I’ve previously defined happiness as:

“Happiness is being the creator of your experience, choosing to take pleasure in what you have, right now, regardless of the circumstances, while being the best you that you can be.”

I still stand by this definition. I believe that we make happiness for ourselves by deciding what it is that we’ll choose to take pleasure in. Today’s mussar (self-improvement) class with Rabbi Noach Orlowek provided me with some impressive insights.

Danger of Happiness

Rabbi Orlowek pointed out that “Happiness as a goal can be very dangerous.” If chocolate is what makes you happy, which is perfectly reasonable, and you have diabetes, then chocolate will kill you. It’s understandable why you would keep eating the chocolate, because you’ve impressed upon yourself that this, for you, is happiness, and why bother living if you cannot be happy?

There are plenty of examples in which happiness can be detrimental to your health and to many other aspects of your life. Just think cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. Such things may give you extreme sensations of pleasure and may make you happy. You may not want to live without this happiness, but what may happen is that you will literally not live if you indulge and experience some very bad luck.

The very same concept applies to mind, body, and soul. Some people might say video games make them happy, some might say pornography, or television, or any other wide array of things. Some of those sources might be ambiguous as to their harm/benefits, and others may very clearly stand out as bad, but you’ll do them anyway.

Happiness: An Asset, Not A Goal

When we look at happiness as a goal to achieve, we leave ourselves open to some detrimental decisions as to what we’ll allow to pass as happiness. If we look at happiness as an asset, something that gives us energy, and puts us in a great mood, then we will be able to use this asset of energy in order to accomplish our real goals.

Take my goal for instance; to operate with the greatest good of all in mind. This goal requires that I build myself up as a person, meaning that I grow, and then it requires me to share this knowledge and facilitate the growth and improvement of others, to the best of my abilities.

It’s an extra challenge to be writing about self-improvement, and for people to take me seriously, if I can’t even make my own self happy. However, being a happy guy, I can fill myself with happy energy and pass it right along to someone that I’m talking to (and maybe even to you through my writing).

This makes happiness a great tool, but not the ultimate goal. Thus, it can be dangerous to constantly seek more and more happiness, especially when the things that make us happy may be causing us to be self-destructive.

Create Happiness in Meaningful Things

If it’s meaningful to you, it will make you happy. If this assumption or theory is in fact true, then it’s very important for us to put meaning into truly positive things. If it makes you happy to compliment someone, improve their life, or to give of yourself in some way, than you’ll always be happy at the benefit of improving the world.

If happiness means making more money, even if it means ruining other people’s livelihoods, then you might be in a zero-sum situation, in which your plus is another persons minus. Here, your goal of happiness isn’t a positive contribution to the world.

If you put meaning into all the wonderful ways in which you can contribute to the world, and make this meaning positive, then you can harness the happiness tool to enable you to achieve your contribution goal.

Further Reading from Rabbi Noach Orlowek

I’ve had class with Rabbi Orlowek, and he’s a genius. I should be having class with him two or three times a week for the next 9 months. From what I’ve seen, I’ll be quoting him often in the near future, so you can find that information here. In the mean time, feel free to order and read one of his books.

• My Discipline, My Child
• My Child, My Discipline
• Raising Roses Among Thorns

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My whole life I wondered how it is that, all things being equal, two people in the same situation can be happy and unhappy, respectively.

It puzzled me how people gravitated toward happiness in dire situations, while others, who seemingly had everything, were constantly depressed.

Several months ago I stopped wondering and started searching by conducting what you all know as the Happiness Project, a series of interviews with 34 notable people about the subject of happiness. This snowballed into a venture in which over 60 people answered the questions for us using their own blogs.

I took a look at all of the responses, compared them to definitions of happiness within different cultures and religions, and attended a landmark education event called “creating happiness”. At this point my definition of happiness is as clear as it’s ever been and I’m very happy to be able to share it with you.

“Happiness is being the creator of your experience, choosing to take pleasure in what you have, right now, regardless of the circumstances, while being the best you that you can be.”
~Alex Shalman

If you go ahead and sit with this definition for a while I am very confident that you will see the simplicity of it. Keep in mind that it’s pretty easy to be happy when everything is going your way. It takes real strength and courage to be happy in the face of difficulties.

By becoming the creators we are taking responsibility for our own happiness. The essential step is realizing that we can be happy regardless of the circumstances or situations that we find ourselves in. It doesn’t take the right person, place, or thing in order to bring the happiness to us. It certainly does not take the right situation.

In fact, we can be happy without needing a situation to be happy for! By really getting present to the fact that we are the ones that put meaning to everything in our lives, we are able to put the meaning of happiness into our lives at will.

The simple fact that happiness is a choice means that making the decision to be happy means you are happy. If you’re too busy to make that split second decision, then you can receive happiness as a side effect of being the best you that you can be. The caveat is that both being happy and being the best you that you can be leads to an overall better life. You don’t have to choose between one or the other. Do both. Be happy and be the best you that you can be.

“When you’re working on being happy, you are the type of person that created the possibility that you are not currently happy.”
~Roger Smith (Landmark Education)

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The happiness project came with some extra incentive in the form of prizes. I mentioned this in the introduction post. For things I needed to pick randomly I used a number randomizer in order to keep things fair. While the interviews on my website are over, your participation starts now; answer these questions on your own blog. Here are the details.

Interview With Most Comments

• Jay White of Dumb Little Man
• Update: Jay kindly donated the $200 to Bead The Cure. Thank you Jay!

Top Commentators of the Month

• Never the Same River Twice (17)
• SaiF (15)
• Adam Kayce : Monk at Work (10)
• Al at 7P (9)
• Aaron – Today is that Day (6)
• ringlerun (6)
• Dean (5)
• Dcrad (5)
• K Stone (4)
• Adam (3)

All you guys just e-mail me your address and I’ll send you the copy of Daniel Gilbert’s Stumbling on Happiness.

Group Writing Project Winners

2 125×125 Ads

• Anne Rush – The Savvy Designer
• Al of 7P-Productions

Go to my advertise page, and click on the 125×125 ad and fill everything out through there. I will process your application without payment.

3 Featured Links

• Design Your Writing Life
• Colleen Wainwright
• 1 Little Thing

Same thing here, go to advertise page and fill out the form for the sidebar links. I will process your application without payment.

Five Random E-mail Subscribers

I do not want to release their private e-mail information, but they have been e-mailed and informed about their prize!

More Participants

By answering these questions on your own blog, I will put your name into the Happiness Project page, as well as put them into a post periodically. In this way you get two links back to your Happiness Project. Here are the new participants since my last update. Check out these participants, they’re all great!

1. Sueblimely
2. Passion-based-learning
3. 360 Alliance
4. Design Your Writing Life
5. First Ourselves
6. Colleen Wainwright
7. Al of 7P-Productions
8. Jamy Tan
9. Anne Rush
10. Daylle Deanna Schwartz
11. Stephen Hopson
12. Never The Same River Twice
13. Lexi Sundell
14. Tuck Self
15. Robert Reasons4Smile
16. David Rogers
17. Daniel Sitter
18. Ellie Walsh
19. Saif Improvement – The First And Only Video Entry!
20. Jesie

To participate on your own blog, click here.
__

Remember that the Happiness Project is not over. You can still participate by answering the questions on your own blog. This will land your name on the main Happiness Project page, forever. Here are the details on how you can participate in the group writing project.

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What made this project so exciting is that it taps into something that all of us, as humans can related to. From the most selfish human, to the most selfless saint, the one thing that we share in is the desire to be happy. While we realized that happiness can mean different things to different people, there are many similarities that can be captured by just about anyone.

Reading through all of these interviews I realized that much of this is common sense, or I could have thought of that, but I didn’t. Reading them inspired me to just let go, be happy, and enjoy the beautiful moments in life. I know happiness is available and possible for every one of us.

What I would love to do is to be able to share this happiness with every one of you! There are several ways in which I envision this happening. You can go ahead and read through the 34 interviews which I was fortunate enough to capture for this site. Additionally, other people took it upon themselves to answer these questions on their own sites to share their own views and opinions with all of us. All of this can be found on the main Happiness Project page and I welcome you to read them.

