Live Happy Now

Right now, many of us feel like we just want someone to swoop in and fix the world. That’s where Franklin Rock comes in. Franklin Rock is a fictional character created by this week’s guest, physician Mark E. Klein. After writing two books on purpose and happiness, Mark took a new approach to the message and created a character who goes on a mission to fix the world. Little did Mark know that he had created the exact hero we need for 2021. On this episode, he talks about how this story came about, what we can learn from it and how Franklin Rock can give all of us a new perspective. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why worrying about our choices is an exercise in futility What the real mission in life is all about Why death isn’t something to fear

As we begin 2021, many different emotions are at play. Whether it’s relief, anticipation, hope or even dealing with a sense of loss and grief, this is a time of reflection and a chance to look at what we want to create for the year ahead. This week’s guest is Carew Papritz, author of The Legacy Letters and a passionate advocate for civility and conscious living. He’s here to talk about how we can use this time as an opportunity to create personal change that will last a lifetime and define our personal legacy. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why this time presents such a wonderful opportunity for all of us. What the Regret Test is and how it can change the way you live. Why it’s important to write down what you want to accomplish.

With a new year on the horizon, many of us are thinking about our new year’s resolutions. But this year, what if you made a plan instead? This week’s guest, Brent Franson, is founder of Most Days, a life improvement platform designed to let you create healthy routines while also getting a social support system. He’ll tell us how his own struggles led to creating this platform and how he’s using it to help others address challenges like depression, anxiety, loneliness, sleep disturbances and more. In this episode, you'll learn: The importance of having a routine to address your personal challenges. Why it’s important to learn which of your habits affect your mood. Why having someone to hold you accountable can help improve your outcomes.

As Christmas arrives this week, most of us are experiencing the holidays in a very different way than we’re used to. In fact, for many, it doesn’t feel much like Christmas at all. This week, we’re joined by Dr. Jennifer Wegmann, a professor at Binghamton University and author of Resilience: How to Master Stress, Reduce Anxiety and Live Well. She’s here to give us some tips on how to redefine the holidays and make this time one of gratitude and renewal.   In this episode, you’ll learn: Why it's important to change mindsets and expectations for the holidays. How the 2020 holiday season is allowing us to slow down and discover what is most meaningful in our lives. Why thinking outside the box gives us the opportunity to reimagine, recreate, and redefine the holidays.

It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time for Christmas music and holiday cheer. This week’s guest is Aneesa Sheik, a rising singer/songwriter who uses her music to deliver an inspirational message. Not only does she do that with her new single, Happy Little Holiday, but she strives to make all of her music uplifting and empowering. She’s here to tell us more about her music, what shapes the positive messaging in her songs and why she started a non-profit organization to reach patients in nursing homes and hospitals during the pandemic. In this episode, you’ll learn: How music is such a powerful healing tool How we can use music to connect with others Where to learn more about Music4M.I.R.A.C.L.E.

It’s no secret that, here at Live Happy, we are fans of positivity. But why are people now talking about toxic positivity? In this episode, author and therapist Dr. Lauren Cook joins us to talk about how this usually well-meaning approach to positivity can create a backlash. Toxic positivity is a form of happiness that can actually damage personal and professional relationships, so this episode looks at what it is, why it is harmful to us and our loved ones, and what we can do to overcome it. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to tell if you’re practicing toxic positivity. Why it can be harmful to relationships. How to create a balanced perspective that integrates optimism and reality.

Many of us would do just about anything for our pets. But have you thought about how much your pet is doing for you? This week’s guest is here to tell us! Dr. Margit Gabriele Muller is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and executive director at Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital. But she’s also a speaker, life coach and author of multiple books on animals, including her latest — Your Pet, Your Pill: 101 Inspirational Stories About How Pets Lead You to a Happy, Healthy and Successful Life. She’s here to explain what our furry, feathered and finned friends are doing for our health and overall well-being.  In this episode, you’ll learn: How pets are beneficial for our daily lives and our health. How pets have been so important during the COVID-19 pandemic. How to learn to “listen” to your pet.

This has been the most unusual and, for many, the most difficult year in recent memory. So what’s gratitude got to do with it? As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, it’s the perfect time to talk about how important gratitude is – not only at Thanksgiving, but as a daily practice. Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah K. Heisz joins us to talk about gratitude and other practices to make this unusual Thanksgiving more meaningful. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why gratitude is more important than ever right now. Simple ways to increase gratitude in your own life. How to share your gratitude with others.

As we get older, it’s common to start thinking about what kind of legacy we’re leaving behind. But what if we started thinking about living our legacy instead of leaving it? This week’s guest is Codi Shewan, author of Everyday Legacy: Living Your Life with Purpose, Right Now. Codi’s career in the funeral industry gave him unique insight into death and the realization that every day matters. Now, he explains how each of us can discover our own legacy and live it to the fullest. In this episode, you’ll learn: What it means to live a legacy. How to use the time of COVID as a chance to re-evaluate your life and legacy. How to help others discover their legacy.

Intuition is something we’re all born with, but somewhere along the way, the noise of the outside world can drown out our inner voice. Or we forget to stop “listening to our gut.” But learning to listen to our intuition can improve virtually every aspect of our lives and help take mindfulness to the next level. This week’s guest, Kim Chestney, is an expert on intuition and author of the new book, Radical Intuition: A Revolutionary Guide to Using Your Inner Power. She explains how tapping into our intuition can change our lives — and what we can do to start.  In this episode, you’ll learn: Why it’s important to learn to listen to your intuition. How to tune into and develop your intuition. Why insightfulness is the next step beyond mindfulness.

