Live Happy Now

We talk a lot about the importance of social connection for maintaining our well-being, but how do you find happiness when you’re socially distanced? This week’s guest is Dr. Jennifer Wegmann, a professor in the Department of Health and Wellness Studies at Binghamton University. She teaches classes on stress management and contemporary health Issues, and her audiobook Resilience: How to Master Stress, Reduce Anxiety, and Live Well, provides listeners with a new, informed mindset about stress. She’s here to talk about how we can improve our happiness and our connections while staying safe and healthy.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The difference between social distancing and isolation.

• How this current time can help us re-evaluate what we need for our personal happiness.

• How finding purpose during a pandemic can help us help others.

It’s no secret that doing good for others is also good for us. But have you ever thought about exactly why doing good is so powerful? This week, Megan McDonough, CEO and founder of the Wholebeing Institute and the author of four books on mindfulness, joins host Paula Felps to find out what’s so great about doing good. Megan is an expert in the science of human flourishing, and she’s here to tell us what doing good does for us and how we can find what she calls the “spark of yes.”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why doing good is so crucial for yourself and for others.
• How the pressure of affects our desire to do good — and what to do about it.
• How to notice and say “yes” to the spark that wants to serve.

Strong relationships are proven to create more joy in our lives, so this week, we’re looking at how to celebrate our friendships and build stronger connections. Molly Galbraith, founder of the Girls Gone Strong fitness philosophy and author of the new book, Strong Women Lift Each Other Up, joins host Paula Felps to look at how supporting one another creates a ripple effect that generates new opportunities and deepens relationships, then offers tips on how all of us can become more supportive and improve our own friendships.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How social media and comparison could be damaging your relationships.
• Small, simple ways to lift up those around you.
• Why it’s important to stay connected — especially now.

On March 8, we’ll celebrate International Women’s Day, and this episode’s guest is throwing a celebration like no other. Carin Rockind, also known as The Purpose Girl, tells us about an amazing event designed to inspire women around the world. Carin has put together a lineup of powerful, motivating women who will help you make 2021 your best year yet. Whether you’re looking to jumpstart your fitness program, find your purpose, improve your relationships or launch your entrepreneurial dreams, The Women’s Day Event can help you find the mojo and motivation you’re missing.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to experience The Women’s Day Event.
• What to expect from this event.
• Why it’s so important for women to celebrate this day.

This week, we’re kicking off an entire month of happiness to celebrate the International Day of Happiness on March 20. As part of that celebration, we’re launching the Live Happy 10-Day Gratitude Challenge, which is a great way to share your gratitude for friends, family and co-workers. This week’s guest, Kira Newman, is managing editor at the Greater Good Science Center and co-editor of the book, The Gratitude Project: How the Science of Thankfulness Can Rewire Our Brains for Resilience, Optimism, and the Greater Good. She tells us what gratitude does for us, how we can make it part of our lives and why it’s even more important during difficult times.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How gratitude brings people together.
• Simple ways to start rewiring your brain for gratitude.
• How gratitude and giving go hand in hand.

What if the way you eat could change the way food affects your health? This week's guest explains how you can enjoy better health by changing your approach to food. Dr. Michael Fenster, better known as Chef Dr. Mike, is the only cardiologist in the world who also has an academic degree in culinary medicine. He also teaches a course in culinary medicine and encourages people to take control of their health, wellness and happiness through their relationship with food. In this episode, he talks about mindful eating, how it affects us and how you can start your own mindful eating practice.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The health benefits of mindful eating.
• What culinary medicine is and why it matters.
• How to find greater happiness through healthy, mindful eating.

March is a special month at Live Happy Now, because the International Day of Happiness is on March 20. But we celebrate happiness all month long with something we call #HappyActs. This week, Live Happy cofounder and CEO Deborah K. Heisz talks about how to celebrate the International Day of Happiness in a socially distanced world and how to be a part of our brand new Live Happy gratitude challenge.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to participate in the Live Happy Gratitude Challenge.
• What the International Day of Happiness is all about.
• How to celebrate happiness all month long.

Having hope is crucial not just to our happiness, but to our survival. But what happens when you start to lose hope?  This week’s guest is Margaret Dulaney, founder of the popular spiritual spoken word site, Listen Well. In her latest book, Parables of Sunlight, she tells her own story of finding hope during difficult times. She’s here today to talk about her story and what we can all learn about hope, perseverance, and resilience. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why practicing hope is a necessity, not a luxury.
• How to build your “hope muscle”.
• How being in nature helps nurture hope.

Anxiety affects millions of people and it’s no secret that the pandemic — and other events of the past year — haven’t helped make us feel more calm. In this episode, speaker, author and therapist Dr. Lauren Cook looks at how anxiety in itself has become an epidemic, how it’s affecting us and why it’s on the rise right now. Then she offers some solutions to begin making peace with your own anxiety.

Whether we recognize it or not, all of us have great creative resources within us, and they can help us discover greater happiness. This week’s guest is Doug Patton, an industrial designer who was featured on ABC’s American Inventor television series and has created more than 300 products in 20 international market categories. His new book, Conquering the Chaos of Creativity, provides a map to help you find your own creative process. He’s here to talk about the connection between creativity and happiness and help each of us learn to find our own creative superpowers.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why creativity is so beneficial for happiness.
• The six different creativity styles — and how to find yours.
• The connection between exercise, meditation and creativity.

Last year was stressful for everyone in one way or another, and the new year has brought more uncertainty and unrest in its early days. That is leaving many people feeling not just stressed, but traumatized. In this episode, Dr. Karol Darsa — a licensed psychologist and the founder and executive director of Reconnect Integrative Trauma Treatment Center in Los Angeles — talks with host Paula Felps about how stress and trauma affect us and what strategies we can use to manage our feelings in a time of uncertainty. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The difference between trauma and stress.
• Why journaling is so helpful in dealing with trauma and stress.
• Why we need to play more during stressful times.

Right now, many of us feel like we just want someone to swoop in and fix the world. That’s where Franklin Rock comes in. Franklin Rock is a fictional character created by this week’s guest, physician Mark E. Klein. After writing two books on purpose and happiness, Mark took a new approach to the message and created a character who goes on a mission to fix the world. Little did Mark know that he had created the exact hero we need for 2021. On this episode, he talks about how this story came about, what we can learn from it and how Franklin Rock can give all of us a new perspective.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why worrying about our choices is an exercise in futility
• What the real mission in life is all about
• Why death isn’t something to fear

As we begin 2021, many different emotions are at play. Whether it’s relief, anticipation, hope or even dealing with a sense of loss and grief, this is a time of reflection and a chance to look at what we want to create for the year ahead. This week’s guest is Carew Papritz, author of The Legacy Letters and a passionate advocate for civility and conscious living. He’s here to talk about how we can use this time as an opportunity to create personal change that will last a lifetime and define our personal legacy.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why this time presents such a wonderful opportunity for all of us.
• What the Regret Test is and how it can change the way you live.
• Why it’s important to write down what you want to accomplish.