To take things to the next level, I would absolutely love it if you would take the questions, think about them, and answer them for yourself. If you have a blog, then answer them there, if not, feel free to answer them in the comments section below this post.

The Questions

1. How do you define happiness?
2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?
3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)
4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?
5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Group Writing Project Guidelines

1. Answer the Questions. In a new post answer the questions that you see above, while being as genuine and open as possible. I might not know you very well yet, but believe me, you are awesome, and I want your readers and my readers to be able to see this extraordinary side of you.
2. Overview and Linkback. In the introduction of your post, go ahead and give a brief overview of what the Happiness Project is and where you happened to hear about it first. This is the part where I would appreciate if you linked back to this post, in order to let people know about the guidelines, and how they can participate. While your doing that, I would love it if you also linked to the main Happiness Project page, and gave people access to the full list of interviews and participants.
3. Tag your Blog Friends. The purpose of this project is to share it with as many people as possible and to spread the awareness about happiness all over the world. The best way you can help us do that, aside from answering the questions on your own blog, is to tag some of your blogging friends (no limit here, the more the merrier), and let them know to participate.
4. Comment Here + I Link To You. After you’ve successfully published your Happiness Project post on your blog, and linked back to this post, go ahead and leave a comment here to let me know you participated. What I will do is add a link to your entry into the main Happiness Project page as soon as I can. Another bonus is that I’ll do periodic updates of where the Happiness Project is going, in which I’ll link to the newest group of participants. That means you get two links from a Page Rank 4 blog, and exposure to tens of thousands of people. Good deal?

Optional: Use This Banner

My good friend Mark happens to be an excellent graphic designer and he was kind enough to make this banner for us to use for this project. Thank you Mark! You can use this banner to not only show off your participation in the project, but also to point people towards the rest of the interviews, and spread awareness to as many people as possible.

Instructions: Copy-paste the code below into your blog post’s ‘code’ section or into your sidebar. This code will link the banner right to the Happiness Project page.

<a title=”Happiness Project” href=”http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/happiness-project/”><img src=”http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/contributetoalex1.gif” style=”border:none” alt=”Happiness Project” /></a>

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The happiness project would not be complete without an interview with Joseph J. DiMaggio, MD., a former oncologist and senior forum leader at Landmark Education. The reason I say it wouldn’t be complete, is because while I was on the phone with Dr. DiMaggio, he explained that for over a year he led a research team whose sole purpose was to gain knowledge about happiness, learn how to cultivate it, and transfer that knowledge to other people.

Dr. DiMaggio has successfully led hundreds of thousands of people across the world over the last 10 years. He has been extensively trained in presenting and delivering Landmark’s technologies and materials in a powerful and professional manner and achieves the highest rating from individuals, organizations, and groups for his presentation and delivery.

As a Yale graduate, Joseph went on to get his Medical Degree from the University of Connecticut in 1982. While working as an Oncologist, Dr. DiMaggio contributed greatly to the field and changed the lives of many people. Joseph made an incredible impact in the world of medicine and after becoming a landmark forum leader in 1993 is now continuing to daily impact people’s life by leading the Landmark forum.

People waste their lives until they get cancer, and then it gets simple.

Dr. DiMaggio is also an intricate part of the Design Team for Landmark Education’s core methodology and program development. His training includes several years of specialized study and practice. He is an innovator in the field of training and development. Landmark education is a global enterprise committed to the fundamental principle that people have the possibility of success, fulfillment, and greatness.

1. How do you define happiness?

My view of this question is that trying to define happiness in a way that applies to “everyone” is counterproductive. Happiness when examined as something other that a concept or theory is unquestionably a “personal” phenomenon. For example, for one person it seems that happiness is running barefoot through the grass. Some people seem sure that wild sex will make them happy. For others it’s holding a baby in their arms. But, for some it is a new outfit or a new pair of shoes. And, for some people, it is a hotdog and beer at a baseball game.

People as brilliant as Aristotle have been trying to define happiness for more than 2000 years. Yet today, more than ever, people are still working really hard to figure out happiness. We, at Landmark Education, take the case that something more than “defining” happiness will be required to make a real difference in people’s experience of happiness. We take the case that what will make a difference is to get at what, in the day to day living of our lives, in the ordinary moments that make up the majority of what we call our lives, creates a new place to stand that gives us access to “happiness” independent of our circumstances.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

I am extremely lucky. I was a happy child and I am a very happy adult. I am also clear that whether happy or unhappy, that, while I will always have to deal with circumstances in my life that I can’t control, I have everything to say about my experience of life regardless of my circumstances. One of the most powerful things I have gotten out of the programs of Landmark Education is that a whole lot of how I experience life and my ability to be effective in life – whether it be in the areas of happiness, love, vitality, satisfaction, productivity – is a function of what I am creating as a context for myself and my life. I can now choose to have my life lead inside of contexts that I create and, with that, experience a lot of power, freedom and self-expression in the areas of life that are the most important to me, including being happy.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

Over time, I have become practiced at being fairly reliable in creating and living inside of a context of happiness that it is now somewhat like second nature to me. I am also pretty reliable to no longer add the kind of interpretations, meanings, stories to what I am dealing with that are disempowering and therefore have a whole lot of power, satisfaction and natural happiness that arises when I am dealing with my circumstances without all the “stuff” that my “mind” would normally add.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Obviously I am always impacted by what I experience when I have to confront what seems like humanities inhumanities, whether it be an AIDS epidemic in Africa, a mass murder based in religious intolerance, or just one of those moments where I or someone I love just acts like a jerk.

And, again, what makes the biggest difference is continuing to create for myself that while I cannot ever change what is happening, that it is not what is happening (no matter how “real” it seems) that is determining my response to what is happening and that I have a say about who I will be in the face of any circumstance!

I also get a lot of freedom by being clear that “being happy”, like a possibility, is not some ideal or standard where I think I should be happy all the time. Obviously, there are circumstances that we all face where happiness may not be an appropriate response. Then, in any circumstance, I can come from “I am happy” and deal with whatever I have to deal with inside of that possibility.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Other than developing what I said above, there is really nothing I am looking forward to regarding being “happier”. For me, happiness is a “right now” phenomenon, a place to “come from” phenomenon, a “stand I am” kind of phenomenon and a matter of “being” rather than something I strive for. What Landmark Education has provided me is the real opportunity to create my life every day, — to be happy, powerful, up to something that inspires me, to be with people as a self expression, etc, — as a matter of who I am and not as a response to what life presents me.

Thanks for the opportunity to answer your questions.

Joe

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

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The first time I met Jenny Mannion we were at the Steve Pavlina meetup in NYC. That’s the first time I’ve met her in person anyway, I’ve talked to her via e-mail several times before, so she was the first person I talked to when I got there.

Jenny’s story is quite extraordinary, because she has overcome adversity. She used to be bogged down by chronic pain, and the only solution that she was recommended was to “manage” the pain with constant painkillers. Jenny has found a way to use the Law of Attraction as well as other natural methods in order to completely free herself from the chronic pain. She writes about these techniques on her blog Heal Pain Naturally.

Since Jenny has little ones in the house, she encourages them to play educational video games. She does a bit of research and writes about these helpful games on her other site.

1. How do you define happiness?

I define happiness as feeling love radiate from your heart and soul. Like those moments when you can’t stop smiling even if for some silly reason you wanted to!

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

I’ve gone through so many phases as an adult and as a child. There were times in my childhood when I would have said my happiness was an 8 or 9 and as a teenager I think it dipped down to a 2. Now, I am a 10. Not everything is “perfect” but everything is as it should be. I KNOW who I am and I know I am heading for great things in all areas of my life — what’s better than that?!

