Live Happy Now

Most of us focus on pursuing things we’re good at, but what if you like doing something … and discover you’re really bad at it? Karen Rinaldi, publisher at Harper Wave—a book imprint she founded in 2012—finds happiness in being able to surf, even though she does it poorly. Learning to accept her “suckitude” on the surfboard, she says, has helped her be more forgiving of herself in other areas of her life. In her new book, (It’s Great to) Suck at Something, she looks at the gifts she’s gained from embracing imperfection and letting go of the need to succeed at everything. She talks to us about how this has helped her find joy in the pursuit of something rather than in reaching an end goal—and how you can, too.   In this episode, you learn: Why it’s beneficial to try something you might not be good at. How not being good at something can invite kindness from those around you. How sucking at something can help build resilience.

All of us go through difficult times in life, but what do you do when you find yourself in a funk that you can’t get out of? That’s what Janeane Bernstein, Ed.D., wanted to find out after the death of her best friend from childhood. That tragic event launched a mission to discover how others have overcome their grief and led to creating her radio show, “Get the Funk Out.” She now has a book by the same name and explains why grief can be a springboard to happiness. In this episode, you learn: Why the worst thing that happens in your life can become the best thing in your life. How to use grief to reconnect with your own feelings. Why it’s important to use your creativity to overcome grief.

Every other year, the International Positive Psychology Association hosts a global gathering of leading researchers and practitioners to share the latest research and best practices in positive psychology. The 6th World Congress of IPPA will be in Melbourne, Australia, July 18-21, 2019, and it offers a tremendous selection of topics on areas including: work and organizations, positive health and wellness, positive clinical psychology and more. For this episode, current IPPA president and chair of the 6th World Congress Lea Waters, Ph.D., talks about what to expect from this exciting global event. Three things you’ll learn in this podcast: What to expect at the 6th World Congress Key objectives of the conference How to reserve your spot now

What do you do if you’ve spent your life building the career of your dreams…but realize one day that you’ve forgotten to build the life of your dreams? If you’re Sheri Salata, you leave your high-profile position as co-president of Harpo Studios and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and, along with your BFF, and you start reinventing every area of your personal life. In her book, The Beautiful No and Other Tales of Trial, Transcendence and Transformation, Sheri explains how she found the courage to leave behind the career she had carefully built and began creating the life of her dreams. Three things you’ll learn in this podcast: Why failing at something can be fulfilling. The Eight Pillars to a balanced life. Why it’s never to late to start over.

Did you realize that women face different challenges than men when it comes to their happiness? With that in mind, Carin Rockind—creator of the PurposeGirl movement and founder of the Women’s Global Happiness Day, created the Women’s Happiness Summit. She’s bringing together experts in flourishing from around the globe with a uniquely feminine viewpoint, and she wants you to be a part of it. She’ll tell you what to expect and how you can be a part of it. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why women are more depressed than men (and what you can do about it). Why getting support from other women is so important. How to participate in the free online Women’s Happiness Summit.

As founder and board chair of the Skees Family Foundation, Suzanne Skees has worked in developing countries to support innovative education and job creation programs. She has compiled the stories of the fascinating people she has met around the world into a book series called My Job: People at Work Around the World, and she says that along the way, she’s learned the way our jobs affect us—and what we can learn from them. In this episode, you’ll learn: The five things you need to be happy at work. The importance of mindfulness at work. Why we need to work.

Character strengths hold the key to help you begin to know yourself better, and the more you know yourself, the more you can flourish. With their new book, The Power of Character Strengths: Appreciate and Ignite Your Positive Personality, Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D. and Robert E. McGrath, Ph.D., have written a powerful guide to understanding and using your character strengths. This week, Ryan joins Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz to talk about his new book and how we’re using our character strengths … whether we realize it or not. In this episode, you’ll learn: What are character strengths and why do they matter? How we can spot and use character strengths. Actionable steps you can take to start using your strengths.

Each year, Gallup releases its Global Emotions Report, which measures life’s intangibles: feelings and emotions. Using its Positive Experience Index, Gallup measures our enjoyment of life and looks at who’s doing well … and who’s not. This year’s report showed that, even as our economy improved, Americans found themselves being more stressed, worried and angry in 2018. Live Happy editor Chris Libby and Live Happy Now host Paula Felps sat down to talk about what’s driving our negative emotions and what we can do about it. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why self-care is so important in combating negative emotions How to turn off negativity (and the evening news) Practices for building positive emotion

Do you have something you’d like to change about yourself? If so, are you giving yourself the tools you need to make those changes? In this episode, Susan Hyatt—author of the book BARE and host of the Bare Podcast, looks at how the way we approach making changes has a lot to do with how successful those changes are. Whether it’s losing weight, changing jobs or committing to healthier relationships, she’ll give you a new way of thinking about creating your best life. In this episode, you learn: Why finding pleasure might be better for you than willpower How discovering what gives you pleasure affects your physical and mental health Three things you can say “yes” to today

In today’s busy world, sometimes traditions get pushed aside. But blogger and author Jessica Smartt believes that making memories are the missing piece in today’s families. Her book Memory-Making Mom: Building Traditions That Breathe Life Into Your Home looks at how even the busiest family can rethink their day-to-day activities and create memory-making traditions. In this episode, you’ll learn: How traditions help bring us together Ways to choose (and start) new family traditions How to join fellow moms on this journey

