Ted Tuesday: Dr. Dan Gilbert— The Surprising Science of Happiness

"Gilbert's elbow-in-the-ribs social-science humor is actually funny. ... But underneath the goofball brilliance, he has a serious argument to make about why human beings are forever wrongly predicting what will make them happy." 

~~ New York Times Book Review

Good Morning Folks,

I woke up this beautiful morning I wanted to share an inspirational Ted Talk with all of you. When you watch it you may wonder why you hadn't heard of this before, or better yet be surprised that over a million people have already watched it (between YouTube and Ted postings alone). That's the power of Ted.

Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don't go as planned.

Gilbert believes that, in our ardent, lifelong pursuit of happiness, most of us have the wrong map. In the same way that optical illusions fool our eyes -- and fool everyone's eyes in the same way -- Gilbert argues that our brains systematically misjudge what will make us happy. And these quirks in our cognition make humans very poor predictors of our own bliss.

The premise of his current research -- that our assumptions about what will make us happy are often wrong -- is supported with clinical research drawn from psychology and neuroscience. But his delivery is what sets him apart. His engaging -- and often hilarious -- style pokes fun at typical human behavior and invokes pop-culture references everyone can relate to. This winning style translates also to Gilbert's writing, which is lucid, approachable and laugh-out-loud funny. The immensely readable Stumbling on Happiness, published in 2006, became a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages.

Dr. Gilbert asks us to imagine two different futures ... One, winning the lottery (yes, I like this ... I will buy a plane, and maybe an island suitable for the construction of a landing strip ... and definitely a sail boat, a small one ... I will recreate the Corona ad and learn to enjoy beer or at least ice cold limeade ... ). The other is become paraplegic.  (No thanks.)

He informs us that "Happiness" data has been collected on these two different groups.

"Because the fact is that a year after losing the use of their legs, and a year after winning the lotto, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy with their lives."



The lesson I want to leave you with from these talk is that our longings and our worries are both to some degree overblown, because we have within us the capacity to manufacture the very commodity we seek.

What an inspiration Gilbert is to the very core and spirit of FSO's brand. 

We are pumped, super excited and ready to rock.

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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. 

Ted Tuesday: Sir Ken Robinson— How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life

“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” 

Good Morning Folks,

As I woke up this morning I wanted to share another inspiring @Ted talk with you.

The Sir Ken Robinson @Ted talk that follows is one of my all time favorites. It reminds me of a book which I also highly recommend called "Finding Your Element: "How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life" which you can find at Amazon.

Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk video and groundbreaking book introduced readers to a new concept of self-fulfillment through the convergence of natural talents and personal passions. The book has inspired readers all over the world and has created for Robinson an intensely devoted following. Among the questions that this new book answers are:

• How do I find out what my talents and passions are?
• What if I love something I’m not good at?
• What if I’m good at something I don’t love?
• What if I can’t make a living from my Element?
• How do I do help my children find their Element?

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Sir Ken Robinson:

“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” 

“Creativity is as important as literacy”

“Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it's the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardizing in the way we educate our children and ourselves.” 

 “We have sold ourselves into a fast food model of education, and it's impoverishing our spirit and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.” 

“Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent not a singular conception of ability. and at the heart of the challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability and intelligence” 

In his talk that follows which counts 26 million views on Ted.com alone, Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.



What an inspiration Sir Ken is to the very core and spirit of FSO's brand. 

I could not help to be completely Inspired by the great teams and clients we have - so much passion and commitment to greatness and so much opportunity for all.

Nobody and I mean nobody will take CARE of the their customers or employees like FSO USA. 

So good morning. Get those inspiration hats on, put those smiles on, and lets rock the world together. 

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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. 

Ted Tuesday: Stacey Kramer: The Best Gift I Ever Survived

"I cannot say enough how much sharing your story will help others. "

Good Morning Folks,

Today's talk is short, moving and relevant to a lot of folks we know.

Stacey Kramer offers a moving, personal, 3-minute parable that shows how an unwanted experience -- frightening, traumatic, costly -- can turn out to be a priceless gift.

In 2009, Kramer found herself confronting a terrifying diagnosis: a CAT scan revealed she had a brain tumor -- the size of a golf ball. She told her remarkable, personal story at TED2010.

Very moving story, the emotion is plain to see, and I like the message. 

Enjoy the holidays,

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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. 

Ted Tuesday: Sir Ken Robinson— How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life

“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” 

Good Morning Folks,

As I woke up this morning I wanted to share another inspiring @Ted talk with you.

The Sir Ken Robinson @Ted talk that follows is one of my all time favorites. It reminds me of a book which I also highly recommend called "Finding Your Element: "How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life" which you can find at Amazon.

Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk video and groundbreaking book introduced readers to a new concept of self-fulfillment through the convergence of natural talents and personal passions. The book has inspired readers all over the world and has created for Robinson an intensely devoted following. Among the questions that this new book answers are:

• How do I find out what my talents and passions are?
• What if I love something I’m not good at?
• What if I’m good at something I don’t love?
• What if I can’t make a living from my Element?
• How do I do help my children find their Element?

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Sir Ken Robinson:

“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” 

“Creativity is as important as literacy”

“Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it's the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardizing in the way we educate our children and ourselves.” 

 “We have sold ourselves into a fast food model of education, and it's impoverishing our spirit and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.” 

“Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent not a singular conception of ability. and at the heart of the challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability and intelligence” 

In his talk that follows which counts 26 million views on Ted.com alone, Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.



What an inspiration Sir Ken is to the very core and spirit of FSO's brand. 

I could not help to be completely Inspired by the great teams and clients we have - so much passion and commitment to greatness and so much opportunity for all.

Nobody and I mean nobody will take CARE of the their customers or employees like FSO USA. 

So good morning. Get those inspiration hats on, put those smiles on, and lets rock the world together. 

I can we 2020 clearly. Hope you can as well. 

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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. 

Ted Tuesday: "I Got 99 Problems... Palsy Is Just One"

"I have cerebral palsy. I shake all the time," Maysoon Zayid announces at the beginning of this exhilarating, hilarious talk. (Really, it's hilarious.) "I'm like Shakira meets Muhammad Ali."

Good Morning Folks,

Today comedian Maysoon Zayid's very funny talk on not letting anything hold you back.

"If there was an Oppression Olympics, I would win the gold medal. I'm Palestinian, Muslim, I'm female, I'm disabled, and I live in New Jersey." Wow, what an amazing person! I believe we need more people like her in the world. And she is funny as all get out. You have to be willing to laugh at yourself and be confident enough to do what she does.

So without further ado, with grace and wit, Maysoon takes us on a whistle-stop tour of her adventures as an actress, stand-up comic, philanthropist, and advocate for the disabled.



Maysoon Zayid to me is an example of struggle and perseverance, no matter the obstacles she struggled every day to achieve her goals. Never heeded the ridicule of his peers at school or negative ideas about disabled people, but rather those were the inspiration to achieve what no one thought she could do. Also, Maysoon gives an example because the love of the father can do miracles and that we can all achieve whatever we want long as we never stop beating or doubt our own abilities.

We can do anything folks. If you too have got “99 problems”, then you need to watch Maysoon rap about why your issues in life shouldn’t hold you back unless you let them.

Let’s have some fun and lets LIGHT UP THE NATION. ITS OUR TIME, together we can do it.

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer