerologist.com/articles/numerology/astrological-predictions-2010/ where you can get a lot more resources.

Secret to Happiness - Pursue Your Dream!

Paulo Coelho, one of the most widely read Brazilian author, says, "The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart suffered when it went in search of its dream."

It's tough! It's really very tough to change your career. And it's risky too. But as the above saying goes, if one lives in the fear of suffering, their situation is worse than that of the one actually suffering. And again, if one is heading towards their dream, they don't suffer.

In today's materialistic world, there's no room for terms like heart... dream... feelings. And while trying to live in this world, we forget the dreams we used to see as a child. We forget what we wanted to become in those dreams. We become too realistic and call those dreams to be stupid. Or we only see the blocks and give up thinking they can't be achieved anymore.

But somewhere inside, our heart still craves to live the dream, and from time to time, it jolts our brain hard demanding justice. It wants us to wake up and move in the direction of that dream.

Not only the heart, actually we too want to move in the same direction. We too want to shout at our boss and everybody,"You keep suffering in this disgusting job. I'm going on to pursue my dream from today." But that's what we just want. We never try! The wanting regularly crops up within us and calms down seeing no reaction from our side. Why don't we react? Why don't I walk out of the job? Or why don't we at least, check out for the ways to reach our dreams? The only reason fitting here is fear.

What fear? Even though we want to change our direction, fear of something unexpected to happen pulls us back. We want to jump up and run for our dreams, but the fear calms us down. Our reasoning leads us to all kinds of ifs and buts, thus killing the desire. But it's only for the time being. And later again, it'll raise its head only to make us feel the actual suffering we are passing through.

Most of us have the thought,"Now, let me keep doing this job. Someday in future I will pursue my dream." And that 'someday' never comes. So little weight to your dream! And to the dream that can help me feel happiness at heart! Is it right?

However much I pretend to be happy, I very well know that I am suffering. And what use is pretending when I am in no plan to even try for it. My duty is trying. At least, I can do that. I will achieve my dream or not is for God to decide. Success is not sure, nor is the failure.

We suffer in the dead-end job unwillingly; but still, continue doing it. Why? I tell you, this suffering is far more painful. When you go after your dream, you don't suffer but you enjoy. You enjoy every moment. And yes, even the moments of suffering. So, think before you continue with the job that doesn't lead to your dream.

Believe in yourself, and start pursuing your dream. You'll know what true happiness is.

A passionate writer. Visit his blog to enjoy more of his creative works.

Secrets That Happy People Know - And You Can Too!

Are the daily pressures and stressors that you face each day present obstacles that cause you feelings of anxiety and hopelessness?

Do you ever look at other people who seem to have the juggling act down pat? Did you ever wonder how these people are able to handle the curve balls that Life hurls their way with the ease, grace and optimism that they display? Maybe you have a friend or family member who has the remarkable ability to see the best sides of life and this frustrates you because you are unable to understand just from where their eternal sunshine originates.

Don't worry, you are in good company. There are many people who feel the crunch from pressures at work, family routines that are hectic and an energy level that seems to have plummeted so much that your enjoyment in life has plummeted right along with it. If you have forgotten how to take the positive approach and view to life, or if Life has placed obstacles in your way such as loss of a job, illness or death of a family member and it has drained the life from you, then try these tips to return joy to our life.

Stay Connected:

When you are rushing about, paddling as fast as you can to keep your head above water and stay on top of all of your tasks, you may forget to stay connected to the people who are important to you. You may have let your family and friends slip to the back burner.

Studies show that happy people have good relationships. If you are feeling down, it may help to call a friend and go for coffee. Maybe make some special time to spend with your spouse or children. Human interaction can boost your energy and help you get your priorities in order so that you can feel joy.

Contemplate The Good Things In Your Life:

This may sound redundant, but stop to think about the things that are good in your life. When you focus on the positive things in your life it can really increase your happiness and satisfaction.

Is something going on at work that is getting you down? Have you been dealing with your kids the way that you should or are you cranky and short with them? You can turn these feelings around when you consciously take inventory of the things that you have done right. When you identify areas where you can make improvements and acknowledge that the changes are good for you, you will begin to feel better. If you spend your life beating yourself up over mistakes you've made and injustices done to you, it will only serve to break your spirit.

Get A Hobby:

Sometimes a little diversion is just what the doctor ordered to pull you out of your funk. Get a hobby and it just might bring happiness back to your life. When you challenge yourself and enrich your life with interests that extend beyond the scope of your daily routine, it can bring a zest to your life that you may have been missing.

Do Something For Someone Else:

It is easy to get wrapped up in your own problems and wallow in your disappointments, but if you take a moment to look beyond your own problems and see where you can help someone else, it can bring you great satisfaction and joy.

You really don't have to do much to start feeling better. Holding the door for someone, bringing a co-worker a cup of coffee, helping someone load their groceries into their car or picking up groceries for an elderly neighbor can do wonders for your psyche. It can make you feel better and remind you that we are responsible for our own happiness and that it comes from our own attitudes and actions.

There are instances where your lack of enjoyment of life may be related so a physiological or psychological condition such as heart disease, depression, hypertension or anxiety and no amount of good deeds are going to help. If this is the case, you should consult your physician and get some help so that you can take the steps necessary to get your life back on track, a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of My-Personal-Growth.com, a site that provides information and articles for self improvement and personal growth and development.

The Secrets Of Happy Teams

People are happier when we have choices, right? Actually, we're not. That's the premise of Dan Gilbert's TEDtalk, "Why Are We Happy?" In a great talk, filled with very cool science (if you've got twenty minutes, I'd highly suggest you watch it!), Gilbert extols the virtues of "synthesized happiness." As I listened to this talk, I felt affirmed. Because I, along with anyone who's taught or coached before, believe that young people like crave structure. For those of you who think we should present little Johnny with a myriad of options and let him choose, this won't be for you. But for those of you out there who believe some limitations are good for the soul, check this out.

