Happiness vs. Being Happy

There is a difference between the state of happiness and being happy. 

Seeking happiness through experiences and pleasures rarely works. 

As the social writer and philosopher Eric Hoffer noted, "The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness." 

Adds English novelist C. P. Snow, "The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness you'll never find it."

Novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne described the search for happiness this way: "Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

There is a difference between the state of happiness and being happy, having pleasure and experiencing enjoyment. The latter are short-term, temporary feelings based on experiences and thoughts. To put it simply: going to the movies can make you happy, but it has nothing to do with true happiness.

Helen Keller said that true happiness "is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." 

From a Project You Life perspective, that worthy purpose of which she wrote is living a meaningful and full life, as defined by Dr. Seligman:

The meaningful life: using your signature strengths and virtues in the service of something much larger than you are.

A full life: experience the positive emotions about the past and future, savoring positive feelings from the pleasures, deriving abundant gratification from your signature strengths, and using these strengths in the service of something larger to obtain meaning.

The Greek philosopher Democritus said, "Happiness resides not in possessions or gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul."

What else dwells in the soul? 

Caring, giving and kindness are all inherent characteristics of our souls. 

Perhaps, therefore, a key path to happiness comes from caring about others and giving kindness and help to others. 

Could these be the fundamental causes of real happiness? 

The greater our giving and kindness, the greater is our spiritual and innate happiness. Hence, increase your giving and kindness and you are likely to be rewarded with greater spiritual and authentic happiness. 

Uncertain about such a connection? Well, it won't hurt you to try!  

This article is partially excerpted from the top-selling personal development book Project You: Living A Determined Life, available at Amazon in Kindle ($6.88) and paperback ($7.89) formats. 

Be A Difference Maker

Having A Purpose Bigger Than One's Self 

In the Project You concept, there is a great responsibility placed on people and organizations that are successful financially or socially to pay back to society for the fruits they enjoy. 

Basically this means a requirement to contribute to something larger than one's self. This can be done by contributing to their communities, a global cause such as the environment or starvation, or to any charity or cause of their choosing.

Achieving this means entering a world of collaboration, in which you work together with people and organizations with which you have a shared view and shared values. 

Giving back and contributing to something larger than one's self are the hallmarks of a difference maker. There are several alternatives available:

Individual Difference Makers ── those making individual and personal contributions across a number of spectrums or categories.

Community Difference Makers ── anyone making contributions mainly within a social, business or workplace environment of which they are a member.

Society Difference Makers ── individuals making contributions to environments of which they are not members.

National or Citizen Difference Makers ── individuals making contributions to issues mainly within their own country, or in a specific country (i.e. schools for Kenya) in which they do not reside.

Global Difference Makers ── those making contributions toward issue-based concerns (peace, hunger, World Wildlife Fund, etc.) that are non-geographic specific. These individuals are less concerned about where advancements are achieved and more about the specific kinds of  improvements created.

The difference between Community Difference Makers and Society Difference Makers is membership of the community being impacted. 

For instance, someone involved in voluntary tree planting within their local community would be an example of a Community Difference Maker. But someone involved in creating a reading program for indigenous children represents a Society Difference Makers activity if that person is not a member of that indigenous community. 

However you decide to make a difference in this world, having a purpose bigger than one's self is a hallmark of Living A Determined Life and a core component in creating a foundation for an authentic life. 

If you would like to publicize how you are making a difference, please share details in the comments box below. Who knows, you might connect with more supporters for your purpose! 

This article is partially excerpted from the top-selling personal development book Project You: Living A Determined Life, available at Amazon in paperback ($7.90) and Kindle ($6.88) formats. 

Corporate Enlightened Self Interest

Leaders Need to Think Beyond Economic Growth and Success. 

This concept of enlightened self interest can (and should) be applied to the corporate and commercial worlds as well, through the concept of the Triple Bottom Line and its emphasis on people, planet and profits (note the order).

Consumers across the globe have begun acting on their desires for a higher level of responsibility by companies in dealing with societal issues. This global consumer movement was revealed in the 2011 Cone/Echo Global CR Opportunity Study which was conducted in 10 countries (USA, Canada, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Russia, China, India and Japan) comprising roughly half the world's population. Over 10,000 consumers were surveyed.