With a new year on the horizon, many of us are thinking about our new year’s resolutions. But this year, what if you made a plan instead? This week’s guest, Brent Franson, is founder of Most Days, a life improvement platform designed to let you create healthy routines while also getting a social support system. He’ll tell us how his own struggles led to creating this platform and how he’s using it to help others address challenges like depression, anxiety, loneliness, sleep disturbances and more.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The importance of having a routine to address your personal challenges.
• Why it’s important to learn which of your habits affect your mood.
• Why having someone to hold you accountable can help improve your outcomes.

As Christmas arrives this week, most of us are experiencing the holidays in a very different way than we’re used to. In fact, for many, it doesn’t feel much like Christmas at all. This week, we’re joined by Dr. Jennifer Wegmann, a professor at Binghamton University and author of Resilience: How to Master Stress, Reduce Anxiety and Live Well. She’s here to give us some tips on how to redefine the holidays and make this time one of gratitude and renewal.  

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why it's important to change mindsets and expectations for the holidays.
• How the 2020 holiday season is allowing us to slow down and discover what is most meaningful in our lives.
• Why thinking outside the box gives us the opportunity to reimagine, recreate, and redefine the holidays.

It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time for Christmas music and holiday cheer. This week’s guest is Aneesa Sheik, a rising singer/songwriter who uses her music to deliver an inspirational message. Not only does she do that with her new single, Happy Little Holiday, but she strives to make all of her music uplifting and empowering. She’s here to tell us more about her music, what shapes the positive messaging in her songs and why she started a non-profit organization to reach patients in nursing homes and hospitals during the pandemic.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How music is such a powerful healing tool
• How we can use music to connect with others
• Where to learn more about Music4M.I.R.A.C.L.E.

It’s no secret that, here at Live Happy, we are fans of positivity. But why are people now talking about toxic positivity?

In this episode, author and therapist Dr. Lauren Cook joins us to talk about how this usually well-meaning approach to positivity can create a backlash. Toxic positivity is a form of happiness that can actually damage personal and professional relationships, so this episode looks at what it is, why it is harmful to us and our loved ones, and what we can do to overcome it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to tell if you’re practicing toxic positivity.
• Why it can be harmful to relationships.
• How to create a balanced perspective that integrates optimism and reality.

Many of us would do just about anything for our pets. But have you thought about how much your pet is doing for you?

This week’s guest is here to tell us! Dr. Margit Gabriele Muller is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and executive director at Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital. But she’s also a speaker, life coach and author of multiple books on animals, including her latest — Your Pet, Your Pill: 101 Inspirational Stories About How Pets Lead You to a Happy, Healthy and Successful Life. She’s here to explain what our furry, feathered and finned friends are doing for our health and overall well-being. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How pets are beneficial for our daily lives and our health.
• How pets have been so important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• How to learn to “listen” to your pet.

This has been the most unusual and, for many, the most difficult year in recent memory. So what’s gratitude got to do with it? As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, it’s the perfect time to talk about how important gratitude is – not only at Thanksgiving, but as a daily practice. Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah K. Heisz joins us to talk about gratitude and other practices to make this unusual Thanksgiving more meaningful.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why gratitude is more important than ever right now.
• Simple ways to increase gratitude in your own life.
• How to share your gratitude with others.

As we get older, it’s common to start thinking about what kind of legacy we’re leaving behind. But what if we started thinking about living our legacy instead of leaving it?

This week’s guest is Codi Shewan, author of Everyday Legacy: Living Your Life with Purpose, Right Now. Codi’s career in the funeral industry gave him unique insight into death and the realization that every day matters. Now, he explains how each of us can discover our own legacy and live it to the fullest.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What it means to live a legacy.
• How to use the time of COVID as a chance to re-evaluate your life and legacy.
• How to help others discover their legacy.

Intuition is something we’re all born with, but somewhere along the way, the noise of the outside world can drown out our inner voice. Or we forget to stop “listening to our gut.” But learning to listen to our intuition can improve virtually every aspect of our lives and help take mindfulness to the next level. This week’s guest, Kim Chestney, is an expert on intuition and author of the new book, Radical Intuition: A Revolutionary Guide to Using Your Inner Power. She explains how tapping into our intuition can change our lives — and what we can do to start. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why it’s important to learn to listen to your intuition.
• How to tune into and develop your intuition.
• Why insightfulness is the next step beyond mindfulness.

Grief is a difficult subject, and it can be even more difficult when trying to manage it with children. After the sudden death of her husband, Ashley Bugge found herself not only raising two children and planning for the birth of her third child, but also trying to help them live in a world suddenly consumed by grief. Unable to find books that spoke to children about grief in real terms, together she and her children wrote a remarkable book titled, A Hui Hou: Until We Meet Again.

This week, Ashley discusses how to talk to children about grief and loss to help them understand their feelings and live a happier life. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why it’s important to have honest conversations about grief with children.
• How to make new memories as a family while grieving loss.
• Signs a child may be struggling with grief.

If you’ve been feeling a bit more stressed or anxious lately, you aren’t alone. A new study by the American Psychological Association finds that this election is a “significant source of stress” for some 70% of Americans.

The term Election Stress Disorder was coined in 2016 by psychologist and author Steven Stosny to describe the anxiety and distress people were feeling. Now, the intensity of the current election has led to even greater levels of stress, which are amplified by social media and concerns about the pandemic.

This week’s guest is Erin Wiley, a clinical psychotherapist and executive director of The Willow Center in Toledo, Ohio. Erin’s here to explain how Election Stress Disorder affects us and how we can avoid it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why regulating exposure to the news and social media is so important.
• How mindfulness can help during this time.
• Tips for preparing your mind for Election Day — and the days that follow.

In today’s busy world, it is often easy to overlook the value of those friendships. After a cancer diagnosis, lawyer-turned-life coach Shari Leid realized that she wanted her friends to know how much they meant to her. So she made a list of 50 women and sat down with each one, face to face, to tell them what they had done for her. Not only did it change her life and the lives of her friends, but it led to the book The 50/50 Friendship Flow: Life Lessons From and For My Girlfriends.

This week, Shari joins us to talk about how this mission changed her life and how you can use the same process to deepen your own friendships and discover greater gratitude in your life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why everyone in your life is either a student or a teacher.
• How deepening your friendships improves your happiness.
• Why creating your own Friendship Challenge is even more important during a time of COVID-19.

We make decisions every day, but how often do you really think about the process that goes into making those choices? This episode’s guest has built her life on making the right decisions: As a former professional poker player, Annie Duke who won more than $4 million in tournament poker before retiring in 2012. But she also studied cognitive psychology, is a bestselling author and a consultant on decision-making. Her new book, How to Decide, picks up where her last book, Thinking in Bets, left off.