What is synthesized happiness? Our brains can find ways to turn unhappy events on their heads.

Here's an example: You've got a stud coming in this year. Like, you're so excited about her and you just know she's going to rip through your conference...you're feeling Freshman of the Year! She comes in and blows out her knee in preseason. You feel like you've been punched in the gut...everything you planned for the season revolved around this young lady. Fast forward to the end of the season, you look back and think that it was probably for the best that she got hurt. Your other freshman stepped in and was a rock star...and she wouldn't have seen the court if the other player wasn't hurt. Plus, your coaching skills went up exponentially in order to face the challenge. And with a year on the bench to watch and understand the game, your rock star will be a terror in your conference next year. Thinking back, you wouldn't change a thing. That's synthesized happiness.

In the video, Gilbert goes through study after study of Harvard students that show two things with a doubt: the first is those given options when choosing are infinitely unhappier than those forced to choose one thing; the second is they don't understand this fact. They think choices will make them happier.

Consider this. You've got a young lady on your team who you're pretty sure will never contribute in any significant manner on the court. This isn't someone who is on the cusp and may see the court when she's an upperclassman. To be honest, she's just not that good at your sport. Gilbert's research says it would be better for you to tell her that her only option to impact the team would be as a manager rather than telling her that she's got three choices: manage, practice hard and potentially see court time, or practice hard and never see court time. While we think that giving folks options makes them feel better about how things turn out, it turns out that's just not true. With multiple options, the player has room to feel regret...with only one, she won't. She made the only choice available to her.

The pink elephant in the room. I'm sure you're thinking that this synthetic happiness is hooey and just a way for people to trick themselves into making a bad situation less awful. Again Gilbert has studies for us. Turns out that synthetic happiness is every bit as good as natural happiness. The truth is, we have within us the capacity to manufacture happiness. That's pretty awesome if you ask me!

One of the things I often tell teams that I coach is that they don't actually have to be happy to be in the gym, but they've got to make me believe that they are...because I sure am! Now I've got to tweak that Dawn-ism. Now I can tell them that it's been scientifically proven that if they find the good in a tough situation, they'll be happy.

How this can help our teams:

After a tough loss.
When they don't feel like being at practice.
After they've lost their starting spot.
Will help eliminate outward displays of displeasure.
If they're on the wrong end of an unfortunate injury.
After butt-kicking practices.
After missing the game winning serve/hit/shot in a game.
When facing disappointments or let-downs of any sort.

As I always say, we control our emotions...they don't control us (another Dawn-ism). Now I've got scientific proof of the validity of that statement. Our players can think themselves happy.

The choice is theirs.

Dawn Redd is the Head Volleyball Coach at Beloit College. Come visit Coach Dawn's community of coaching nerds and team leaders over at her blog, http://www.coachdawnwrites.com, where she teaches how to become an excellent coach, motivate individuals, and build successful teams.

Her book, Coach Dawn's Guide To Motivating Female Athletes, is available for purchase on her website.

The Secret to Happiness - 6 Ultra Simple Steps to Becoming Truly Happy in a Heartbeat!

Who else is still chasing happiness?  Looking for....but not FINDING fulfillment?  Going round and round with self help books, silly success strategies and confusing cliches that shed NO extra light on anything meaningful at all?  If this sounds like you....you are NOT alone..:-)  Finding happiness is an often an ultra elusive exercise.  Lots of books, (and fortunes) have been made in the very VAIN attempt to teach others how to finally be happy.  If you really think about it, it's sort of silly overall, don't you think?

Happiness is Your NATURAL State

It is.  Honest - I wouldn't lie to you..:-)  The simple truth is, absent all of the "stuff" that society pushes on us, and we integrate into being important, everything is pretty super simple.  And you can prove it yourself with elegant and expeditious ease when you're ready.

How to Be Authentically Happy Can Be Forgotten......But it Can ALSO Be Re-Learned As Well

There are all sorts of amazing things being done in the study of joy. Lots of serious scientific scholars are dedicating the full force of the intellectual intention on researching what it truly means to be happy.  And the results, are truly astonishing.  It has nothing to do with money.  Nothing to do with cars, houses or stuff.  Nothing to do at ALL with status.

6 Simple Happy Hacks You Can Employ Today (Proven To Accelerate & Accentuate the Joy, Fulfillment and Enjoyment of Your Life Right Now!)

Have More Physical Intimacy (Your Body Touching Another Body just may be the FASTEST Way to Truly Feel Joy That There Is..:-)
Have More EMOTIONAL Intimacy (Feeling loved.  Being loved.  GIVING Love.  These are the emotions or real riches and make us smile with simplicity and authentic joy)
Contribute More (In the scientific study of happiness.....it truly IS better to give, than to receive)
Sleep More (Many of us are overstressed and far too tired to FEEL the amazing emotion of ecstasy)
Be Here NOW (It sounds like the title of another new age book, I know....but being present, right now, in this very moment is the art and science of perfection in practice.  No past....no future.  Just now.  Try it....I promise it feels great..:-)
Meditate (Meditation is magic, mystery and simply an amazing way to dive into the warm and welcoming waters of your own mind. Making time to meditate is KEY to all of the above, and this has been proven over and over again by the happiest societies in the world)

Happiness is Your TRUE Birthright

And it feels amazing too.  You deserve it - and it's waiting for you when you're ready.

Not Living the Life You Were CREATED to Live?

You Were BORN to be Happy, Fulfilled & Joyful... and We Want to Prove it to You for Free!

Get Happy Here!

(If I Can Do it... So TOO Can You!)