Even as our world becomes more connected, most of us are feeling less connected and more alone than ever before. Spiritual teacher, poet and author Mark Nepo’s latest book, More Together Than Alone: Discovering the Power and Spirit of Community in Our Lives and In Our World, looks at why we’re feeling so disconnected and how we can reconnect with others and learn to better accept one another’s differences. In this episode, you’ll learn: What is making us less connected in today’s world How our addiction to noise and fear is changing the way we see the world What we can learn by listening without judgment

If you’re having trouble turning off your job and can’t seem to unplug from work, Bryan E. Robinson, Ph.D., has just the solution for you. A recovering workaholic himself, he understands how hard it is to step away from work addiction and make time for life. His book, #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn On Your Life, is a month-by-month guide to working less and living more. In this episode, you’ll learn: What happens to us at a cellular level when we’re always busy How meditation can change the way you work Simple ways to make unplugging easier

Each year, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network releases a comprehensive World Happiness Report to look at happiness from a global perspective. This year, the news isn’t exactly great for the U.S., so Live Happy Editor Chris Libby and Live Happy Now Host Paula Felps sat down to talk about what’s causing us to be less happy than we should be…and what we can do about it. In this episode, you’ll learn: How social media has contributed to our declining levels of happiness The benefits of being out in nature The surprising addictions that are undermining happiness

If you’ve ever felt that your fears are holding you back from creating the life you love, you’re not alone! This week, New York Times best-selling author Ruth Soukup and host of the Do It Scared podcast, joins us to talk about her new book, Do It Scared: Finding the Courage to Overcome Adversity, Face Your Fears and Create a Life You Love. She explains how all fear is not created equal and identifies the seven different Fear Archetypes that determine how we respond to fearful situations—and how to use our fear as a stepping stone to courage. In this episode, you’ll learn:   Why each of us respond to fear in different ways How understanding your Fear Archetype can help you overcome your fears The quickest way to overcome your fear

If you have a child, teach a child or have been a child, then you’ll want to hear what Renee Jain has to say on this week’s episode of Live Happy Now. Renee, the founder of GoZen!, developed her company to help children deal with anxiety as well as building life skills to find meaning, purpose and engagement in their lives. On April 8–11, in conjunction with Live Happy, GoZen! Will present the Happy Child Summit, a free online experience designed to help adults and children better understand how to use the tools that lead to happiness in childhood (and beyond). In this episode, you’ll learn: What inspired Renee to start GoZen! The importance of equipping children with resilience skills How you can sign up to attend the Happy Child Summit

This week, it’s all about time as best-selling author and Google Venture design partner Jake Knapp joins us. Jake spent 10 years at Google, where he helped build products like Gmail and Google Hangouts, but perhaps his greatest accomplishment is figuring out how we can design our days to get more out of them. In this episode, he’s talking with Live Happy Now about his new book, Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day, and he teaches us how we can rearrange our days to match the priorities we want. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to identify the things in our lives worth making time for How to enjoy technology without letting it swallow all our time The joy of giving more focused time to people

Here at Live Happy Now, it’s not just another week; it’s time to celebrate our 200th episode! Live Happy’s Deborah Heisz and Paula Felps talk about how the podcast came to be and what listeners can look forward to in the future.   In this episode you’ll learn: How Live Happy Now began—and how it’s evolved What we’ve learned during our first 199 episodes What to expect from Live Happy Now going forward

Author and advocate for positivity Shola Richards joins us to talk about how we can live in harmony when we work together. His latest book Go Together, covers the concept of the African philosophy of Unbuntu, which uses the power of human connectedness, compassion, kindness and togetherness to live happier, more productive lives. Shola is on a quest to show how to protect professionalism of our company cultures, the preciousness of our time, the strength of our talents, the dignity of ourselves and the mutual respect of one another. In this episode, you’ll learn: The word “Ubuntu” and how it can positively change how you live, work and lead. How to identify the importance of civility, and why is it the key to healing our workplaces, our nation and the world. How to define workplace bullying, and know what to do if/when you are targeted.

Bestselling New York Times author Gretchen Rubin has spent more than a decade exploring what makes us happy. And, she’s found, one of the simplest ways to improve our well-being is to clear the clutter around us. Her latest book, Outer Order, Inner Calm offers more than 150 different ways to get rid of the clutter around us and create more order. In this episode, she explains the relationship between decluttering and happiness, and gives tips on how to make lasting changes. In this episode, you’ll learn: What achieving outer order does for our happiness How to stop hanging on to what you no longer need Quick tips for clearing your space

Laird Hamilton plays a lot of roles in his life: surfing legend, fitness and nutrition expert, entrepreneur, TV host, model, stuntman, husband and father, just to name a few. No matter what he's doing, Laird uses five key pillars to guide his actions and improve his life. His new book, Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul and Life Beyond the Ocean, explains those five pillars and how each of us can use them. Laird joins us on the Live Happy Now podcast to explain how he developed his inward-looking viewpoint and why he values his connection to nature. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why death and fear can be our greatest teachers The importance of connecting with nature Why we need to understand that everything is connected