Grief is a difficult subject, and it can be even more difficult when trying to manage it with children. After the sudden death of her husband, Ashley Bugge found herself not only raising two children and planning for the birth of her third child, but also trying to help them live in a world suddenly consumed by grief. Unable to find books that spoke to children about grief in real terms, together she and her children wrote a remarkable book titled, A Hui Hou: Until We Meet Again. This week, Ashley discusses how to talk to children about grief and loss to help them understand their feelings and live a happier life.  In this episode, you’ll learn: Why it’s important to have honest conversations about grief with children. How to make new memories as a family while grieving loss. Signs a child may be struggling with grief.

If you’ve been feeling a bit more stressed or anxious lately, you aren’t alone. A new study by the American Psychological Association finds that this election is a “significant source of stress” for some 70% of Americans. The term Election Stress Disorder was coined in 2016 by psychologist and author Steven Stosny to describe the anxiety and distress people were feeling. Now, the intensity of the current election has led to even greater levels of stress, which are amplified by social media and concerns about the pandemic. This week’s guest is Erin Wiley, a clinical psychotherapist and executive director of The Willow Center in Toledo, Ohio. Erin’s here to explain how Election Stress Disorder affects us and how we can avoid it. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why regulating exposure to the news and social media is so important. How mindfulness can help during this time. Tips for preparing your mind for Election Day — and the days that follow.

In today’s busy world, it is often easy to overlook the value of those friendships. After a cancer diagnosis, lawyer-turned-life coach Shari Leid realized that she wanted her friends to know how much they meant to her. So she made a list of 50 women and sat down with each one, face to face, to tell them what they had done for her. Not only did it change her life and the lives of her friends, but it led to the book The 50/50 Friendship Flow: Life Lessons From and For My Girlfriends. This week, Shari joins us to talk about how this mission changed her life and how you can use the same process to deepen your own friendships and discover greater gratitude in your life. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why everyone in your life is either a student or a teacher. How deepening your friendships improves your happiness. Why creating your own Friendship Challenge is even more important during a time of COVID-19.

We make decisions every day, but how often do you really think about the process that goes into making those choices? This episode’s guest has built her life on making the right decisions: As a former professional poker player, Annie Duke who won more than $4 million in tournament poker before retiring in 2012. But she also studied cognitive psychology, is a bestselling author and a consultant on decision-making. Her new book, How to Decide, picks up where her last book, Thinking in Bets, left off. This week, Annie’s here to talk about how to find better outcomes by changing the way we make our decisions. In this episode, you’ll learn: What the Happiness Test is and how it can change the way you make decisions. How embracing uncertainty can make us more decisive. When to decide fast, when to decide slow and when to decide in advance.

We’ve all told little white lies, but have you thought about how honest you really are in your day to day life? When Judi Ketteler started thinking about it, she realized that maybe she wasn’t as honest as she thought. So she delved into the research on honesty and began looking at her own habits. The result of that work is her new book, Would I Lie to You? The Amazing Power of Being Honest in a World That Lies. This week, Judi’s here to talk about why we lie, how it affects our happiness and how we can all live our lives with more honesty. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why honesty affects our happiness. How consciously becoming more honest changes our lives. The importance of being honest in a dishonest world.

There’s no question that our world needs more kindness right now, which is why this week, we are talking to Houston Kraft, author of the new book Deep Kindness: A Revolutionary Guide for the Way We Think, Talk, and Act in Kindness. He’s here to talk about the gap between our belief in kindness and our ability to practice it. He’ll also tell us what new skills we need to acquire to better practice kindness and what we can do to turn our intentions into actions. In this episode, you’ll learn: What it means to practice “deep kindness”. 3 things that prevent us from practicing kindness. How to implement kindness as a daily practice.

Whether you’re an educator or a parent, the concept of positive education is something that can change your life … as well as the life of your student or child. In these times, it’s more important than ever to understand the role that well-being plays in the lives of students, teachers, administrators and parents. This week, Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah K. Heisz joins us to talk about the upcoming International Positive Education Network’s 2020 Well-being in Education Virtual Conference. This event is being offered entirely online for the first time and it’s also free for anyone who wants to attend. Tune in to learn more! In this episode, you’ll learn: What positive education is and why it matters. How to attend this free virtual event. What you can expect to learn.

Mindfulness is something that pretty much all of us have heard of and many of us want to practice it. But sometimes just the idea of learning how to be more mindful seems daunting. This episode’s guests are experts in mindfulness and they’re also good friends. That friendship and shared passion for mindfulness has resulted in the book, A Mindful Year: 365 Ways to Find Connection and the Sacred in Everyday Life. Join us as Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth Gillihan tell how this book came about – and how you can use it daily to start or reinforce your mindfulness practice. In this episode, you’ll learn: What practicing mindfulness can do for you. How to implement mindfulness every day. Why mindfulness is more important right now than ever.

All of us feel guilty from time to time, but if you’re having trouble letting go of guilt – well, you’re not alone. Guilt is a difficult emotion which is why Valorie Burton, founder of the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute, is tackling it in her latest book, Let Go of the Guilt. This week, she  talks about why it’s so tough to manage and gives us new tools for getting rid of that pesky thing called guilt. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to identify real guilt vs. false guilt. How to let go of guilt and live a more fulfilling life. Why guilt seemingly affects more women than men and what to do about it.

A lot of us would like to learn how to calm the chaos around us right now, and it just so happens that this week’s guest literally wrote the book on that. Nicola Ries Taggart is a life strategist, author and speaker who helps people discover a more centered, conscious approach to everyday life. Two years ago, she wrote the book Calm the Chaos, a journal designed to help users align their outer presence with inner peace. She talks about how you can learn to calm the chaos … even in these rather chaotic times. In this episode, you’ll learn: What practices you can use to calm the chaos. How she discovered these practices and why they have been so important in the past year. Why journaling every day — even for just a few minutes — can change your life.