A new year is as good a time as any to remind ourselves that life is what we make it. We create our experience with every choice we make. Starting right now, what kind of experience are you creating? In conjunction with Positive Propaganda in Portland and Kristian Strang, 12 billboards will pop up in the Portland-Vancouver metro area in […]

The Sidewalk Chalk Project is doing some amazingly beautiful joy spreading! Every day for over a year this woman has chalked a positive message in hopes of giving others a lift, a smile, some hope. I found this video on their Facebook page.  I might just watch it every morning.  Starting the day with all these positive messages could do wonders. […]

Chalk the Walks 2012 is coming right up!  Join us on Tuesday, August 21st in this international event of spreading joy, optimism and inspiration through the magical power of positive messages and sidewalk chalk. Here’s how you do it: Join the Facebook event: Chalk the Walks 2012! Chalk where ever you are (check with your city, but typically chalking is […]

The following video clip of Shawn Achor, CEO of Good Think, Inc., on TED.com is a must see. Shawn talks about the Happiness Advantage and backs it up with scientific research. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from this clip: What we’re finding is it’s not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your […]

Happy – A Documentary Trailer from Wadi Rum Films on Vimeo.   Today’s World Happy Day! And there’s a documentary out exploring the ultimate question: What makes us happy? The film takes us from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of Namibia, from the beaches of Brazil to the villages of Okinawa, HAPPY explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion. There […]

Geoffrey James, award-winning journalist and author of Inc.com’s Sales Source column, put out a list of “10 Questions That Create Success“. They’re fabulous. My favorites are: 1. Have I made certain that those I love feel loved? 2. Have I done something today that improved the world? 8. Have I helped someone less fortunate? 10. Have I felt grateful for […]

One of the best ways to keep on the journey of joy is to be grateful.  Every day. For every thing. Everything. You may have heard about the concept of keeping a gratitude journal. I first learned about it from Sarah Ban Breathnach in her fabulous book, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy.  I started keeping one on her advice four […]

If you want to be happy, there are a more than a few things you’ll need to accept, just as they are. The people in our lives are very possibly one of the most challenging things to accept “as is”. “If only he would do this…” “Why can’t she just see it this way?” “I wish he was more like…” […]

Here’s the first of several posts on Do It Yourself (DIY) Joy. One way to be happy is to talk nicely to yourself.  Words have great power. Using positive words when talking about yourself empowers you–words like smart, kind, resourceful, beautiful. On the flip side, when you talk about yourself using words like stupid, worthless, ugly, fat, and incompetent you […]