"Remember that you deserve to be happy.
It's your natural-born right."
It's your natural-born right."
- Pharrell
Good Morning Folks,
"Happy," originally produced for the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, topped charts in more than 15 countries for almost two years. It has 900+ Million views on You Tube.
It's impossible not to listen to Pharrell's "Happy" and think about FSO. It could be our anthem. HAPPY IS OUR ENTIRE COMPANY. As you'll hear in today's program, the only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude.
You see, the secret of happiness is like the secret of dieting: There is no secret.
We all want to be happy, says David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk and today's Ted Tuesday speaker with over FIVE MILLION views on Ted and YouTube (just in case you are wondering who ever heard of him or whether it's worth your few minutes to tune in).
Everyone wants to be happy. But not all happy people are grateful (they want more of something, or want something else); but all grateful people (even though many live with misfortune) are happy.
So: it’s not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.
Every moment is a gift, and ‘opportunity’ is the gift within every gift.
The master key to happiness? Moment by moment we have this gift.
In some moments we’re not happy – because of someone’s suffering, loss of a friend, etc.
But the key here is that we’re learning something in every moment: patience, for example. And then in the next moment we get another opportunity.
How should we respond to all these opportunities? Same as you were taught as a child about crossing the street: STOP, LOOK, GO.
STOP when you turn on the water-faucet: millions don’t have access to drinkable water. Or ditto when you turn on the power switch. (David’s put little ‘gratefulness stickers’ on the tap and light-switch at his place, after a trip to Africa where these good things weren’t available.)
LOOK – open your eyes, and your hearts (use the opportunity to make others happy).
GO – Do something!
Grateful people are not fearful, and therefore not violent. Grateful people are joyful people.
Grateful people are FSO people and I am honored to be in your company.
May love, health, joy and laughter continue throughout your life.
Now discover why happiness, as David suggests, is born from gratitude.
Get ready for an inspiring lesson in slowing down, looking where you're going, and above all, being grateful.
Thanks to John Mark Ministries and Ted for making it possible to share this with you, and to you for watching.
Let’s FOCUS on today, so we can build tomorrow.
Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.
Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.