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

I talk with my kids, my husband and my mom every day. These bring me tremendous happiness. I also write every day now that I started blogging whether it be a post or answering emails and this also brings me joy. My happiness is pretty consistent. There are things that will temporarily throw it off; computer bombing out, one of my kids being sick — but I am able to pretty quickly re-center now and “get over it”. My morning gratitude list is also something that ensures happiness.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

“Energy Vampires” can take away my happiness. I am a very giving person by nature and love the people in my life. There are my friends where it is a very even exchange and there are those who truly zap me and give me very little in return. I need to limit extremely or cut out my contact with the energy vampires in my life.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

I plan on seeing my invention manufactured which will be bring me tremendous happiness because I have been working on it the last 3 years. I also plan on reaching out and touching as many lives as I can by telling my story and about how I healed. Through my story others become empowered to say “well if she can do it — so can I!” People healing themselves as I did? Nothing could bring me more joy than that!

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

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Neil Selden and his wife Lee are currently wrapping up their first feature film, FINAL GIFTS, written and directed by Neil, produced by their company Wayhaven Productions.Based on historical events and real people, FINAL GIFTS tells the story of two courageous women-a Salvadoran peasant and a Jewish doctor–who fought against fascism in different wars and tried to save the lives of children they loved. Ten percent of all profits from Final Gifts will be donated to Doctors Without Borders, awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.

Neil’s play SOMEONE’S COMIN’ HUNGRY first appeared Off-Broadway and most recently at the New 42nd Street Theatre. His plays SAM DEAD and OCEAN IN A TEACUP, as well as CAR and RAINCHECK, have appeared variously at the Berlin Festival, the Actor’s Studio, the Roundabout Theatre, the American Conservatory Theatre, The Producers Club, the American Theatre of Actors, etc. His play A LONG WAY FROM HOME has appeared as a fund-raiser several times in the Highland Park area. A film of his book THE GREAT LAKESIDE HIGH EXPERIMENT appeared on national television. Five of his young adult novels also have been published.

Neil’s work has been recognized by the Audrey Wood Award best play award and the Jean Dalrymple best play award.

Wayhaven’s second feature film, SOMEONE’S COMIN’ HUNGRY, based on the drama originally produced Off-Broadway starring Cleavon Little and Blythe Danner, is currently in pre-production, along with a romantic comedy drama, YOU CALL THIS LOVE?

Neil is also working on a new play entitled A CHURCH OF LOVELY LIES, and seeking a wildly creative illustrator for his novel in verse, WHEN FIRST I KISSED YOU EVERYWHERE, the richly erotic spiritual journey of a woman and man discovering the profound tenderness of meditative sexual intimacy.

1. How do you define happiness?

I am most happy when I am loving myself and the world as a husband, father, uncle, friend, and enjoying the endless opportunities to breathe, die, get born, nurture and create.

What makes me happy is to practice with every breath in and out (if I was more awake it would indeed be every inhalation/exhalation, but it ain’t yet– after all, I’m only 76 years old, meditating every morning for more years than my 36 year old buddhist monk son Michael has been alive, so what the hell can you expect?) loving kindness actions, thinking of the suffering of others (sometimes the pain can be almost unbearable), feeling the joy of others as my own (a definite Hooray!), and attempting to witness my own suffering with impartial calmness and complete tranquillity (ain’t that biting off more than I can chew?)

My cheeks are wet with tears at the heavenly gratitude I experience every day for the gifts I have been given in learning to love by Robert McCrea Imbrie (my 20 year collaborator), Buddha, Rabbi Jesus, Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra Chakravorty, Ray Hauserman, Ed Spencer, the Baal Shem Tov, Cynthia Imbrie, my wife Lee and son Michael, and an endless list of other lovers of existence.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Most often a nine or ten, with occasional self-hatred when my egoistic desire to establish myself causes pain to my darling, adorable, funny, affectionate, creative, ceaselessly (except when her ego gets hurt) supportive wife/editor/co-producer Lee Morris Imbrie Selden (soon we will celebrate our 48th anniversary– not counting the two and a half years of separation when she so very intelligently divorced me because she did not feel loved– AH, THE WISDOM OF WOMAN!)

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

I say my mantra and try to remember to follow my breathing, so as to enjoy the Coney Island of wild and unpredictable mind-rides that flow through my inner universe.

Consistently and delightfully inconsistent, except that every unhappiness is the springboard to bounce upon and reach into the ether of gratitude’s joy.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Acting with unintelligent selfishness instead of intelligent selfishness. Meditate, meditate, meditate, and follow the 8 Fold Noble Path of Buddha/Jesus/Thakur/lBaal Shem and all those who have scientifically studied human happiness/unhappiness.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Continue loving and creating, smashing my consciousness, learning to love what is ugly, celebrating success and failure, making each day a work of art…

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

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Jonathan Fields is…a giddy dad, husband, New Yorker, multi-time health & fitness industry entrepreneur, recovering S.E.C./mega-firm hedge-fund lawyer, slightly-warped, unusually-stretchy, spiritually-inclined, obsessed with creation, direct-response copywriter, small-biz and online marketing-maven, speaker, entrepreneur-coach, yoga-teacher, columnist, author, once-a-decade hook-rug savant and blogger…gone wild at Awake At The Wheel.

Jonathan is an interesting case of ‘getting it’ via tragedy. While earning his 6 figure salary as a high powered lawyer, Jonathan had to go into emergency surgery, brought on by the stress that came with the job. Rethinking his life, and discovering that “big-picture happiness” meant hanging out with his wife and daughter more, Jonathan first developed a successful personal training, and now Yoga training facility.

Jonathan now has the experience of getting paid for this huge ideas that led him to create his own successful businesses. He launched a boutique marketing and entrepreneurship catalyst group, Vibe Creative. If you want to know the next step in the life of a man that truley follows his passions, you’ll have to watch the video at the bottom of his about page (worth it!).

1. How do you define happiness?

The ability to do what I love with people I love

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

I was a pretty happy kid and am a pretty happy/fulfilled adult. I’d say I hover around an 8 now and that was probably pretty similar as a kid

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

I spend the greatest amount of time possible absorbed in activities that fill me up, surrounded by people I cannot get enough of. This is true on both a professional and personal level. And, as an entrepreneur, I get to pick the people I surround myself with. In fact, that is probably the best part about being an entrepreneur.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Anything that requires me to allocate energy without substantial purpose or personal fulfillment. For example, in my businesses, there are many things that fill me up and many that empty me out. So, I work to identify which tasks fall into the latter category and delegate as much of those things out to others, preferably to others who enjoy doing the things I don’t.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Brother, I’m doing it right now. Spending time with family and friends, writing, speaking, building businesses, helping others do the same and changing lives. So, simply put, more of the same.

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Like many of us Steve Olson is on a quest to find personal freedom. Since both Steve and his wife Christine are on this path, Steve often shares both of their discoveries. While Steve does not think personal freedom is necessarily a destination, through persistence the journey that he calls personal freedom can grow indefinitely.

Somebody once said to me when I was child, “You can’t just do your own thing, nobody can.” I believed that statement for over 20 years. Today I ask, “Why can’t I live life on my terms? Do my own thing? Why not?” Today I believe I can live life free.

Steve Olson is the Technical Manager at Ergotron, Inc. (http://www.ergotron.com) specializing in the Oracle eBusiness Suite and Custom Applications. He publishes his personal blog, People Pursuing Freedom at http://www.steve-olson.com.

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness is an emotional state in which I feel a deep sense of well-being. I find it most when I help others. Soothing my sobbing 3-year-old. Deep concentration. Putting my soul into writing something helpful to others. Helping a new blogger by linking or offering my blog for a guest post. I find happiness in simple things like buying our Oracle Testing team pizza today. I find it playing Crash Team Racing with my 5-year-old or watching him bust his ass at Mixed Martial Arts.

I find happiness in knowing I’m being productive and helping create a better tomorrow. I can find happiness temporarily in material things like buying a new gadget or a new car, but it’s fleeting. The happiness I find helping others lasts much longer. Helping others isn’t the only place I find happiness, I also find it helping myself, reading and writing for my own pleasure. I find immense happiness in learning new things. Learning about other peoples lives. I find the process of self-education produces consistent lasting happiness. For me shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset produced a happiness miracle.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Until I was 7 I was an happy child. I loved people and learning new things. I’d rate ages 0-7 as a 10. Sometime in 2nd grade I lost most of my love of life and didn’t regain it for decades.

