Live Happy Now

Learn How to Move Toward Happiness in Negative and Uncertain Times Life is full of inflection points. Divorce, career upheaval, illness, empty nests, retirement, and other life-changing events are full of uncertainty and stress. But what if those difficulties could become the doorways to positive possibilities? When approached in the right way, these challenges hold the opportunity to explore, strengthen, and move towards happiness. Join Paula Felps and Megan McDonough, Founder of Wholebeing Institute, and see how to take the next step toward happiness. Learn how the challenges you’re facing today — no matter how daunting they seem — actually hold the opportunity to explore, strengthen, and reshape your life. In this episode, you’ll learn: What inflection points are and how to identify them in your life. The concept of liminal space and how you can use it to thrive. The importance of “selfing” and “unselfing” — and what that means.

Most of us feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day — but what can we do about it? In her book, Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most, Cassie Holmes, PhD breaks it down for us. And on this episode of Live Happy Now, the award-winning teacher and researcher on time and happiness talks about what it means to feel “time poor” and why that has become so prevalent today. Then she’ll explain how we can better structure our days and begin using our time instead of losing it. In this episode, you’ll learn: How much time you need to feel “time affluent.” How tracking your time can help you identify where to find more of it. The philosophy of “time left” and how it can help you enjoy your hours more.

David Fishof is a legendary music producer and founder of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, which invites everyday people to play alongside world-renowned rock stars. David has seen first-hand the incredible power of music and how it transforms people both in their personal lives and their professional aspirations. His amazing story is told in the new documentary, Rock Camp, available now on Amazon, as well as in the book by the same name. In this episode, he shares how Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp began and how he has seen music change the lives of hundreds of people along the way.  In this episode, you’ll learn: How Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp was inspired by a backstage “fight” between Joe Walsh and Levon Helm. Why music is so powerful in bringing people together. How playing with their rock heroes has inspired campers to pursue new dreams off the stage.

Studies show us – and social media often backs it up – that we are becoming less empathetic. But this week’s guest tells us how we can begin to solve the empathy crisis. Rob Volpe is a thought leader in the role of empathy in the marketing and workspace and is author of Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. Today, he offers some unique insights into what’s causing our lack of empathy and what skills we need to develop to bring it back. In this episode, you’ll learn: What is creating the empathy crisis in our modern world. The important role empathy plays in our personal happiness. The five steps you can take to begin restoring empathy.

After a busy holiday season, we all could use a bit of stillness in our lives. This week, host Paula Felps is joined by Jeanine Thompson, a former clinical psychotherapist and Fortune 50 executive whose new book, 911 From Your Soul, is all about how to learn to listen for what you need and discover your greatest potential. Today, she’s here to talk about how important it is to learn to do nothing and listen to the lessons that are waiting for us in the stillness. And then she’ll teach us how to do that. In this episode, you’ll learn: What stillness is and how you can add it to your life. The five main benefits of creating stillness. How stillness can help you live more of your true potential.

It’s a brand-new year and we’re all thinking about creating new habits, so … why not make yours a fun one? This week’s guest is Mike Rucker, PhD, an esteemed organizational psychologist and author of the new book, The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life. His research shows us how prioritizing fun can make us happier, more productive, and more energetic. In this episode, you’ll learn: The difference between happiness and fun. Why the pursuit of happiness may make us miserable. How to assess your daily activities and design your day for fun.

While many people are thinking about their New Year’s Resolutions, others are taking a different approach to the new year and setting an intention. To do that, choosing one word to focus on throughout the year is a helpful and effective practice, and this week’s guest is here to tell us how to do it and how it works. Matt Derrenbacher is a fifth-year rabbinical student at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati and has served as a chaplain candidate for the U.S. Air Force and a Jewish educator. He explains how using a single word can help us set an intention for the year and help us stay on track in the months to come.  In this episode, you’ll learn: Why choosing one word to focus on throughout the coming year can help guide your actions. Why many people find it more effective than setting a resolution. How to decide what your word should be—and how to remind yourself of it regularly.

With her bestselling book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, psychotherapist, author and podcast host Lori Gottlieb taught us more about how therapy can change our lives. Now, she has created a guided journal based on the feedback she received to that book, which is designed to walk users through 52 weekly sessions that will transform their lives. This week, she talks about how to use it to create positive change in the coming year. In this episode, you'll learn: How regular guided journaling can help work through challenges. Why small incremental changes are the building blocks of big transformations. How to use journaling to help make the new year happier and more fulfilling.

The sounds of the season are all around us, but have you thought about why holiday music makes us happy? This week, Paula Felps sits down with sonic strategist Steve Keller to find out how holiday music is tied to nostalgia and what happens in our brains when we listen to it.   In this episode, you'll learn: Why even melancholy holiday music can make us feel happier. What role dopamine plays in the memories involving music. How to use holiday music to boost your mood throughout this busy season.

Grief and loss are something all of us experience throughout our lives, but they can be more difficult to manage during the holidays. This week’s guest, Julia A. Nicholson, shows how reframing that loss can help us navigate it better. As an executive leadership expert who has made it her mission to help others transform the way they view and manage grief, Julia drew upon the immense losses of her past to create a new framework that she shares in her forthcoming book, Move Forward Stronger. In this episode, you’ll learn: How the holiday season may amplify feelings of loss — and how to manage those feelings. Why the traditional stages of grief often don’t apply. How to change our neural pathways to create a more positive approach to grief — while still honoring our loss.