This week, Annie’s here to talk about how to find better outcomes by changing the way we make our decisions.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the Happiness Test is and how it can change the way you make decisions.
• How embracing uncertainty can make us more decisive.
• When to decide fast, when to decide slow and when to decide in advance.

We’ve all told little white lies, but have you thought about how honest you really are in your day to day life? When Judi Ketteler started thinking about it, she realized that maybe she wasn’t as honest as she thought. So she delved into the research on honesty and began looking at her own habits. The result of that work is her new book, Would I Lie to You? The Amazing Power of Being Honest in a World That Lies. This week, Judi’s here to talk about why we lie, how it affects our happiness and how we can all live our lives with more honesty.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why honesty affects our happiness.
• How consciously becoming more honest changes our lives.
• The importance of being honest in a dishonest world.

There’s no question that our world needs more kindness right now, which is why this week, we are talking to Houston Kraft, author of the new book Deep Kindness: A Revolutionary Guide for the Way We Think, Talk, and Act in Kindness. He’s here to talk about the gap between our belief in kindness and our ability to practice it. He’ll also tell us what new skills we need to acquire to better practice kindness and what we can do to turn our intentions into actions.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What it means to practice “deep kindness”.
• 3 things that prevent us from practicing kindness.
• How to implement kindness as a daily practice.

Whether you’re an educator or a parent, the concept of positive education is something that can change your life … as well as the life of your student or child. In these times, it’s more important than ever to understand the role that well-being plays in the lives of students, teachers, administrators and parents. This week, Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah K. Heisz joins us to talk about the upcoming International Positive Education Network’s 2020 Well-being in Education Virtual Conference. This event is being offered entirely online for the first time and it’s also free for anyone who wants to attend. Tune in to learn more!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What positive education is and why it matters.
• How to attend this free virtual event.
• What you can expect to learn.

Mindfulness is something that pretty much all of us have heard of and many of us want to practice it. But sometimes just the idea of learning how to be more mindful seems daunting.

This episode’s guests are experts in mindfulness and they’re also good friends. That friendship and shared passion for mindfulness has resulted in the book, A Mindful Year: 365 Ways to Find Connection and the Sacred in Everyday Life. Join us as Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth Gillihan tell how this book came about – and how you can use it daily to start or reinforce your mindfulness practice.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What practicing mindfulness can do for you.
• How to implement mindfulness every day.
• Why mindfulness is more important right now than ever.

All of us feel guilty from time to time, but if you’re having trouble letting go of guilt – well, you’re not alone. Guilt is a difficult emotion which is why Valorie Burton, founder of the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute, is tackling it in her latest book, Let Go of the Guilt. This week, she  talks about why it’s so tough to manage and gives us new tools for getting rid of that pesky thing called guilt.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to identify real guilt vs. false guilt.
• How to let go of guilt and live a more fulfilling life.
• Why guilt seemingly affects more women than men and what to do about it.

A lot of us would like to learn how to calm the chaos around us right now, and it just so happens that this week’s guest literally wrote the book on that. Nicola Ries Taggart is a life strategist, author and speaker who helps people discover a more centered, conscious approach to everyday life. Two years ago, she wrote the book Calm the Chaos, a journal designed to help users align their outer presence with inner peace. She talks about how you can learn to calm the chaos … even in these rather chaotic times.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What practices you can use to calm the chaos.
• How she discovered these practices and why they have been so important in the past year.
• Why journaling every day — even for just a few minutes — can change your life.

Are you living in your heart, or living in your head? If you’re spending more time in your head than in your heart, this week’s episode is perfect for you.

Sarah Blondin is an author and podcast host whose work has been translated into several languages and is in use in prison, recovery, and wellness programs. Her new book, HEART MINDED: How to Hold Yourself and Others in Love, tells us how we can get out of our heads and into our hearts to find our true selves and learn how to discover – and attain — what we truly need. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What it means to become heart-minded.
• How practicing “soul-itude” can help you find your heart center.
• Why solitude can be challenging and how to practice it anyway.

Accepting the difficult events in our lives is a key part of our well-being. Acceptance allows us to cultivate a sense of calm that allows us to better deal with stress. As we deal with an increasingly uncertain world, how can learning more about acceptance help increase our happiness? This week, psychologist Scott Hass, author of Why Be Happy? The Japanese Way of Acceptance talks about how ukeireru, the Japanese principle of acceptance, can help each of us during troubled times.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How learning acceptance changes your response to situations.
• Ways to increase your practice of acceptance.
• How to practice acceptance as a family.

In recent years, we’ve learned a lot about the profound transformative effect that empathy can have on us. For more than a decade, this week’s guest has been on a mission to help bring those powerful lessons to children. Lysa Heslov is founder of Children Mending Hearts, an organization that combats bullying and intolerance by inspiring empathy in children using art and other programs. Her Los Angeles based program has now grown into a national movement, and tell us how it works, why it matters and what all of us can do to get more empathy in our lives.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why empathy is so important during these uncertain times.
• How empathy can help reduce bullying.
• The long-term effects of teaching children about empathy.

It’s a brand new month and it’s also a brand new season of Live Happy Now. As we start this new season Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz and Paula Felps talk about how things changed for all of us last season, and what we can expect to see in the coming weeks and months.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What we’ll be talking about this season
• Where you can get the Live Happy Daily Happiness
• How to tell us what you'd like to hear on the show.

Anxiety is something that many of us are familiar with—particularly now. But have you considered embracing it? This week’s guest, Karla McLaren, makes the case for delving into this emotion and using it as a force of energy. Her book, Embracing Anxiety: How to Access the Genius of This Vital Emotion, takes a completely new look at how anxiety can benefit us. This week, she talks about how important it is to recognize what anxiety can do for us and learn how to use it for positive effect.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How anxiety can help us prepare for the future.
• Why procrastination is actually considered a form of anxiety.
• The difference between panic and anxiety.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Lise Van Susteren was noticing a new phenomenon: patients were often plagued by worry, disturbing and intrusive thoughts, sleep disruptions, grief and more. She identified this trend as a condition she calls emotional inflammation, and along with health writer Stacey Colino wrote a book by the same name. As it turns out, Emotional Inflammation: Discover Your Triggers and Reclaim Your Equilibrium During Anxious Times is exactly the book we need for our current situation. This week, she talks about how the pandemic has only heightened our emotional inflammation — and what we can do about it.  

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What is emotional inflammation and what does it do to us?
• How does controlling the flow of information in your life help cool emotional inflammation — and how do you do that?
• What is the difference between being a bystander and an upstander?

If you’ve ever had a sudden feeling of distress that triggers your fight or flight response, then you know what it’s like to have your emotions hijacked. And if that’s something you’ve experienced recently, you’re not alone. This week, clinical psychologist and mindfulness expert Dr. Shauna Shapiro returns to talk about how current times might be affecting your emotions and what practices you can use — both individually and as a family — to regulate them.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What an “amygdala hijack” is and how to manage it.
• Why identifying your emotions can help bring calm to your life.
• Simple practices to help regulate your emotions.

