Inspire Nation Show with Michael Sandler

THE SECRET OF HAPPY PEOPLE! World Happiness Expert, White House Happiness Advisor & Oprah Partner Shawn Achor | Self-Help

Feb 25, 2016

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If you’ve ever wondered what the most successful people in the world know that the rest of us don’t, then do we have the show for you!

Today we’re going to talk with one of the most positive researchers in the world! * Bio at bottom. His name is Shawn Achor and he’s one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success.

His research on mindset made the cover of Harvard Business Review, his TED talk is one of the most popular with over 11 million views, he’s lectured or worked with over a third of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as the NFL, the NBA, the Pentagon and the White House.

Shawn is the author of New York Times best-selling books The Happiness Advantage (2010) and Before Happiness (2013) and he recently did a two-hour interview with Oprah at her house to discuss his mission to bring positive psychology to the world.

Today we’re going to talk using positive psychology to rewrite your own maps, and completely transform your life. This means greater success at work, happiness at home, and new outlook, for a new you.

It’s come at an incredible time too. Our show hits our one month anniversary, tomorrow. At present we have thousands of listeners in at least 78 countries, we’re growing exponentially with today being our highest growth day ever, and this morning, we woke up to find we’re the #15 self-help show in the world…all in under one month.

I want to talk with Steve about this, about how our mindset and our maps truly create our reality -> and how to use that to our advantage!

So what’s the goal of today’s show: To give you the advice you need to become a “positive genius” and bring tremendous success into your life!

Topics include:

What creates greater levels of happiness.
Why when you’re happy first, everything improves –
- How happiness is really is first step before success.
Most important: First have to believe change is possible –
- Understanding this is the biggest change in positive psychology movement
Understanding why happiness must precede success and why success does NOT bring happiness
- This is why “successful” movie stars, musicians, professional athletes, and even tenured professors are not happy.
- And is why Oprah was depressed at the height of her career
- And why Shawn Achor himself was depressed while at Harvard
Understanding that it’s not about your genes, even if you’re “pre-disposed” toward something
May have genes that predispose you, but it’s not about your genes.
Making small changes in your life on a daily basis can have major impact on rewiring your mind.
Small changes have macro-level affects on our intelligence creativity and ability to be positive.
Big question is: What’s the smallest intervention possible?

Key Exercise: For 21 days in a row think of 3 things they’re grateful for each morning or each day you get into work (CHECK OUT OUR HAPPINESS MEDITATION FOR A SIMILAR GUIDED MEDITATION EXERCISE)
- This activity of scanning the world is extremely powerful. It can take people who have been genetically low-level pessimists, and in 21 days turn them into life-long optimists!!!
- Doing this exercise with 4 year olds at the dinner table, having them scan for things to be grateful for, can turn them from lifelong default pessimist to lifelong optimist.
Every outcome improves when human brain is positive first
- As important children practice this as brushing their teeth or eating breakfast.
- An extremely important habit for both kids and adults alike – for adults important to practice this before going to work, or first thing when they get in to work.
  - Important note on this exercise: Must be things are grateful for that are NEW (that’s occurred over last 24 hours and why)
  - Rewires the brain to start to scan for the positive and see the opportunities that are around you.
- Without exercises like this, your ability to focus on the positive can atrophy.
- 5 HABITS THAT CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE
  - Every day when get into work, first job to write 2 minute positive email praising or thanking someone they know.
  - Do this for just 3 days in a row and people literally get addicted to it, and others write great emails back.
  - 21 days later on your social connection score is off the chart in social support, because you have 21 people you’ve meaningfully activated.
- The Single greatest predictor of long term happiness is breathe, depth, and meaning of social networks.
- Social connection is as predictive of life expectancy as the food you eat, how much exercise you do, and even whether you smoke or not.
- Social connections are why western males don’t live as long as their female counterparts, and why western males are so much more likely to have heart-attacks.
- Success rarely leads to happiness
- However, if you can get someone to be positive, they rise to the highest possibility within your band of potential
- Lucky vs. unlucky people
- Unlucky people are simply not focused on the positives and so don’t see the potential around them.
- Amazing study about lucky vs. unlucky people – the “lucky” people saw opportunity the pessimists or “unlucky” people did not.
- In 21 days can make 1 positive habit
- Discussed why some army rangers (optomists) see a 600 foot hill as 600 feet and scramble for safety, while other soldiers (pessimists) see it as 900 feet, and give up under attack without even attempting the hill.
- Shared a study about coffee shop reward cards and the lessons learned.
  - Never start goal from zero – instead anytime make resolution or create goal, write down three accomplishments already had, or resolutions you were already able to keep.
  - Showing what you’ve already accomplished (aka not starting from zero) fuel’s growth toward other activities.
  - This is also power of journaling – share one positive experience they had.
- Shawn Achor has started a 21 day O-course with Oprah to help retrain people’s minds for happiness. It’s at Oprah.com/happiness
- Many Fortune 100 companies are implementing these happiness strategies including: CEO Habitat for Humanity, Buick, Mckenzie company
- Worked with Google and Laszlo Bock as well.
  - Showed how 2 minutes of sitting silently at computer / aka meditating can make a HUGE difference on employees performance and happiness.
- Realize the poison of a victim mentality
  - It’s not about our genes, the market or what others have done to us.
- It’s a fallacy that we can’t change other people. If we’re positive we can have a big impact.
  - We can greatly influence them and make them positive
  - Focus on the low-hanging fruit, grass-roots, be a positive influence on those directly around you.
  - For instance, don’t go for your boss, but your co-workers around you.
- California Wave campaign in extreme high-crime neighborhood.
  - Officers went door to door – were not well received
  - Officers then started smiling and waving to everyone.
  - Officers became engaged with community and crime dramatically dropped
- Shawn Achor worked with White House
  - Suggestion made during Baltimore protests that a wave campaign to build community could have a more positive impact than beefing up police security
- Hospital campaign modeled after the Hilton.
  - When patient comes w/in 10 feet make eye contact.
  - At five feet see if there’s anything you can do to help them.
  - Dramatically improved people’s response to hospital, their likelihood to recommend the hospital, the likelihood to return to the same hospital, and quite possibly, their healing as well!
  - Dramatically improved patient care!
- Importance you don’t ‘delay’ happiness
- You are not your genes and your environment, you can change.

For more information and to find the Oprah Winfrey course and to visit Shawn Achor’s website visit www.InspireNationShow.com

Shawn Achor Bio:

After spending twelve years at Harvard University, Shawn Achor has become one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success. His research on mindset made the cover of Harvard Business Review, his TED talk is one of the most popular of all time with over 11 million views, and his lecture airing on PBS has been seen by millions.

Shawn has lectured or worked with over a third of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as the NFL, the NBA, the Pentagon and the White House.

Shawn is the author of New York Times best-selling books The Happiness Advantage (2010) and Before Happiness (2013). He has now lectured in more than 50 countries speaking to CEOs in China, doctors in Dubai, schoolchildren in South Africa, and farmers in Zimbabwe. His Happiness Advantage training is one of the largest and most successful positive psychology corporate training program in the world.

Shawn’s research has been published in the top psychology journal for work he did at UBS in partnership with Yale University to transform how stress impacts the body, and he recently did a two-hour interview with Oprah at her house to discuss his mission to bring positive psychology to the world.

For More Info Visit: www.InspireNationShow.com