The top three results in this study were:

·     81% of consumers say companies have a responsibility to address key social and environmental issues beyond their local communities.

·    93% of consumers say companies must go beyond their legal compliance to operate responsibly.

·   94% of consumers say companies must analyze and evolve their business practices to make their impact as positive as possible.

These consumers believe it is important for companies to address a full range of social and environmental issues, including:

·         economic development (96%)

·         environment (96%)

·         water (95%)

·         human rights (94%)

·         education (90%)

·         health and disease (90%)

·         poverty and hunger (87%)

Importantly, 94% of respondents indicated they are likely to buy a product that has an environmental benefit (76% did so in the previous 12 months) or one that is associated with a cause (65% purchased cause-related products in the past year).

Additionally, 93% said they would boycott a company for irresponsibility, with over half saying they have already done so.

Consumers are already using their own discretionary spending and loyalty to press their demands for greater corporate social responsibility, as this research clearly shows. Consumers want businesses and organizations to give back to the communities in which they conduct operations. Now the question becomes, is anyone in the corporate world listening?

Every organization, and in fact every individual, has the obligation to make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren to inherit.

It’s that simple.

It is also a huge responsibility.

Nations which produce only great, profitable corporations will be prosperous, but not truly great, nations. Our future generations need us to be producing great leaders, and great leadership, in all sectors of society.

It is time to change our commercial, business and societal focus from just profits and economic prosperity to the triple concerns of environmental sustainability, social responsibility and global harmony. As Henry Ford said, "A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business." 

Everyone in a leadership position needs to be thinking beyond economic growth and success.

In the Project You concept, there is a great responsibility placed on people and organizations that are successful financially or socially to pay back to society for the fruits they enjoy. 

Basically this means a requirement to contribute to something larger than one's self (and applies equally to corporations, organizations and individuals). This can be done by contributing to their communities, a global cause such as the environment or starvation, or to any charity or cause of their choosing.

Achieving this means entering a world of collaboration, in which you work together with people and organizations with which you have a shared view and shared values.

This article is excerpted from the top-selling book Project You: Living A Determined Life, available at Amazon in paperback ($7.90) and Kindle ($6.88) formats. 

Purpose Bigger Than Self

You Make A Life By What You Give

People who lead rich lives tend to have two qualities in common: 1) they are optimistic in their outlook and approach to life, and 2) they excel at giving.

What do they give?

They give money to causes and others they believe in. They share their wisdom, skills and lessons learned freely with those willing to listen. They give their time to their communities, religious institutions, schools, neighbors and to those they mentor. And, of course, they regularly agree to help when asked; but more often than not they volunteer their assistance before they are asked.

Author Kent Nerburn wrote, "Give in any way that you can, of whatever you possess. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than how it is shared, and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace."

It is frightfully amazing the number of people who do not make any charitable contributions, or who make only a few each year, despite their obvious wealth or financial well being. Even though there are definite tax benefits for donating money to charities in many countries, some people just cannot be motivated to give any of their money away.

Incredibly, there are even some people who spend more money on grooming their dogs than on feeding hungry children or contributing to cancer research. Apparently such people have never been exposed to these words from P. Anthony Ridder, the former CEO of the Knight Ridder newspaper publishing group:

The bottom line about success in life isn't whether you are financially successful, but whether you have given of yourself in some way to help others less fortunate than you and to serve your community and your country.

 On the positive side, it is hard not to be amazed by the overwhelming generosity of people in reaction to natural disasters, even when these occur in remote and faraway places. Examples include the millions and millions of dollars donated in response to the Black Saturday bush fires in Victoria, Australia; the Boxing Day tsunami that hit coast lines around the Indian Ocean; and the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Japan.

For anyone on the Project You Life Journey, the words of Sir Winston Churchill will definitely ring true: "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

Major acts of generosity or giving are not required, however. Small, everyday acts also add up to make the world a better place. 

In fact, as William Wordsworth wrote, "The best portion of a good man's life is the little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love." 

Plus, as Herm Albright said, "Perhaps the world little notes nor long remembers individual acts of kindness ── but people do."

This article is excerpted from the top-selling book Project You: Living A Determined Life, available at Amazon in paperback ($7.90) and Kindle ($6.88) formats.