Unexpected Habits of Happiness from Marci Shimoff [VIDEO]
The Public Speaker interviews happiness expert Marci Shimoff to learn how to be happy for no reason. It turns out that being happy is important. Happier people live longer, they have better immunity to cold and flu viruses, and they’re 50% less likely to have a heart attack. Learn the secrets of happiness in this exclusive video interview.
This week I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about happiness. It’s probably because I interviewed Marci Shimoff, the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Women’s Soul series, and author of Love for No Reason and Happy for No Reason (her books have sold over 15 million copies).
Just two days after the interview, I found out that my best friend’s husband was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. When faced with this sort of diagnosis it’s only natural to think about what makes us the most happy.
For me, I know it’s not my professional achievements that make me most happy. I am my absolute happiest when spending quality time with family and friends. I’m happy when I make good decisions about my body (diet, exercise, sleep). I’m happy when I practice good mental hygiene – that is, when I get out of overload mode (“I’ve got so much stuff to do – I’ll never get out from underneath all this work!”) and into “This is an intense work week, but I’m going to focus and get through it.” I’m happy when I am focusing on others and being grateful for what I have in my life. I’m happy when someone writes me and tells me that my work has somehow helped them.
The bottom line for me is this: I feel the most happy when I am egaging in life. I feel the most happy when I am feeling connected to like-minded others. I feel the most happy when I live with a sense of purpose and when I achieve both my personal and professional goals. Together, all of these things contribute to my happiness.
It turns out that being happy is important. Happier people live longer, they have a better immunity to cold and influenza virues, and are 50% less likely to have a heart attack. So I wanted to learn about happiness habits, particularly the unexpected ones! Check out the video above to see what I learned from Marci.
If you enjoyed this interview, I invite you to check out my new podcast, Smart Talk. The other recent episodes of this free podcast feature interviews in the areas of leadership, negotiation, influence, and communication. Here’s who’s been featured:
- Laura Vanderkam, author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. Listen now.
- Jeremy Donovan, Group Vice President of Marketing at Gartner, Inc. and author of Amazon #1 bestseller How to Deliver a TED Talk. Listen now.
- Laura Sturaitis, communications professional, Jeopardy! champion, and EVP of Media Services and Product Strategy at Businesswire shares her lessons learned about women and leadership. Listen now.
- Dr. Benjamin Franklin (aka, J. Ward Larkin) shares his 13 virtues that lead to his success in mapmaking, printing, mathematics, mapmaking, and diplomacy. Listen now.
- Pamela Slim, New York Times bestselling author shares her new book, Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together. Listen now.
Selena Rezvani share practical negotiation techniques for women from her award-winning book, Pushback: How Smart Women Ask – and Stand Up – for What They Want. Listen now.- Rory Albanese, Executive Producer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and popular stand-up comic shares how to connect with your audience through humor. Listen now.
Check out Smart talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation for communication tips and tricks that will help your succeed in work and in life.
About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.
