Tag Archives: happiness

John Lennon on Happiness

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. – John Lennon

Look at the measurements most people track – 401k balance, credit score, performance at work, last year’s or next year’s bonus or raise. How do you measure happiness?

For me, happiness is when I don’t feel so stretched for time and can allocate my energy and attention to prioritize outside my business. So in 2015, this means I’ll be cooking more (prioritizing family who loves it when I cook), doing more comedy (I jumped in last week after 6 months of a break and did a set at Gotham, and Jerry Seinfeld dropped in as a surprise guest!), and I’ll be working on my real estate portfolio (yes, my outside interests even unrelated to my main business are business-related).Please, please, please

How will you incorporate more happiness into 2015?

If you want help staying focused on your big goal for 2015, I will be co-presenting a webinar on Focus with peak performance coach Renita Kalhorn (she coaches Navy SEAL candidates on mental toughness!). Full details on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/focus-make-2015-the-year-things-happen-tickets-15308583385

William Feather On Happiness

Some people are making such thorough plans for rainy days that they aren’t enjoying today’s sunshine. — William Feather

I’m very guilty of this one, as I am a worrier. (I also harbor grudges so if I’m not worrying about the future, I’m stewing about the past!).

Are you so focused on problems that you can’t see solutions, opportunities, or lucky breaks? If you find yourself focusing on what you cannot do, ask yourself, “How can I…?”

Are you spending more time planning for contingencies than preparing for success? You want to play offense, as well as defense. Assume that the project goes well – now reverse engineer what you did.

Are you always planning for the future or lamenting the past that you are not fully experiencing the present? I have found that improvisational theater keeps me in the moment because it requires a high degree of listening. Find a pursuit outside your day-to-day that forces you to exercise different skills.

Louis CK on Boredom

“I’m bored” is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless, it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say “I’m bored.” – Louis CK

Are you bored? How can you get back some of the amazement that Louis CK is talking about?

What is the most amazing thing that happened to you this week? If not amazing, think surprising, pleasurable, or even just nice?

From a professional standpoint, if you recognize your life is amazing, that gratitude is a career advantage.