Have More Fun Than Anyone Else (or, How To Get Promoted Fast)

“Cheerfulness, it would appear, is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within, as on the state of things without and around us.”

Charlotte Brontë

“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.”

Victor Hugo

“It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.”

Dr. Seuss

Always be the person in the room having the most fun.

Everyone wants to be swept up in an adventure. Understand that, above all else, people want to enjoy themselves in a meaningful way. The problem is that most people go through their lives waiting for someone or something to give them permission to have fun. These people keep their heads down, or stay “on task” until they’ve been picked to enjoy themselves. Life was not meant to be lived waiting to be happy. The time to increase your happiness is right now. Finding ways to enjoy life more will improve your peace of mind, your personal relationships, and your professional standing.

Fun Is Never Inappropriate

See every moment of your life as a chance to have fun. Look down at where you’re standing right now – that’s where the party is. Why aren’t you having fun? What insignificant future problem are you thinking about instead? You have the power to make any moment better simply by being present and by being playful. You can walk into any room and completely alter the energy and perspective of everyone in it using nothing more than your cheerful attitude. Increase your happiness to increase happiness in others. The key to yielding this power is understanding two things: one, cheerfulness is an act of will, and two, cheerfulness belongs everywhere. 

Cheerfulness is a decision. You can’t wait for fun to find you, you have to find it. … More »

Connection Contest Dos – Win One Of Two iPad Minis In Seconds (Hint: Hit The FOURFECTA)

Why You Can Win

Connection Contest Dos will run from Monday, April 8th, 9AM EST until Friday, April 12th, 9PM EST. During the first Connection Contest, only 20 fans (out of over 10,000) played. And out of those 20 fans, 7 received prizes. That means every fan had a 35% chance of winning a prize just by entering the contest.

All you have to do to win a prize is connect with me and other readers through this blog and through my YouTube page. Every connection is worth a certain number of points. There are four ways to win: 1) comment on my blog posts, 2) subscribe to my YouTube page, 3) comment on my YouTube videos, and 4) email subscribe to my blog. And don’t forget to hit the FOURFECTA (see below).

What You Can Win

1st Place Grand Prize: iPad mini, 32 GB (white)

2nd Place: iPad mini, 16 GB (white)

3rd Place:  $50 iTunes giftcard 

4th Place:  $25 iTunes giftcard 

Previous Winners

Melissa Harrison was the Grand Prize winner of the first Connection Contest. Melissa won a 32 GB iPad 4. Instead of keeping the iPad for herself, Melissa raffled it off to a needy school. The winning school was McDonough Expeditionary Learning School, a public school with a 100% poverty rate. Melissa has three kids and is a great example for anyone trying to step out on their own and make something happen for herself (while still contributing massively to others). Since I’ve known Melissa, she has launched her own blog, Adventures of NinjaMama, and started her own children’s clothing line, NinjaMama Designs.

Brianne Grose, another winner from the first Connection Contest, is an amazing woman who, despite being diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, carpal tunned syndrome, and polyarthritis, just finished writing her … More »

The Power Of Getting Pissed Off – Why Rejects Work Harder

“Anger is a great force. If you control it, it can be transmuted into a power which can move the whole world.”

William Shenstone

“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.”

Maya Angelou

“Rejection is a challenge.”

Veronica Purcell

Get better, not bitter.

Frustration is a fierce motivator. It’s a trip hammer for engagement and action. More than any other emotion, frustration will help you power through plateaus in your personal and professional life. The problem is that frustration is a gateway to both productive and destructive action. If channeled correctly, frustration can help you overcome obstacles and initiate positive change. If channeled incorrectly, it can spur recklessness and resentment. The key is to use frustration to increase your desire and work ethic without letting it plant seeds of animosity and cynicism.

Do You Really Want It?

Rejected people work harder but are less happy. Rejects are those who missed out on something they wanted. Whether it’s a goal they failed to achieve or a relationship they failed to sustain, these people channel their frustration and sense of loss into some kind of action. Most often, rejected people channel their frustrations into destructive actions. These actions may include lashing out, turning sly and manipulative, or shutting down completely. Science is showing that the most common response to being rejected is to want what you can’t have more while liking it less. A Stanford University study published in Psychological Science showed that being thwarted from obtaining a desired outcome increases your desire to obtain that outcome but, at the same time, reduces its actual attractiveness. During the study, participants who failed to win a prize were willing to pay more for it than those who won it, but … More »

How Appreciation Helps You Fall Asleep Faster And Manipulate People’s Heartbeats

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Epicurus

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”

Voltaire

Gratitude is worth the effort.

Making time to appreciate yourself and other people is difficult. From a distance, appreciation doesn’t seem to offer much. Gratitude doesn’t pay the bills. Gratitude means giving without getting anything in return. At the same time, society guards us against appreciation. We have been scared into thinking that appreciation is a warning signal. Unsolicited compliments conjure images of conmen and used care salesmen. We ask, “What does this person want?”

Appreciation is never a mistake. When it comes to complimenting others, most people hold back because they’re afraid of coming off as slimy or insincere. And when it comes to appreciating their own strengths and personal victories, these people are afraid of sounding arrogant or self-centered. Understand that gratitude is always good. You will never regret showing gratitude to yourself or someone else. Gratefulness acts to open your mind, steady your heart, and connect you to others. It also connects you to the present moment. You can’t be worried and grateful at the same time. It’s impossible to be focused on what you’re thankful for and concerned about what you don’t have simultaneously. Counting your blessings will always bring your attention back to what’s possible, rather than what’s lacking.

Replay Past Victories

I used to guard myself against gratitude. I thought … More »

Use Confusion To Bring Yourself And Others To Life

“It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.”

J.D. Salinger

“What is important is to spread confusion, not eliminate it.”

Salvador Dalí

“If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.”

Tom Peters

Confusion is a wakeup call.

Seek engagement, not attention. There are five different power emotions that will help you grab engagement and get things done. These emotions are confusion, appreciation, excitement, frustration, and fun. Too many people walk around in a fog of routine. At best, these people’s days include a handful of numb interactions where everyone involved just goes through the motions. Waking up yourself and others is not easy. Finding ways to enjoy life more can be elusive. The only way to get people to positively engaged in life is to tap into the above emotions. Using power emotions to motivate people is not about getting attention. Attention is promiscuous. It doesn’t stay involved with any one thing for very long. Engagement is the goal. Engagement commits people to the present moment by giving them an active purpose of living.

Intrigue is engaging. When you don’t understand something, your brain will make a series of millisecond decisions that label it as relevant or irrelevant. In Blink, author Malcom Gladwell writes, “there can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis.” The point is our brains rely on intuition and snap judgments much more often than we think, and these judgments are much more accurate than we think. The majority of the time you’re awake, your brain is on autopilot, concerning itself only with information that could increase your happiness or help you avoid pain. Once your brain decides that a certain piece of information … More »