I’d rate my happiness from ages 7-25 at about 1 or 2. I was suicidal in the 2nd grade. That’s not to say I don’t have wonderful memories of that time. I do. I’d just say more often than not I was angry, hostile,or depressed. The most frightening emotional state is when you stop feeling. I have spent years of my life emotionally dead. I don’t know how many other people have been that far down the pit. It’s hard to tell in our culture because men don’t talk about their feelings. It’s a long story which I plan to write about someday.

From about 25 on, I have slowly worked my way out of a dangerous and destructive mindset. Today I’d rate my happiness at an 8 or 9, but staying there requires constant vigilance.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

Giving creates the most happiness in my life. I gave my wife an iPod today, and it felt great.

Other things bring me happiness too.

Journaling, Reading, Playing with my kids. Schmoozing with co-workers. I spend most of my days in a happy state. But it comes and it goes. When I get down, I realize it quicker today, and I use countermeasures. Sometimes I have to stop everything I am doing and find a quiet spot and meditate or concentrate on gratitude. Other times the best thing to do is create value, anywhere. I look for something constructive to do, a place where I can push myself outside my limits. Another way I break a funk is to concentrate on empathy. You know, get out of my own feelings and my own head and concentrate on how someone else feels.

This can be dangerous though, I’ve used this method at it has pushed my mood even deeper into a pit, because when I’m feeling negative, there is little I can give to others, so usually need to work it out alone. Another thing I work on every day is acceptance. Acceptance of the reality of the moment. Centeredness. Sometimes the best thing to do is accept the negative feelings, feel them fully, and let them pass. I’ve also found recognizing and naming a negative feeling is a powerful exercise. It prevents me from reacting to my negative feelings and creating a downward spiral.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Distractions cause me a lot of pain. I find happiness in deep involvement and concentration on a task, event, conversation, or relationship. Distractions can quickly turn to anger. Thinking ‘I can’t get anything done with all these damn distractions’ can eventually lead to depression if I dwell on it long enough, so I try to accept distractions as part of my role as a manager, husband, father, and friend. But sometimes it’s hard, real effing hard. Acceptance is the key to minimizing the problem.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

I plan to focus on my purpose in life and try to stay in the moment and remain centered. To focus on being what I was meant to be, not what someone else thinks I should be. I plan to live in a near constant state of growth. I plan to acquire a never ending education, to keep an open mind, try new things, new methods, new systems. But mostly, I plan to better learn how to give and receive love.

(You know, while I was writing the last line about love, I started to make fun of it in my head, I started to feel a sense of shame, strange how our culture breeds that in us. That’s something else I am going to work on. How can one be happy if when you talk about love it results in feelings of shame?)

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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This creative cartoonist really has had a great deal of success working from his nest. Freelancing since his early 20s, Tony D. Clark has been a freelancer for nearly 15 years. This freelancing stuff has led Tony to develop a jewelry business, web design company, independent software development, instructional design, and now the building and running of a small software company.

Not bad for someone that gets to stay home with his 3 dogs, 3 daughters and a wife. What strikes me the most about Tony is that he isn’t really selling cartoons, or software, that’s not his game at all. He is selling being free to live life on ones own terms, doing fun and meaningful work, while having a rich and close-knit family life. That’s the business he’s in, from my perspective, and it sells.

You can find Tony at his blog Success from The Nest, or as a regular contributor on lifehack.org. He is also the co-founder of the wildly successful Teaching Sells, as well as a cartoonist for Implementing Scrum.

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness is the ability to see life as it is, and as it can be. Then let go of expectations, attachments, and the things that piss you off. The only way to be truly happy is to accept things — the good, the bad, and the ugly — and focus your thoughts on your ideal, and take the action to make it a reality. You can’t try to be happy — you are or you aren’t.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

10 when I’m still like a child, about a 6 when I’m not.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

Being with my family and walking my dog. There’s something Zen-like about walking a dog. I call it my mediation in motion. There’s also something Zen-like about watching Sponge Bob with your kids. Shared humor is a magical thing.

The consistency comes from focusing on those things rather than the little annoyances that pop up.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

What I call the Inner Destructor. It’s not just the voice of negative self-talk, but also that part of us that tends to focus in on the smallest little crappy thing that happens to be occurring. The rest of your life can be paradise, but the Inner Destructor will find the one thing that sucks.

To lessen the impact you have to show up for your life. Really show up. Take action, do things to work towards your goals, and the Inner Destructor becomes less of an influence.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Walking my dog more, and watching Sponge Bob with my kids more

I’ve found that the simplest of things can bring the most pleasure — a good pizza, a great book, answering someone’s question in a way that causes a light-bulb to go off. It’s those things I want to have more of in my life.
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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Craig Harper (B.Ex.Sci.) is the #1 ranked Australian Motivational Speaker (according to Google). He is a qualified exercise scientist, author, columnist, radio presenter, television host, blogger and owner of one of the largest personal training centres in the world.

Craig provides hundreds of life lessons on his blog at Motivational Speaker blog. It should also be noted that Craig has a very unique writing and speaking style. Craig subscribes to the no BS form of expression, in which he holds nothing back, but tells it how it is. In his book Fattitude, Craig does not focus on the food, rather he teaches that creating a life-long change is more about the dieter, than the actual diet.

1. How do you define happiness?

For me happiness can be one of many emotional states (excitement, joy, euphoria) and can be stimulated by a range of varied stimuli (funny situations, helping someone, cheesecake, a great result, a good workout, a motorbike ride, being with loved ones, nature, music). But genuine, lasting happiness on a deeper level is (for me) more about inner contentment, peace and calm than it is about any of those short-lived ‘rock star’ emotions. Nothing can replace the feeling of complete peace and contentment.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Then 8. Now 8.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

Invest time into others. Read. Write. Learn. Express myself creatively. Have lunch with two funny idiots every day. Laugh a lot. Generally my emotional state is somewhere between mildly content, falling down laughing and very excited.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Over the years I have learned to manage the negatives (stress, problems, challenges) much more effectively. Knowing that stress is an internal response to an external stimulus and learning that I can control the impact that situations, events, circumstances have on me was a breakthrough. Situations don’t create stress, we do.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Learn from people who are smarter than me. Listen. Be less selfish.

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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John Wesley is commander and chief of the wildly popular personal development website called PickTheBrain. PTB is a product of John’s passion for reflection and personal growth. He holds a BS in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia and enjoys reading, technology, and surfing the web in his free time.

Some of Pick The Brain’s most popular posts are:

• 7 Ways To Grow The Action Habit
• Learn to Understand Your Own Intelligence
• 10 Ways To Instantly Build Self-Confidence
• 5 Simple Ways To Increase Intelligence

1. How do you define happiness?

Funny coincidence, but I actually just wrote a post, pondering this very question.
Happiness is joy that emanates from the soul. Unlike pleasure, which is based on sensation, happiness comes from the mind. It is largely independent of the outside world. It is not a short, intense feeling, but a zen-like state that defies time.

Happiness is a state of mind. It’s not something that can be taught or given from one person to another. It is achieved with profound understanding and a monk-like control over the thoughts and emotions that torment us.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Things are going good for me right now, and I expect the best is yet to come, so right now I would put myself around 8.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

On a daily basis, I try to live with purpose and to improve myself and give something back to the world around me. It doesn’t need to be anything big, but keeping a positive attitude and making progress is important.

Throughout the day, and from one day to the next, occasionally I have a bad or melancholy mood, but I think this is natural and part of life and happiness.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

The biggest detriments are negatives thoughts, fears, and cynicism. It’s easy to get caught in a pessimistic thought pattern that makes life seem hopeless. To keep my thoughts positive, I try to feel grateful every day and find time for solitude so I can sort out my thoughts.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

I plan on further developing my personal relationships and professional abilities by working to increase my value to the world. In my experience, the more you are able to give the more wealth, happiness, etc. you get in return.

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Dr. Capista has owned and operated Williamsburg Dental, located in Broomall, Pennsylvania for over 30 years. He has successfully built a profitable, multi-million dollar practice by combining his passion for dentistry, extensive business knowledge that includes sales, marketing and extreme customer care while maintaining a life of balance. He also combines very spiritual principles to his business practices.