All of us have lost something this year, and that’s affecting us whether we realize it or not. This week, we’re joined by Erin Wiley, a clinical psychotherapist and executive of The Willow Center, a counseling practice in Toledo, Ohio. She’s here to talk about the many ways our losses could be affecting us and our loved ones, and to give us tips on processing grief and coping with the changes brought by the pandemic. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why it’s important to feel your grief as it arises
• Tips for coping with grief and loss
• How to discuss and manage loss as a family

If there was ever a year that needed a soothing soundtrack, it would be the year that we’re in now. Music has powerful healing properties, and nobody knows that better than this week’s guest. Dr. Sandi Curtis is an internationally trained music therapist who specializes in working with women and children survivors of violence. She helps survivors navigate their way through recovery with help from music, and this week she’s here to talk about how all of us can use music to help us through this challenging year.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why music is such a powerful healing tool.
• What brain entrainment is and why it’s good for your mental health.
• How the music you listen to can change your state.

As an Emmy-winning reporter for ABC News, Adrienne Bankert has covered some of life's most tragic moments, but it has never made her lose sight of her desire to find the best in people. Her experience interviewing inspiring people, from wounded warriors to high-profile celebrities, helped her want to understand more about one of her life’s guiding principles: kindness. This week, she talks about her new book, Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone, and explains why practicing kindness is so good for us.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How kindness makes anyone unbeatable.
• The difference between being nice and being kind.
• Simple things you can do every day to practice kindness.

Since the release of his first hit single, The Remedy (I Won’t Worry), in 2002, Jason Mraz has based his musical career on sharing positive, uplifting music. On June 19, the two-time Grammy winner is releasing Look for the Good, an album that encourages us to find hope, optimism and gratitude despite the turmoil we’re experiencing this year. In this episode, Jason explains how this collection of songs came about, what he learned in the process of writing and recording this album and what he hopes every one of us takes away from it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why he believes it’s so important to look for the good in every situation.
• How music can help soothe and heal us.
• The power of remaining positive.

At any given time, everyone is going through something in their lives. But rarely do we have a situation where so many people are collectively going through such trying times. The good news is, we’re going to get through this, and we can use this time to build new habits and be stronger than before.

This week, we talk with Aneesh Chaudhry, founder of the brain health clinic SoulPhysio Lifestyle, where he works with a team of doctors, psychologists and other healthcare professionals to take a whole body approach to mental and physical wellness. He’s here to talk about how to manage our energy and deal with such negative emotions as grief, loss and anxiety.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The importance of learning and practicing acceptance.
• What energy management is and why it matters.
• How to work through negative feelings during difficult times.

Imagine living in a world that has been plagued by great tragedy. The world as you knew it is gone, all the stores are closed, and you can’t see your friends. Sound familiar? Interestingly enough, we’re not talking about real life right now; we’re talking about Shadow’s Edge, a mobile game and lifestyle platform that was created to help teens and young adults build resilience.

This week, we’re talking with Rosemary Lokhorst, one of the creative minds behind this innovative platform. Let’s listen as she explains how this game has helped teens and young adults deal with chronic illness, anxiety and now, a pandemic.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What narrative therapy is and why it’s so effective.
• How we can all stay a little more connected and mentally strong through these tough times.
• How families can use Shadow’s Edge together.

Today’s world has become increasingly challenging, so it’s fitting that this week, we’re talking about simplicity. How do you find more simplicity in a complex world? Well, it’s complicated.

This week, author and social commentator Julia Hobsbawm looks at how we can live a simpler, more creative and productive life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the infobesity epidemic is and how to overcome it.
• How to use Hexagon Action to simplify your tasks.
• How to become one of the “focused few.”

By now, most of us are aware of how important it is to be able to use tools like mindfulness and meditation to help create inner calm. But as tough as it can be for adults, imagine what it’s like for a child to master it.

This week’s guest has found a way to teach children things like meditation, mindfulness, yoga and more with the help of some very cute ninja bunnies. Kamala Alcantara is co-founder and chief content officer of Ninja Focus, an app that helps young children learn breathing techniques, mindfulness and emotional regulation. Her goal is to help strengthen families and motivate children to be kinder, more compassionate and happier. Let’s hear how Ninja Focus can help them do that. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why learning breathing techniques is so valuable.
• How teaching mindfulness to children benefits them later in life.
• How to use Ninja Focus as a family.

Tapping into your creativity is a proven way to increase your personal well-being. It can put you in a positive mood, give you a sense of purpose, promote problem solving and reduce stress and anxiety. But sometimes, we get so busy with our lives that we lose touch with our creative side. 

This week’s guest is an expert in tapping into creativity. Martha Alderson is an author who also works with bestselling authors, Hollywood directors, artists and performers all over the world to tap into their creativity. Now, you can try this at home! Martha’s new book, Boundless Creativity: A Spiritual Workbook for Overcoming Self-Doubt, Emotional Traps and Other Creative Blocks, can walk you through the steps back to discovering your creative self. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the Universal Story is and how it relates to you.
• The spiritual value of connecting with your creativity.
• How working on creativity as a family can help build communication and solve problems.

For many of us, right now it seems a little bit harder than usual to find the good in the world, and finding things to be optimistic about can seem like even more of a chore. If you’re having struggling with that, you’re in the right place. 

This week, Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah Heisz talks about how we can look for what's good in these trying times to find positivity and optimism—and make the most of this most unusual time.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to use the gift of extra time that we’ve been giving.
• Ways to interact with others in a time of social distancing.
• How to spend time evaluating what’s important to make the right decisions for your future.

If ever there was a time to take a deep breath, it’s right now. And this week’s guest is uniquely qualified to walk us through how to do that.

Victoria Albina is a functional nurse practitioner, certified breathwork meditation facilitator, life coach and host of the Feminist Wellness podcast. She not only understands the mind/body connection, but she has great tips for helping us use our breath to calm our stress response, boost our immune system and enjoy each moment just a little bit more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How your automatic nervous system and vagus nerve are affecting your reactions.
• How to restore and replenish yourself after experiencing substantial stress.
• How breathwork can calm your body and also improve your immune system.

With so much going on in the world today, you might have hit the point of asking “why bother?” A lot of situations feel pretty grim right now and some days it’s hard to find the energy and enthusiasm you need. 

Today’s guest knows exactly what you’re feeling, and, even better, she has incredible insight to share on how to navigate these crazy times. Jennifer Louden is a personal growth expert and author of the new book, Why Bother? Discover the Desire for What’s Next, and she has a lot to say about why we should bother, how to discover our next steps and even how to enjoy the journey.