Navigating difficult emotions are challenging for all of us, but that’s especially true for children. This week’s guest, Nadine Levitt, has turned even our most complicated emotions into a magical adventure. The author, educator, music artist, lawyer, and parent wanted to change the way children learn about their emotions, so she created Emotion Wonderland: a magical place where all our emotions coexist and we get to meet them, befriend them, and better understand them. In this episode, you'll learn: How Nadine created the Emotion Wonderland — and why it was so important to her. The many different tools children can use to learn to express their feelings. How approaching our emotions differently can change the way we process our feelings.

December 1 marks Women Supporting Women Day, and this week, author, speaker and coach Caroline Miller is here to talk about why it’s so important for women to start looking out for one another. Her concern about women’s failure to support one another led her to write the ebook, #IHaveYourBack, which is about creating mastermind success groups for women. This week, she shares what she’s learned about why women don’t support one another, explains what it’s doing to our culture, and then tells us what we can do about it. In this episode, you'll learn: Why women consciously and subconsciously fail to support each other’s success. The importance of having a group of women that support you. How to show support for the women in your life.

As the holiday season begins, getting caught up in the frenzy of buying gifts is easy. But this year, decluttering expert Tracy McCubbin is asking us to take a step back and become more intentional with our shopping. In this episode, she explains how we can approach the holidays differently to create more joy, focus on giving ourselves rather than giving gifts, and shift the focus from shopping to sharing the spirit of the season.  In this episode, you'll learn: How to be more mindful as you shop for holiday gifts. Why experiences can be more meaningful than “stuff.” What to keep in mind as you begin shopping.

When you hear Snoop Dogg’s name, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t social emotional learning. But with his latest venture, Doggyland, Snoop has teamed up with producer Claude Brooks and recording artist October London to create a very special learning project. On this episode, Claude sits down with host Paula Felps to explain how Doggyland was created, what they want to accomplish with their songs and how they’re using music to change the way children view themselves — and the world around them. Let’s take a listen. In this episode, you’ll learn: How they use music as a learning tool. Why music and rhyme is a great way for children to learn acceptance of themselves and others. How they are working to make sure this message is available to everyone.

It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays, and for many of us, that can be a challenging time for many. This week’s guest, Melissa Urban, tells us how setting boundaries now can make the holiday season run smoother. The Whole30 founder has become known as “the boundary lady” and her bestseller, The Book of Boundaries: Set the Limits That Will Set You Free is changing the way people learn to say no. In this episode, you’ll learn: What a boundary is — and how to learn to set one. How setting boundaries can improve relationships. How to hold boundaries throughout the holiday season.

Can being a sports fan make you happier? Research says yes, and this week, David Sikorjak and Ben Valenta, authors of the new book, Fans Have More Friends, explain why. These two strategies and analytics experts are die-hard sports fans who set out to prove their hypothesis that being a sports fan leads to happiness. In this episode, they share what they’ve learned and tell you why cheering on your favorite team is doing more for you than you might have realized. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why sports fans show higher levels of happiness. The importance of “passing down” fandom within families. How sports fandom can help overcome polarization.

Not everyone feels that work and happiness go hand in hand. But in this episode, Tia Graham — a certified Chief Happiness Officer, founder of the company Arrive at Happy, and author of the new book, Be a Happy Leader — explains the importance of leading with happiness. Tia has multiple certifications in neuroscience, positive psychology and leadership coaching, and she works with executives and teams to help create happier workplaces. This week, she talks about how we all can find more happiness at work. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why happiness is such an important part of being a leader. The high cost of unhappiness and stress in the workplace. How to manage your job if you work for an unhappy leader.

If you ever wonder why you think or feel the way you do for seemingly no reason, you’re not alone. And this week’s guest is going to explain how—and why—that happens. Judy Wilkins Smith is a world-renowned speaker, author, and expert in family patterns. In her new book, Decoding Your Emotional Blueprint: A Powerful Guide to Transformation Through Disentangling Multigenerational Patterns, she explains how our DNA is influenced by trauma and emotions and can create patterns that limit us from reaching our full potential. She’s here to tell us how to identify some of those beliefs and patterns and, more importantly, give us the tools to overcome them. In this episode, you’ll learn: How trauma and thought patterns from previous generations could be affecting you. Ways to identify your family patterns and understand systemic sentences. Tools to start rewiring your brain and changing those patterns.

If you’re like most people, you probably have a little bit of extra “stuff” lying around the house. But listening to this episode might just change the way you look at it.  This week, decluttering expert Tracy McCubbin, author of Make Space for Happiness: How to Stop Attracting Clutter and Start Magnetizing the Life You Want, shares some surprising insights about the relationship between clutter and happiness. And she’ll also tell you what straightening up the space in your house can do for the space in your head. In this episode, you'll learn: Why decluttering goes hand-in-hand with positivity. What “clutter blocks” are and how to get rid of them. The benefits of living an uncluttered life.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that made it the perfect time to sit down with Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, best known as the Grammy-winning duo Cathy & Marcy. They have been entertaining audiences for more than 40 years, and when Marcy received a breast cancer diagnosis, they faced it the same way they have faced all of life’s challenges — side by side, with music and humor. The result is the comedic musical All Wigged Out, which has been made into a film and details Marcy’s journey with breast cancer. They sat down with host Paula Felps to talk about how they transformed this health challenge into a musical story of hope and healing to share with the world. In this episode, you'll learn: How they used music to process Marcy’s diagnosis. Why celebrating even small milestones was important to their journey. How they turned the experience into a humorous healing story.