His refreshing approach to success and personal development, coupled with his business philosophy, makes his book What Can A Dentist Teach You About Business, Life, and Success very well received by those interested in growing a business with a deep sense of purpose, passion and contribution.

1. How do you define happiness?

It is a feeling that results from the actions of being successful in my business (work) life and my personal life as I move closer to “Total Success”

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Now – 9 to 9.5
Child – 8 to 9

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

1. Review my goals morning and night (at a minimum)

2. Monitor my thoughts and actions and ask are my thoughts and actions taking me closer or further away from my goals and are my goals bringing me closer to Happiness

This can vary but I now better monitor my thought, feelings and actions and as a result have more consistent happiness

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

I personally am presently in the process of constructing a list for “The things in my life that I need and want to be Happy” and the things I can eliminate that I do not need or want because they do not bring me Happiness. ….In general things that at not moving me closer to my goals.First be aware of the things that do not bring Happiness and consciously remove them or lessen them in your life

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Continue to work on and update the things in my life that I need or want to be Happy!!!!!

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Editor’s Note: This is an autobiography from Jay White himself.

My name is Jay White and I am nothing more than 32 year old family man from Chicago. I work for a living just like most of you and have the same pains – raising a family, housing costs, stress at work, etc. However, the difference may be that I have an passion (nearing addiction) for finding a better a way to live each day. I don’t believe there is a master of everything nor do I claim to be one. However, I do enjoy sharing what I learn, the pitfalls to watch for, and the lessons learned.

I started Dumb Little Man on an absolute whim one night. To be honest, it was after realizing that my time had literally disappeared with the birth of my second child. I had to learn to become more efficient if I had any real desire to satisfy all of the moving portions of my life.

As the audience of this blog grew, I decided to ask readers for their tips and advice. Surely, this site would be much stronger and valuable to you if several people were sharing their experiences as well. Today, the majority of our articles come from people that started out as readers.

Whether it was budgeting at home, starting a business or trying to lose weight, you will find ideas on Dumb Little Man. If there is something that is really stumping you, let me know and I’ll do what I can to cover it.
In a nutshell, that is what Dumb Little Man is all about…sharing tips to make life easier. Since then, I also started Diethack.com.

1. How do you define happiness?

I suppose my definition of true happiness can be equated to complete peace. That is probably the corniest thing I have ever typed but as you read the answers to the rest of your questions, you’ll probably understand my angle.

In order to achieve peace (for me at least):

• There can be no grudges
• No regrets (mistakes are OK, regrets are bad)
• I must have a healthy, happy family
• I must know that I did ALL I could that day to support my family (I didn’t slack at work, demotivate, etc.)

If I go to bed each night satisfied that those items are in tact, I am happy.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

My happiness level today is a 8. I removed 2 points simply because I cannot spend more time with my family. If I were able to spend all day every day with my wife and kids, I would be at a 10. Unfortunately, the bills need to be paid. However, I am fortunate to be in a position that will allow my wife to stay home with the kids. She is excellent with them and I occasionally peak around the corner and just watch them for a few minutes. She is just great. So, aside from that, there is absolutely nothing else that I would change in my life.

When I was a child, my happiness was probably a 3. It’s odd how life changes. Back then I did have all day to spend with my family and yet the experience and environment was so unhealthy, that I would have done anything to get away from it. When the time was right I moved on, forgave and eventually prospered.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

When you mention daily basis my first inclination is to direct this question to Monday-Friday, the work week.

I hate to be generic with this answer but my answer is simply “work hard”. I have a job for a reason and it’s to ensure I can support my family. If I end the work day satisfied that I accomplished what I needed to, I am happy. In the beginning of my corporate life, I would actually create a list each Sunday night. The list was called T3 (or Top 3) and it listed 3 things I could do that week to further my career (online and/or off). As I went through the week, I would check things off. It is a very simple way motivating and congratulating myself several times each week.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Conflict. I cannot stand conflict with the people that I am close to. When my wife and I get into a disagreement that lasts more than 15 minutes, I do get upset about it. Often times, I also get upset with myself in my reaction to such conflicts. There are times, when the disagreement gets heated, that I lose my temper (verbally) and I have to do a better job controlling that.

The happiness factor goes down when I see people I love making silly decisions that will harm them. I have no control over people though, so while I’d love to control them, I know I can’t.

In terms of removing these items from my life, I can’t. Conflict is part of human nature and while I can eventually learn to control my temper (which would make me happy), there is no way that I am going to stop voicing opinions that may incite conflict. Although introverted, I speak my mind versus letting something build up and bother me. That is healthier than avoiding conflict altogether.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Since I have defined my true happiness and spending time with the family, I am going to do what I can to increase that. At this point, the quickest means to doing so is to continue growing Dumb Little Man and my other sites. The plan at some point would be to work with my wife on the sites while the kids are in school and then hang out with the kids all night until bed. That would be excellent.
____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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• Monday:
  • Jay White of Dumb Little Man
  • Dr. Joe Capista – Dentist and Author
• Tuesday:
  • John Wesley of Pick The Brain
  • Craig Harper the Motivational Speaker
• Wednesday:
  • Tony D. Clark of Success from the Nest
  • Steve Olson for People Pursuing Freedom
• Thursday:
  • Jonathan Fields of Awake At The Wheel
  • Neil Selden – Life Coach and Movie Director
• Friday:
  • Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally
  • Dr. Joe DiMaggio of Landmark Education

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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To be perfectly honest, when I started watching this video, I got a sudden urge to pack my bags, and head over to Denmark. Perhaps not to live there, but to see first-hand how a nation thinks in order to be the happiest in the world. Actually, that’s going on my to-go list right now.

The Danes consider themselves to be a very content people. They are well taken care of by their government in many ways. They are actually PAID to go to school, are provided with health care, child care, and many other benefits. The price of this is the government taking 50% for taxes.

One way to look at the Danes paradigm of themselves is that they are the underdog. When the underdog team loses, it isn’t a big deal, or a huge disappointment, because they weren’t the best team to begin with. However, when the underdog wins, it becomes a tremendous triumph, with all the reason to celebrate.

The key to Danish anti-depression is to have low expectations. They get really excited when things don’t go as bad as they thought they would. The trick is to remain ambitious, and strive for constant and never ending improvement, without being horribly disappointed when things don’t go as planned.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Dave Seah tends to write about four general areas: design, development, inspiration, and self-empowerment. He’s turned on by people making things and making positive changes in their life in the face of doubt and uncertainty.

Since he often finds himself in the position of uncertainty, he investigates and writes about productivity. In fact, Dave created some free tools for managing tasks and getting things done.

In terms of design, Dave categorizes himself as an “information architect specializing in data visualization and graphics.” Dave also considers himself an investigative designer, as he takes into account all factors, and then makes his design ‘make sense’ while catering to the motivation and desires of the people involved.

What’s most important to me, however, is to be around positive-minded, self-empowered, conscientious and kind people that value quality, competence, and reliability in their friends.

Now that’s a statement I think everyone could live with!

1. How do you define happiness?

I think it’s the flow between several life elements:

• a connectedness with people who matter to you
• finding a source of energy (like a hobby, a person, a job, cats…anything really)
• having the energy to put something back into the world that matters to you
• seeing that you did make some kind of difference in the world

Then there’s the sense of possibility and forward movement that’s important. For me, getting comfortable enough with myself to actually BE myself with the everyday people around me is a prerequisite to becoming MY BEST SELF.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

I’m happier now, because I’m in more control of my environment and know myself well enough to actually do cool stuff. If my childhood was a “5″ (average), then I’m probably at around a 7 or 8 right now.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

I talk to people, and I try to work through my blockages. I try to be genuine. I’m happiest when I see other people happy, so if I can do something that helps someone out, that contributes to “daily happiness”.

Consistency isn’t something I’ve thought of from an hour-to-hour perspective, though on reflection I’d have to say it is consistently even. Maybe too even.

I also have a list of things that unconditionally put me in a good mood. It’s a very short list, but it’s useful to have. For example, cats always put me in a good mood, and they fascinate me. I can’t think of a reason why this is, but it “just is”.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

I believe in making one’s self strong enough to handle the bad situations that come your way, so that helps even out the bumps. I will get caught up sometimes in thinking that I “should” be more one way or another, or that there’s “something wrong” with the way I’m doing things and that’s why things aren’t working. I am basically an impatient person, and want changes sooner otherwise I get bored. Recognizing that there is no right way to live your life helps.

When I catch myself in a negative spiral, I set about identifying the source of unhappiness, define its parameters, ask myself “well is this actually going to kill me?” and if the answer is no, then I ask myself what IS important then, in the grand scheme of things. That helps me get by.

The most important thing for me, though, is to have good friends that I can talk to plainly and openly, knowing that I am not going to be judged by them. I don’t judge them, either. Having this kind of regular dialog is incredibly important to maintaining an even keel in stormy weather. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my friends.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Be real with people and myself. Broadcast the vibes that I want to receive in kind. Keep my eyes open for opportunities, and be ready to move when they come.

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Dustin M. Wax teaches anthropology and women’s studies in Las Vegas, NV, where he lives with his partner, her children, and three too many dogs. His academic work focuses around the closely related topics of anthropology in the Cold War and sexuality in American culture, one of which is the subject of his forthcoming book Anthropology at the Dawn of the Cold War. When not trying to work out the elements of The Good Life in his own and others’ cultures, he is known to play a little guitar, listen to music, and obsessively horde books on all manner of subjects (some of which he even reads).

He has also been active in attempts to use the Internet to improve and broaden research and education, and is a founding contributor to the anthropology site Savage Minds, selected as one of the 20 Best Science Blogs by Nature in 2006. He is also a contributing editor at the personal productivity site lifehack.org, where he writes about writing, blogs about blogging, learning, studying, project management, technology, and other topics in personal development.

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Dustin on the phone. We discussed his creation, and launch, of the successful podcast radio show lifehack live as well as what it takes to succeed as a radio host. I should also say that Dustin is one of my favorite writers on the ‘net for the way he seamlessly integrates business and humor.

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness for me is a feeling of fulfillment, whether that’s finishing up a job well done or sharing time with the people closest to me or experiencing something beautiful and amazing.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

I’m much happier than I was as a child, I part because I was terribly shy and thus didn’t connect with many people. Today, I basically get to do things I love every day and connect with people regularly. In absolute terms, I’d say I’m at “8″, but relative to my childhood, I’d say “10″.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

I’m lucky enough to have two jobs doing things I’m really good at (teaching and writing), both of which allow me to make a difference in people’s lives. So I’m in the enviable position of having work that makes me happy. I also make sure to spend lots of time with my partner and my step-children — for instance, we have a sit-down dinner every night, and everyone is expected to share something.

At the same time, work has its challenges, especially on days I teach 3 or 4 classes. I get worn out, and that makes me less happy. And I have to deal with the less fun stuff, like editing and grading and dealing with administrative matters — work that isn’t as engaging and satisfying.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

I’m not a great financial manager, which has caused some problems that can make me very unhappy indeed. And I’m less happy when people let me down, whether it’s my step-kids failing to realize their potential or my students trying to find the easy way out of doing the work of learning. For the money matters, I’m not sure how to lessen their impact or remove them — I’m not in a place to repair the problems I’ve caused in the past, though I’m certainly a lot more careful now to avoid creating more problems in the future.

With people letting me down, I’m not sure I’d want to lessen their impact or remove them — what, have lower expectations? Avoid being around people who don’t live up to my standards? You take the bad along with the good in relationships, and if the choice is between being happy all the time and connecting, I take connecting. I don’t have to be happy all the time.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

For the last year or so, I’ve been rethinking just about every aspect of my life. The ultimate goal is to make myself less dependent on others (for example, on my department chairs to schedule my classes) and to create a living directly from my passions (e.g. writing). In part, this means moving more to freelance work and developing the economic independence to do that, which is my big project this year.

____

To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Prior to working on Stepcase full-time, Leon Ho was Manager of Software Engineering at Red Hat, responsible for the internationalization deliveries in Red Hat products. Leon managed a team across regions in Australia, Japan, China and India. Leons division added support of 22 languages in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and migrated new internationalization technologies into products.

He founded Stepcase’s Lifehack in 2005, a blog on productivity and personal development, which became #40 most popular blog in the world. Stepcase has been featured by major medias such as Time Magazine, BusinessWeek and Hong Kong Economic Times.

1. How do you define happiness?

Enjoy what you have in your life. Don’t force yourself to demand for more.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

8. I enjoy my life as much as when I was a child. I have great friends, family, work and lifestyle.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

There must be some ups and downs in my daily life. I treat them as normal cycles.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Mostly from external environment like relationships between people.

It’s normal. You can’t lessen their impact or remove them from your life.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

This quote describes my plan: “If my heart can become pure and simple, like that of a child, I think there probably can be no greater happiness than this.” — Kitaro Nishida. The more you demand for happiness, the less happiness you may get. Instead, live a life like a child.

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Jeremy “Shoemoney” Schoemaker is one of the ‘big three’ money making bloggers on the ‘net. His computer savvy career all started with a simple apple computer in the 1980s. He went on to create an internet gaming business while attending college, and the successful ShoeMoney Media Group.

Shoe credits much of his success to his lovely wife, a physician, who supported him through everything including the dot com crash and his health issues (more on that in the interview).

Shoe has a very interesting paradigm that has helped him to create his successful business:

Embrace new trends and look for opportunities to exploit them. For example, SMG entered the ring tone market early, captured traffic and has monetized it. Finding angles and exploiting them for profit is a key aspect of SMG. Maximum and diverse revenue streams are built on fairly narrow marketing concepts that are then diversified. This is what Jeremy Schoemaker calls, “The Coke Theory. If you are already making Coke then you can make Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, etc and turn a profit on those as well. A company can achieve growth through small degrees of separation between sites, maximizing diversity within a small industry.

1. How do you define happiness?

I would say happiness to me is when you enjoy life and look forward to every day living it.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Right now I would say about a 8. I am very happy with my life. I have a fantastic beautiful wife and a healthy child. Career wise my wife and I are doing pretty well and we also have bright futures.

As a child I was somewhat unhappy. I was very overweight and my future looked pretty grim.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

Every morning when I wake up I get to hang out and eat breakfast with my daughter before going to the office. That starts the day off right. Then I always make it a point to accomplish something within the first hour of the work day. Does not matter how small it is. I don’t check email or anything I just get something done. I also take a similar break from email/instant messanger/ at lunch and just buckle down and get something done. Then again later on in the day.

Accomplishing tasks and moving forward brings me an enormous amount of joy. After work I goto the Gym (3 nights a week) and lift weights. This is to get rid of any lingering stress from work. The other 2 nights I run on a treadmill. After working out I come home to my family and eat dinner/discuss the day. After putting our child to bed I enjoy catching up on television shows with my wife that we have tivo’d.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Not getting something accomplish really takes away from my happiness level. Does not really matter what it is. I hate not making progress. It really frustrates me. Also sometimes I will lapse a bit and sleep until noon… I feel like crap and rushed the rest of the day.

Also things I do not enjoy doing like:

• Cleaning
• Doing Dishes
• Washing/Gasing up the car(s)
• Lawn Care

I have hired people to handle. We also have a full time Nanny for childcare and 2 babysitters we call on from time to time.

I think learning to control your mental state is a huge way to lesson the impact of things that make you unhappy. Being OK with things you can’t control but learning from them.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

We have another baby now on the way and I am looking forward to raising that child along with Juliet (our 19 month old daughter). I also hope to be able to retire in about 5 years and spend a lot more time with my children. I doubt I will every truly quit working but it makes me happy to think I can
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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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As you can see by this picture, Neil is holding an American Express ‘Black Card’, which is usually reserved for rich people, and celebrities. How does a young guy like Neil get his hands on a no-spending-limit credit card? His company is so impressed with his skills, that they opted to give him one!

Neil Patel’s personal blog is QuickSprout and he teaches us about branding ourselves for success. He has most certainly done that. He is also the co-founder of ACS and CrazyEgg.