In this podcast, you’ll learn:

• Why asking the important question, “Why bother?” is a good thing.
• Why your desires matter.
• The importance of self-care and self-forgiveness.

We are spending most of our time at home right now, and no matter how much you love the space you live in, or the people you share it with, some days it might seem like it’s the last place you want to be.

This week’s guest is an expert at turning our homes into our happy places. Interior designer Rebecca West, author of Happy Starts at Home and owner of Seriously.Happy.Homes, believes in putting the “om” back in home. To do that, she takes a holistic approach to discovering what you need from your home and how to make the most of the space you have. Listen in as she tells us how to make our surroundings support what we need—both physically and emotionally—during this time.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to create space for everyone—and everything—in your home.
• How tidiness makes a big difference in how you view your space.
• Simple improvements you can do both inside and outside of your home.

This is a time when all of us are thinking about healing and recovery. We have a lot of questions about wellness, and this episode’s guest offers unique insight into healing and well-being.

Dr. Jeffrey Rediger is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and medical director of McLean Hospital Southeast adult psychiatric programs. He’s a board-certified psychiatrist with a master’s in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and his new book, CURED: The Life-Changing Science of Spontaneous Healing, provides a fascinating look into well-being and how changing our beliefs about ourselves can change our outcomes.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the four pillars of healing are and why they’re so critical.
• How to improve your immune system.
• The importance of reducing inflammation in your body.

Now that most Americans find themselves self-quarantined, we’re learning to negotiate a completely different daily routine. Whether that includes a roommate, spouse, children or other family members, being in close quarters can create challenges for every relationship.

That’s why we talked with CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke, who are therapists and co-authors of the book, The Beauty of Conflict for Couples. They offer some helpful tips for managing relationships and learning how each person can create space for themselves. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why it’s important to identify what you need from others in the home.
• How to create time and space for yourself.
• The importance of taking a dance break … and other secrets to a happier, healthier self-quarantine.

There’s no question that we are experiencing a chaotic time right now, and many people are feeling overwhelmed by situations that are out of their control. We’ve heard so many concerns from people who are worried about COVID-19, about the financial toll it is already taking and what this means for the future. We’re all learning how to manage this new normal that, frankly, doesn’t feel normal at all.

This week’s guest, Erin Pickney, is a Nashville-based therapist specializing in recovery from anxiety and depression. She offers a few suggestions on how we can decrease our anxiety and increase our sense of well-being.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to manage some of our current anxiety.
• How to connect with others while practicing social distancing.
• How to make the most of time spent in self-quarantine.

This week’s episode looks at something we all know about, we all know we should do … but we often have trouble finding time for in our busy lives. Meditation has incredible healing value for both our mind and body, and this week’s guest is on a mission to get the whole world meditating.

Neuroscientist Ariel Garten is a psychotherapist, mom, former fashion designer and the founder of the tech company Muse, which is designed to make meditation easier. She has spoken about the benefits of meditation on stages around the world, ranging from TED talks to MIT to SXSW. This week, she talks about the benefits of meditation, how we can master the art of meditating and how to find ways to fit it into our hectic lives.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why meditation is so important.
• How to make meditation part of your daily routine.
• Ways to make meditation easier.

All of us want to discover our purpose in life, but we don’t always know how to do that. For Sebastian Terry, that path began with making a list of 100 things he wanted to do before he died. But what began as a personal list sparked a bestselling book, documentaries, a reality TV show and a movement to spread kindness to others. Sebastian joins us this week to explain how he inadvertently launched a global movement, how each of us can be part of that movement and how we can create a culture of kindness wherever we work, live and play. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How this list changed the lives of others.
• How to begin making your own list.
• How to cultivate a culture of kindness.

March 20 is the International Day of Happiness, but at Live Happy Now, we celebrate it all month long. One way we do that is with a little movement we call #HappyActs. This week, Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz talks about what happy acts are, how you can make them part of your daily routine and how to celebrate the International Day of Happiness with us.

In this podcast, you’ll learn:

• How performing #HappyActs can improve your day
• Where to get ideas for #HappyActs
• How to be part of the International Day of Happiness

There’s a lot of discussion today about how social media is harming our mental health, and many experts advise taking a break from it or even unplugging entirely. But what do you do if that’s just not possible? This week’s guest is here to tell us. Erin Pickney is a Nashville-based therapist specializing in recovery from anxiety, depression and religious trauma. She recognizes that while disconnecting entirely from social media isn’t always possible, there are steps you can take to detox your social media to improve your mental and emotional health.    

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What it means to detox your social media.
• Simple ways to identify toxic elements in your social media feeds.
• How parents can help their children decrease toxic interactions.

There’s so much talk today about mindfulness that it sometimes seems the word has lost its meaning. This week, Dr. Shauna Shapiro, a clinical psychologist and internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and self-compassion, explains what is missing from many mindfulness practices. Her new book, Good Morning, I Love You, combines brain science with easy-to-implement practices that will help you get more calm, clarity and joy in your life. Listen now to find out how you can change your brain with these simple practices.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why self-compassion is the “secret sauce” of mindfulness practices.
• The one simple practice you can do every morning to increase self-compassion.
• How your self-compassion and mindfulness can help heal those around you.

This is the week when you’ll hear a lot of talk about Valentine’s Day and showing those around you how much you love them. But have you thought about being your own valentine this year? Whether you’re single or in a committed relationship, there are things you can do to feel more fulfilled in every area of your life. Leadership expert and bestselling author Karen McGregor joins us this week to talk about how we can change our approach to love and relationships to find greater joy.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How the stories we tell ourselves can influence our relationships—for better and for worse.
• The importance of learning your own “love power.”
• How to feel more fulfilled every day — regardless of whether or not you’re in a relationship.

With the rise of social media, FOMO, or the fear of missing out, has become a problem that can result in anxiety, depression and other conditions. Now, as an antidote to FOMO, many people are discovering JOMO, or the Joy of Missing Out. This week’s guest, Jessica Misener, literally wrote the guidebook on how to embrace JOMO. Her book, JOMO: Celebrate the Joy of Missing Out, offers more than 350 ways to exchange your FOMO for JOMO.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why FOMO is so harmful.
• What you can learn from practicing JOMO.
• Tips on how to implement JOMO at home.

For most of us, “joy” is not the first word that jumps to mind when we think about work. But this week’s guest has made it his mission to find out how we can all change that.

Alex Liu is the managing partner and chairman of the global management consulting company Kearney as well as being a huge proponent of finding joy in the workplace. He hosts the Joy at Work podcast and recently spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos on topics related to creating more joy in the workplace.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What business leaders can do to create a more joyful work environment.
• How to bring a joy-filled attitude to work.
• How finding joy at work can transform your life.

January is National Organization Month, which makes it a great time to get your home in order. But how do you do that when it seems you have more “stuff” than you have places to put it? This episode’s guest is Marla Stone, a psychotherapist turned professional organizer and author of The Clutter Remedy: A Guide to Getting Organized for Those Who Love Their Stuff. She explains how to create a de-cluttering strategy built around less stuff and more satisfaction.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How our outside clutter reflects our inner state.
• Where to start clearing the clutter.
• How to live a perpetually organized life.

If someone told you there was a simple practice that could lower your stress, improve your health and boost your overall well-being, you might be skeptical. But this week’s guest has a science-based solution that can do all those things … and so much more.

Jessica Ortner is a New York Times bestselling author and producer of The Tapping Solution, the breakthrough documentary film on EFT tapping. She’s here today to explain what EFT tapping is, how it works and how you can start using it today to change your life for the better.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What tapping is and how to do it.
• Why tapping is so effective.
• Different ways tapping can be used to solve challenges.

As we begin a new year and a new decade, many of us have set ambitious resolutions for change. Or maybe we’re still trying to decide what it is that we want and need from the next 12 months. Today’s guest, Dr. Andrea Goeglein, can help. Known as Dr. Success because she helps business leaders learn how to define and reach their goals, Andrea shares those same practices to help you create goals for the coming year, learn how to think differently and how to keep going even when it seems like you’ve gotten off track.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Understanding the important difference between a resolution and a goal.
• How to prepare your mind to reach your goals.
• Steps to set yourself up for success.

Many of us will start the New Year with a renewed commitment to change or to following a new purpose in life. This week’s guest, Joanne Fink, literally wrote the guidebook to lead us on that journey. As an award-winning designer and author of books on creativity, grief, faith and spirituality, she has created journals that help readers explore their own path in their own time. Her latest book, My Spiritual Journey, is a guided journal that asks the hard questions needed to help you ground yourself in gratitude, find deeper connections and determine your personal purpose.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How and why your purpose can change throughout your life.
• Why it’s important to define your purpose.
• What happens when you begin to live life more intentionally.

With the New Year just around the corner, you might already be thinking about that New Year’s resolution or what you hope to accomplish in 2020. We have some ideas!

In this episode, we hear from Deborah Heisz, who is CEO and Co-Founder of Live Happy. But she’s also the driving force behind the global #HappyActs movement and, this week, she tells us how committing to happy acts can help us create a happy New Year—for ourselves and for others.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How #HappyActs began and what they are.
• What you can do to start your own #HappyActs initiatives.
• Where to find more ideas for performing #HappyActs.

Technology has changed our lives in many ways, but when holiday celebrations are spent with guests on their phones or tablets, it takes away much of the magic of the moment. This episode’s guest is Joe McCormack, who literally wrote the book on how to find focus and human interaction in the midst of technology’s interference. His book, Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus, provides tips on surviving in today’s business world, but he sat down to talk with us about how to keep the holidays happier by preventing technology from intruding on our quality time.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to create a technology-free holiday gathering.
• The benefits of setting aside the noise of our technology for a few hours.
• Tips to get everyone to (gladly) participate in a tech-free celebration.

After leaving a successful career in the finance industry, Peter Montoya was concerned by the growing anxiety, depression and loneliness that we’re experiencing as a society. To help turn the tide on all of the negativity, he started Thrive Union, an organization whose mission is to help people go from loneliness and isolation to purposeful belonging. His free online videos provide a life school to teach us the things we need to know to have a thriving, happier life. Peter sat down to talk about why we need a life school and how it can help trigger global change.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why community is so important.
• How sharing your purpose with others can improve your life.
• What you can learn at “Life School.”

When she wrote the book Simple Abundance 25 years ago, author Sarah Ban Breathnach had no idea that she was about to launch a global movement. Long before gratitude journals were a “thing,” her organic approach to gratitude and a simpler, happier life resonated with readers around the world. Simple Abundance sparked a movement that sold millions of books and changed not just her life, but the lives of countless readers. Now, she has refreshed her book for modern times and sat down to talk to us about her updated edition of Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life.

We’ve heard a lot about the power of saying thank you, but what happens when a simple thank you turns into a heartfelt letter? Nancy Davis Kho was at a reflective point in her life when she decided to write one thank-you letter every week for a whole year. In her new book, The Thank-You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time, she explains why she wanted to embark on this project and what kind of effect it had on her—and those she wrote to.

We knew we had to talk about it on the show. And what better time to talk about it than right before Thanksgiving?

Nancy is a freelance writer, podcast host and author of The Thank You Project. She talked to me about how the project started, what it taught her, and why each of us can benefit from writing thank you letters.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How you can benefit from your own letter-writing project.
• Why it’s so life-changing to write thank-you letters—even if you never mail them.
• Some of the surprising letters you’ll want to write—including your exes!

We’ve all heard about the principles of visualization and manifestation, but to many of us, it might sound a little too good to be true. Today, we’re talking to a neuroscientist who guides us through the science of visualization and tells us how it can help us reach our goals and live happier lives.

Dr. Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, psychiatrist and senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She works with top executives all over the world to help them achieve mental resilience and peak brain performance. Her new book, The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain, shows how you can actively change the way your mind works to train it for happiness.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why it’s critical to take control over what we’re thinking about.
• How we can make dramatic, positive changes by changing how we think.
• The science behind vision boards — and how to put it into practice.

This week, you can enjoy a whirlwind trip of happiness around the globe! When journalist Helen Russell moved to Denmark in 2012, she wanted to learn more about why the country ranked so high on the happiness scale. That search led her to write the book, The Year of Living Danishly, and opened the door to studying happiness. With her second book, The Atlas of Happiness: The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy, she looks at happiness practices around the world and makes some interesting discoveries about how we’re different from other countries in our pursuit of happiness—and how we’re the same. She’s here to talk about how happiness differs from one country to the next, what we can learn from other countries and in what ways we’re all the same in our pursuit of happiness. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why happiness practices are so different from one country to the next.
• Why different perceptions of happiness affect the way we practice well-being.
• How learning about happiness practices from other countries can improve our lives.

If you’ve ever watched elite athletes and wondered what makes them so different, we’ve got great news for you: Today’s guest can answer that question. What’s even better is that she can tell you how you can apply some of the same winning techniques to your own life.

Annie Vernon is a two-time World Champion, Olympic silver medalist with the Great Britain Rowing Team and a two-time Olympian who has learned that the secret to winning doesn’t just lie in physical prowess, but is just as dependent upon the right mindset. In her book, Mind Games: Determination, Doubt and Lucky Socks: An Insider’s Guide to the Psychology of Elite Athletes, she explores how the way we think changes our outcomes. So, whether your playing field is a boardroom, a classroom or your kid’s playroom, she’s here to tell you how changing your mindset can improve your game.  

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why training your mind is just as important as physical training.
• Why self-awareness is so important to your mindset.
• How small changes in your mindset can yield huge results.

If you feel like the world is moving a whole lot faster these days, you’re not alone. We’re consuming information at an unprecedented rate and living in an “always on” world. It’s no secret that this high-tech world is taking a toll on our health, our relationships and our overall well-being.

Today’s guest, Pete Dunlap, is leading the charge for what he calls “humane technology use.” His book, Digital Detangler: A Guide to Mindful Technology Use won the Next Generation Indie Book Award and the Independent Press Award in 2019 for its thoughtful examination of technology and his insight on how we can better use it. He also created Digital Detangler Family Services, which helps families address the crisis of tech addiction together. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How technology affects our mental health.
• What causes technology addictions.
• How families can address technology overuse.

If you feel like the world is moving a whole lot faster these days, you’re not alone. We’re consuming information at an unprecedented rate and living in an “always on” world. It’s no secret that this high-tech world is taking a toll on our health, our relationships and our overall well-being.

Today’s guest, Jeff Bethke, looks at how this fast pace is zapping our sense of purpose and meaning. His new book, To Hell With the Hustle: Reclaiming Your Life in an Overworked, Overspent and Overconnected World, looks at how we can shift our focus from our online world to our inward life and find greater purpose and meaning.

In this podcast, you’ll learn:

• How too much time online affects your sense of purpose.
• Why saying “no” is so powerful.
• How a Tech Manifesto can help you control your time online.

Bullying has become such an issue in today’s world that October has been named National Bullying Prevention Month. And while we normally associate bullying with school children, the fact is that many adults are being bullied at work every day. This week’s guest, Dr. Britt Andreatta, is an expert on the science of teams and author of the book, Wired to Connect. She’s developed safety tips to make sure all employees are working together to eliminate bullying in the workplace She also shares information on how and why bullying happens at work—and what to do about it.

In this podcast, you’ll learn:

• Where workplace bullies come from.
• How to make sure others aren’t being bullied.
• The high cost of unresolved workplace bullying.

If you’ve ever struggled with forgiving someone, or forgiving yourself, you don’t want to miss what this week’s guest has to say abut it. Stacy Kaiser, a licensed psychotherapist, relationship expert, author and frequent Live Happy Now guest, has great insight on how forgiveness and self-forgiveness affect our overall well-being. But she doesn’t just tell us how much we need it in our lives; she gives us actionable advice for forgiving others, forgiving ourselves and discovering greater happiness.

In this podcast, you’ll learn:

• Why forgiveness is essential to your overall well-being.
• What forgiveness really means.
• Steps you can take to forgive others as well as yourself.

Giving our kids positive messages is important, but sometimes it’s difficult to do in a tumultuous world. The guests on this episode are not only giving kids a new way to look at the world, but putting it to a great beat that parents love, too.

After becoming parents themselves, long-time friends Anne Montone and Jennifer Cook used music as a way to teach and explain things to their children. The two musically inclined friends then created the singing duo Again Again, and their debut full-length album, “Listen. Love. Repeat.” is filled with positive, family-friendly messages for our time.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why music is so effective as a way to learn.
• How music can be used to let kids know they matter.
• How they created music that parents and kids can enjoy together.

Habits: We’ve all got ‘em … and we all wonder why we aren’t better at changing them. This week’s guest has the answer to that question.  Wendy Wood has spent 30 years researching human behavior and is the leading expert on habits and change. Her new book, Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, helps explain how we form habits, what habits really are and why so much of what we’ve believed about changing habits is wrong.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What is a habit?
• How long it really takes to change a habit
• Why creating the right environment is critical to successfully changing habits

If you think that conflict is always bad for your relationship, think again. This episode’s guests are CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke, authors of the book, “The Beauty of Conflict for Couples.” As therapists, they’ve helped hundreds of couples reconcile their differences and get their relationships back on track—but they say it’s not about romance. They teach couples that the things we argue about often have the potential to pave the way to greater intimacy…if we learn how to use it properly.

In this podcast, you’ll learn:

• Why conflict can be the secret ingredient to reaching relationship goals.
• How to use the 5/5/5 Rule of Fighting.
• Why the small conflicts, not the big blowups, are relationship-killers.

Tiffany Shlain founded Character Day in 2013 as a way to recognize and celebrate the importance of character strengths. This year, she’s combining the celebration of Character Day on September 27-28 with the release of her new book, 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week. For Character Day, she is encouraging everyone to take the day off from their screens, following the Jewish tradition of Shabbat and using it to find more time, connection and well-being.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to get your family to participate in a weekly Tech Shabbat.
• Why taking a break from technology improves your well-being.
• How to implement your Tech Shabbat as part of Character Day.

We all have something we’d like to improve about ourselves, and this is the month to do it! September is Self-Improvement Month and that inspired Live Happy Now host Paula Felps and Live Happy editor Chris Libby to dig into the Live Happy Now archives and find their seven favorite podcasts for improving your life. Their seven tips are:

1. Embrace something you’re not good at.
2. Practice more self-compassion.
3. Get organized.
4. Hone your resilience skills.
5. Make a comeback.
6. Be more playful.
7. Practice kindness.

We’ve all heard that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But today’s guest actually wrote the book on how to make that lemonade.

Zack Friedman is the CEO and founder of Make Lemonade, a personal finance company that empowers individuals to live a better financial life. His new book, The Lemonade Life: How to Fuel Success, Create Happiness and Conquer Anything, looks at the five internal switches that we can learn to flip to find our purpose, maximize our potential, and—you got it—be happier.

He talks with us about those switches, how we can flip them and what it will do for us.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The difference between The Lemon Life and the Lemonade Life.
• What the 5 switches are, and what they can do for you.
• Why true success depends on finding purpose and meaning.

You’ve heard the old saying, “Kill them with kindness” – but what if the opposite was true? Kelli Harding, MD, MPH, is assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and author of the new book, The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness. Her book provides fascinating evidence of how kindness, compassion and human connection affect the body in profound ways—and how they can improve both our physical and mental health.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Our day-to-day social environment is key to our health and extends far beyond the doctor’s visits.
• Health is about creating positive connections to those around you and learning to navigate challenges and stress.
• To do what you can to create kindness for others.

While we don’t think much about them, our brainwaves are always busy—and they play a huge role in our well-being. When brainwaves get out of balance, it affects our sleep, our health and our relationships. Dr. Patrick Porter joins us this week to talk about how brainwaves influence our happiness and tells us some of the ways we can help keep them balanced.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How connecting with nature (grounding) can help you find balance.
• What lack of sleep does to our brainwaves.
• What biohacking is and how you can use it for your own well-being.

It’s a brand-new season of Live Happy Now, and what better way to kick it off than to sit down with Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz and talk about what’s new in the world of positive psychology? Deborah recently returned from the International Positive Psychology Association’s Sixth World Congress in Australia. In this episode, she talks with host Paula Felps about how positive psychology is changing – and how the way the world embraces it is changing, too.

If you’re a regular listener of Live Happy Now, you already know that we’re big fans of nature. While we talk a lot about the value of getting out in nature, this week’s guest is all about bringing nature inside.