His favorite restaurant in the world is taco bell, and I can only imagine how funny it looks to pay for a chalupa with a card that’s meant to be used at top-rated restaurants. From that alone, I would think that Neil Patel did not let money go to his head… but then I read his interview…

1. How do you define happiness?

To me, happiness is an emotion that ranges from depression to bliss. In most cases you don’t experience extremes and you usually are somewhere in the middle.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Compared to being a child I would rate my happiness as 1. As a kid you have no worries you can and just have fun all day long. As an adult you have responsibilities and you have to do work. But in general I would say I am around a 7 or 8.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

I don’t think I do anything specific on a daily basis to make me happy. Instead what makes me happy is money and as long as make more of it, I will be happy.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Losing money makes me sad. Although that sounds superficial the reality is our world revolves around money.

I am not sure how to lessen that impact. Maybe if I were a billionaire I would always be happy.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

I plan to make more money.

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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John Chow is the founder of TTZ Media, and the man behind John Chow dot Com. His focus on the internet is to make money online, and he’s very successful at it. John makes +$30,000 per month from his blog, and much more from TTZ Media.

John is known as a family man, as he frequently mentions his wife, and puts up pictures of his baby girl. John has also been caught donating money to feed the hungry, so in all reality he’s not really the root of all evil like he claims to be.

Here’s what makes John happy…

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness to me is enjoying what I’m doing and having choices.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

9. I am so much happier now than when I was a kid.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

The fact that I have choices. I don’t have to wake up to an alarm clock. If I want to take a spur of the moment trip to Mexico (or wherever), I can do that.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Pandas.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Start a foundation so I can help more people.

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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If you are both a blogger, and have an internet connection, than I’m almost certain that you have heard of Darren Rowse. He is the worlds premier expert on blogging, and one of the top money makers in the blogging world. He has written literally thousands of articles on everything from traffic generation, blogging for dollars, to writing content.

What makes Darren the star of the show and hangs +40,000 subscribers on the notion of ‘what will he say next?’. That my friends is ‘the secret recipe’. If I told you, than you would go ahead and follow those steps and become Mr. (or Ms.) Problogger and take over Darren’s thrown!

Actually it’s no secret at all. It takes being a certain person, that does the necessary things to accomplish the desired result. He’s genuine and intelligent, leads by example and shares his experiences, and accomplishes a global improvement in all blogs (plus fame and fortune!).

On two different occasions I have had the opportunity to meet Darren in New York City. One time convinced me that he can throw a great party, and another convinced me that he is a grade-A speaker. Both times convinced me that he is a very likable guy.

Some of Darren’s very own favorite posts are:

1. How to Make Money From Blogging
2. How to Find Readers For Your Blog
3. How to Write Great Content

His other passion is photography, and you can read about his expertise at the Digital Photography School blog

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness is the first sip of a latte in the morning, it’s seeing my son’s eyes flutter open at the start of the day and it’s seeing the surpise on my wife’s face when she comes home and realizes that I remembered to wash the dishes.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Now – 8
As a Child – 7

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

There are many daily occurrences that I think contribute to my happiness. These include:

• Spending conscious time playing with my son
• Spending time alone with nothing more to do than to read, drink a coffee or go for a walk
• Spending moments in reflection/prayer/meditation
• Doing work that I find stimulating, creative, rewarding and helpful to others
• Spending my money in a way that touches the lives of other
• Exercising – walking, working out (with my trainer or alone)

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

I find that I’m most unhappy when selfishness creeps into my life – either through my own actions or those of others. I guess for me it’s about living with a generous spirit and attempting to surround myself with others who embrace a similar lifestyle.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

I spend too much time focussing upon myself and so my hope and dream is to continue to chip away at breaking this mindset and living a life that is more helpful to others. I have a few ideas on how to do this but I’m not sure if it’s the right time to share them. In general though, I guess I want to make a difference in this crazy world we live in. I’m most happy when I’ve helped others in some way and look forward to exploring how to do this more and more.

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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• Monday:
  • Darren Rowse of Problogger
• Tuesday:
  • John Chow of John Chow Dot Com
  • Neil Patel of QuickSprout
• Wednesday:
  • Jeremy Schoemaker of Shoemoney
• Thursday:
  • Leon Ho of Lifehack.org
  • Dustin Wax of Lifehack.org
• Friday:
  • Dave Seah of Better Living Through New Media
    

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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On top of that, these people are automatically entered into the contest, where 5 people will win advertising on this blog. You can see the details in the happiness project introduction post.

Here are the participants thus far.

1. 1 Little Thing
2. Stephen Smith
3. Adam Kayce
4. Tina – Life Balance
5. Julie Meyer
6. Dean Lacono
7. Adam Donkus

If you would like to participate, you are most welcome. Just write up the post, with the questions, your answers, and link back to the introduction post so people know what you’re doing. In return I’ll link to you in an individual post like this one, as well as give you a permanent spot in the main happiness project page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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As seen by the picture, Skellie is shrouded in a cloud of mystery, which is just the way she likes it. At the same time, Skellie is one of the internets most prolific freelancers, and writes for two very popular blogs of her own.

Skellie’s Anywired “is a so-current-it-still-smells-new guide to working online” and she offers “a regular diet of tips, tricks, hacks, guides, must-see links and reviews to help you work when you want, from where you want to be.”

Skellie’s Skelliewag “is about creating content your site’s visitors will fall in love with. It’s about using simplicity to your advantage. It’s about being innovative, unique, and creating something worth talking about.”

Some of the major sites that Skellie has freelanced for are ProBlogger.net, Daily Blog Tips, Freelance Switch, NorthxEast, Daily Bits, Copyblogger, Zen Habits and a number of other popular blogs. That’s an impressive line up, and she’s pumped some of her famous creative juice into those sites.

Some of her most popular posts are:

• How To Find And Use Incredible Flickr Images
• The Matrix Model. Why Perception Is Everything
• How To Get +1,100 Subscribers In Five Days
• Top 20 Ways To Come Up With Amazing Ideas

1. How do you define happiness?

I don’t. I’m not sure what it is, and I think it means different things to different people. I do think it has one key ingredient, though: to feel loved (whether by friends, family, or a romantic partner — but not necessarily all three at once) and to feel worthy of being loved (or, in other words, to feel proud of yourself).

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

I couldn’t really rate my happiness on a scale of 1 – 10, simply because I haven’t experienced absolute happiness (a 10, and I say that because I’m not sure happiness has a limit), nor have I experienced the lows of 1, so I can’t position my happiness relative to either of those. But I can answer the question by saying that I feel happy.

I think children have a different kind of happiness — different things that are important of them, and different measurements of self-worth — so I can’t really compare. But I was a happy child most of the time, and am a happy adult most of the time.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

Saying “I love you,” to my family, laughing with friends, the usual stuff. I also enjoy my work a lot (blogging and freelance web writing) — it feels more like a hobby than a job. Feeling inspired also makes me happy, and I find a lot of opportunities to be inspired.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

When I do feel unhappy, it’s usually because I feel guilty about something I’ve done (or haven’t done). Most of these things are pretty minor, but I hold myself by strict standards. I don’t believe you can be happy all the time, so I’ll continue to do my best to behave in ways I’m proud of — but I don’t expect to be a perfect human being.

There are other inevitable things that take away from happiness, like the loss of a friend or family member, but these things are part of living (and I think some degree of temporary unhappiness is part of living).

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Traveling! One self-criticism I have is that I haven’t seen enough of the world. Being a web worker means I can work from anywhere, so there’s no excuse any more .

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Steven Aitchison is a firm believer that if you change your thoughts, you can change your life. He is passionate about personal development, and has a strong desire to become a full-time blogger. He’s definitely on the right track for that.

Steven previously released an ebook, and is working on a few other interesting writing project. If you want to be a problogger, you pretty much have to love writing.

One thing that Steven loves more than his writing is his wife and kids, who I’m sure are very supportive on his journey to become a problogger. I’m also sure that they’re a big reason he wants to go pro, and be the boss of his own schedule so he can spend more time with them.

1. How do you define happiness?

I would define happiness as doing the things in life you love and sharing it with the people you love.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

At the moment I would rate myself as being a 8/10, when I was a child I was probably a 5/10

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

Honestly, I kiss my wife everyday and give my sons a hug every single day and tell them I love them. I am extremely happy in my family life and this feeling lasts throughout the day.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

My job, I am doing a very worthwhile job but it is not my true calling. I work part time on the things I love in the hope that it will one day turn into my career.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

The only thing I can change in my life which would make me happier is my job. I am working on this every single day and hope I can work for myself again. I am working on blogging, writing an ebook, affiliate marketing, and some more writing. Otherwise I am extremely happy.

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Aaron and I go way back, as he was one of my first blogging friends, and has showed me a great deal about networking and communication. His words still ring in my head sometimes as I decide if I will take a casual or professional tone in a conversation “you got it brother!”

Aaron operates a website called Today is That Day, where he freely distributes invaluable information and products about success. His moto? “My Goal Is Your Success!” I can digg that.

Aaron is a success-entrepreneur. He recently launched a personal development forum, which has a tight knit group of people, all interested in promoting each other’s well-being.

Aaron leverages his experience and knowledge as a personal trainer by providing free information in his site Fitness Destinations. With Aaron’s unique holistic approach to personal development, you won’t find the same voice anywhere else on the net.

Aaron’s books:

• Energy Harmonics
• How To Invoke The Law of Attraction
• Mental Meltdown: Weight Loss Begins in the Mind
• The Definitive Weight Loss

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness is whenever you are perfectly content to do whatever you are doing at any given moment, and you have absolutely ZERO desire to change anything. If someone were to come up to you in that moment and ask “If you could do anything that you wanted to do right now, what would it be?”, your answer should be “This is it. I’m already doing it.” That’s happiness.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

I would have to go with #8, and I would say that the number hasn’t really changed that much over the years!

When I was a kid, we didn’t have a lot as far as money and some of the gadgets that other kids had, but I was raised in a very loving environment, I was incredibly self-sufficient with a drive to “get out and see the world,” and I had plenty of friends who enjoyed the adventure with me. I was always looking towards the future, though, and I had BIG plans.

As an adult, the situation is very similar. I am happy most of the time – right up there around #8 – and I have more than enough to be grateful for in my life, and to keep me happily doing things that I enjoy doing. However, just as when I was a child, I have BIG plans, and those plans require resources that I am still in the process of manifesting.

In the meantime, a lifetime (so far) of living around the #8 level is something that I can be…uh…HAPPY about! Numbers 9 and 10 coming right up!

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

More than anything else, I remind myself consistently throughout the day that I am doing whatever I am doing because I have the CHOICE to do it or not do it. I work at home, or wherever my laptop happens to take me, and no matter what the actual tasks are that I am concentrating on, I know that I am the only person in all the world who gets to decide what I do/don’t do from one moment to the next, and that in and of itself is the accomplishment of one of my past goals.

As far as the consistency of the feeling, it really depends on my workload. If I start to feel overwhelmed, then it is easy for stress to try and creep into my emotional state. However, I am able to keep that at bay for the most part, and productivity practices that I have implemented in recent months have really helped. It’s funny because “productivity” and “happiness” are two completely different words, yet one of them can lead to the other by providing a stress-free environment.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

I am my own worst enemy! Although it is certainly true that I have what amounts to a ridiculous amount of work to do every day, that also doesn’t change the fact that I am the only one who can become stressed, frustrated, or fearful if those thing don’t always get done, or don’t get done completely.

What takes away from my happiness is whenever I feel like I haven’t “gotten the job done” well enough to provide the resources that both my present and my future life need. The best way for me to remove those obstacles is to stay productive. I am a firm believer that once you have truly done all that you can do in any given circumstance, worrying or stressing about what didn’t get done is a total waste of time. I work hard, and I work smart, and I work consistently, and as long as I stick to those principles, I can “shut down” after work each day with a clear conscience, and then I’m good.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Spend a lot more time at the beach! OK, maybe not JUST the beach, but spending more time outdoors, near the water’s edge, and traveling around the world are all things that bring me happiness, yet I do not do them as often as I would like right now.

When I get to the #9 or #10 level of happiness, I will likely be working in the same “arena” that I am working in now, I will just be doing it while spending less time actually “working”. Instead, I will spend more time relaxing and having fun while I plan the next stage of the journey! The next stage is already on the drawing board, by the way, and it will make A LOT of people happy!

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Gretchen Rubin is an author, mother, wife, and happiness expert. I dub her the Happiness Project Queen! Educated in Yale Law School, Gretchen won a writing prize, and went on to clerk for a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Despite her extensive law experience, Gretchen heard her calling to be a writer. Gretchen published several books, but is now working on ‘The Happiness Project’. She is learning all there is about writing, and keeping records on her amazing blog The Happiness Project.

Gretchen made the move from Kansas to big time New York City, not too far from me. She lives there with her husband and two young daughters.

My only hobbies are reading and writing—and helping other people clean out their closets. I’m left-handed, terrible at sports, tone-deaf, a constant hair-twister, and afraid to drive. I talk to my parents and my sister all the time, and I live around the corner from my in-laws.

Gretchen just released an awesome internet mini movie, The Years Are Short. I watched it, and was really moved by it. It really captures the essence of life, and the importance of being present.

Gretchen’s Current Books:

• Forty Ways To Look At Winston Churchill
• Forty Ways To Look At JFK
• Power Money Fame Sex

1. How do you define happiness?

Hmmm…that’s so tough. Happiness experts use more than a dozen terms to mean “happiness” (subjective well-being, positive affect, etc.) Instead of spending a lot of energy trying to define it exactly, I just say to myself and everyone else – Let’s think about how to be happier, however we might define it.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

I’ve been the same my whole life. I probably rate about an average of 7.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

I exercise, I sing in the morning to my children, I email or see friends, I run into friends on the street (I live in New York City so this happens a lot), I read, I kiss my husband.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

I am the biggest hurdle to my own happiness! — my crabbiness, impatience, fretfulness, envy, and self-centeredness. My whole Happiness Project is aimed at trying to help me control my “bosom enemies” so that they don’t wreck my happiness.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

I’ve been working hard on developing the resolutions for my Happiness Project that will make me happy. Now the challenge is to do them, ceaselessly, for the rest of my life. They aren’t hard, but it takes discipline to keep up with everything.

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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Chris Brogan uses social media and technology to build digital relationships for businesses, organizations, and individuals. He has merged his experience in technology (enterprise IT and wireless telephone) with his passion for social media, such that he’s showing organizations how to use these tools inside the firewall, as well as to build authentic conversations between coworkers, customers, and even competitors.

Chris speaks at several conferences and for private organizations, bridging business-minded people with technology concepts and helping tech-centric types understand the business implications of their efforts. This year he will be speaking at SOBCon08, which I will be attending.

Chris blogs, write articles, and make media of all kinds at chrisbrogan.com. Skilled in new media creation (blogging, podcasting, videoblogging) as well as social media community building (through sites like Facebook, Ning, Twitter, and others), his strength is in connecting passionate people together for business, collaboration, and networking.

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness is appreciating what you have, and loving the world for what it is.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

6 now, 8 then. I think the difference is that I’m HUNGRY for change, and that makes it harder to be happy.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

My children bring me happiness all the time. Any time in their graces (well, maybe not when they wake up at 2AM) is usually a good time. Beyond them, I enjoy laughing with my wife, and I love meeting and spending time with people at events.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Commuting is definitely something I dislike. I’m not a fan of my over one hour drive right now, but that’s okay. I just launched my “work remotely” program, so Thursdays and Fridays are now spent at coffeeshops doing creative work and research.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

In the future, I intend to settle some of my financial obligations and move that kind of money into travel with my family. I intend to visit a nice quiet cabin somewhere this coming summer, and I think that I’ll have more happiness when some of my new projects are revealed to the public at large.

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To get more info about what the Happiness Project is and isn’t, please visit the Introduction Post. To see a running list of all participants, which I will be updating as things happen, please visit the Happiness Project Page.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

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