Summer Rayne Oakes is an environmental scientist and sustainability expert who focuses on health and wellness. Her YouTube channel and website are is designed to help people who live in the city become more attuned to nature, and her new book, How to Make Your Plant Love You, looks at how to bring nature inside for greater happiness and well-being. This week, Summer talks about what houseplants do for our well-being and how we can live in nature…even when we’re indoors. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The physical, emotional and mental benefits of taking care of plants indoors.
• The best plants for beginners and the do’s and don'ts of watering your plants.
• How to become more attuned to nature in the city.

If you’re an introvert, you know just how terrifying it can be to do things like talk to strangers, throw a dinner party or—gulp—public speaking. For journalist Jessica Pan, overcoming life as a shy introvert meant going to extremes and living as an extrovert for an entire year.

With the help of “extrovert mentors,” Jessica tackled a daunting to-do list and then chronicled it in the hilarious but heartfelt new book, Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes. In this episode, she joins Live Happy Now host Paula Felps to talk about what made her want to overcome her introverted ways and how it has changed her life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why saying ‘yes’ can change your life.
• Why living outside of your comfort zone is good for you.
• That it is never too late to create positive habits.

You’ve heard the phrase, “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better”—but how often do you believe that? After hearing Louise Aronson, M.D., you might realize that the old adage is true.

As a geriatrician, writer and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, Louise gives us a completely new perspective on aging with her new book, Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life. In it, she describes how we can not only change our attitudes toward aging in others, but begin to anticipate and reframe the final decades of our lives.   

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The importance of knowing what you want next in life.
• How to start planning for happier elderhood—at any stage in life.
• Why elderhood is the perfect time to discover new passions.

We all have people in our lives that we love and appreciate, but have you ever thought about how good it is for you to show appreciation for others?

A new study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies shows that learning how to show appreciation for others can help you feel less stressed and can even reduce symptoms of depression. Live Happy editor Chris Libby joins us for this podcast to talk about why appreciation is so beneficial—and how you can get more of it in your life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why appreciation can help improve our home and work life.
• How to show more appreciation for others.
• Developing appreciation as a character strength.

Most of us focus on pursuing things we’re good at, but what if you like doing something … and discover you’re really bad at it?

Karen Rinaldi, publisher at Harper Wave—a book imprint she founded in 2012—finds happiness in being able to surf, even though she does it poorly. Learning to accept her “suckitude” on the surfboard, she says, has helped her be more forgiving of herself in other areas of her life. In her new book, (It’s Great to) Suck at Something, she looks at the gifts she’s gained from embracing imperfection and letting go of the need to succeed at everything. She talks to us about how this has helped her find joy in the pursuit of something rather than in reaching an end goal—and how you can, too.  

In this episode, you learn:

• Why it’s beneficial to try something you might not be good at.
• How not being good at something can invite kindness from those around you.
• How sucking at something can help build resilience.

All of us go through difficult times in life, but what do you do when you find yourself in a funk that you can’t get out of? That’s what Janeane Bernstein, Ed.D., wanted to find out after the death of her best friend from childhood. That tragic event launched a mission to discover how others have overcome their grief and led to creating her radio show, “Get the Funk Out.” She now has a book by the same name and explains why grief can be a springboard to happiness.

In this episode, you learn:

Why the worst thing that happens in your life can become the best thing in your life.

How to use grief to reconnect with your own feelings.

Why it’s important to use your creativity to overcome grief.

Every other year, the International Positive Psychology Association hosts a global gathering of leading researchers and practitioners to share the latest research and best practices in positive psychology. The 6^th World Congress of IPPA will be in Melbourne, Australia, July 18-21, 2019, and it offers a tremendous selection of topics on areas including: work and organizations, positive health and wellness, positive clinical psychology and more.

For this episode, current IPPA president and chair of the 6^th World Congress Lea Waters, Ph.D., talks about what to expect from this exciting global event.

Three things you’ll learn in this podcast:

• What to expect at the 6^th World Congress
• Key objectives of the conference
• How to reserve your spot now

What do you do if you’ve spent your life building the career of your dreams…but realize one day that you’ve forgotten to build the life of your dreams? If you’re Sheri Salata, you leave your high-profile position as co-president of Harpo Studios and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and, along with your BFF, and you start reinventing every area of your personal life.

In her book, The Beautiful No and Other Tales of Trial, Transcendence and Transformation, Sheri explains how she found the courage to leave behind the career she had carefully built and began creating the life of her dreams.

Three things you’ll learn in this podcast:

• Why failing at something can be fulfilling.
• The Eight Pillars to a balanced life.
• Why it’s never to late to start over.

Did you realize that women face different challenges than men when it comes to their happiness? With that in mind, Carin Rockind—creator of the PurposeGirl movement and founder of the Women’s Global Happiness Day, created the Women’s Happiness Summit. She’s bringing together experts in flourishing from around the globe with a uniquely feminine viewpoint, and she wants you to be a part of it. She’ll tell you what to expect and how you can be a part of it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why women are more depressed than men (and what you can do about it).
• Why getting support from other women is so important.
• How to participate in the free online Women’s Happiness Summit.

As founder and board chair of the Skees Family Foundation, Suzanne Skees has worked in developing countries to support innovative education and job creation programs. She has compiled the stories of the fascinating people she has met around the world into a book series called My Job: People at Work Around the World, and she says that along the way, she’s learned the way our jobs affect us—and what we can learn from them.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The five things you need to be happy at work.
• The importance of mindfulness at work.
• Why we need to work.

Character strengths hold the key to help you begin to know yourself better, and the more you know yourself, the more you can flourish. With their new book, The Power of Character Strengths: Appreciate and Ignite Your Positive Personality, Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D. and Robert E. McGrath, Ph.D., have written a powerful guide to understanding and using your character strengths. This week, Ryan joins Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz to talk about his new book and how we’re using our character strengths … whether we realize it or not.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What are character strengths and why do they matter?
• How we can spot and use character strengths.
• Actionable steps you can take to start using your strengths.

Each year, Gallup releases its Global Emotions Report, which measures life’s intangibles: feelings and emotions. Using its Positive Experience Index, Gallup measures our enjoyment of life and looks at who’s doing well … and who’s not. This year’s report showed that, even as our economy improved, Americans found themselves being more stressed, worried and angry in 2018. Live Happy editor Chris Libby and Live Happy Now host Paula Felps sat down to talk about what’s driving our negative emotions and what we can do about it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why self-care is so important in combating negative emotions
• How to turn off negativity (and the evening news)
• Practices for building positive emotion

Do you have something you’d like to change about yourself? If so, are you giving yourself the tools you need to make those changes? In this episode, Susan Hyatt—author of the book BARE and host of the Bare Podcast, looks at how the way we approach making changes has a lot to do with how successful those changes are. Whether it’s losing weight, changing jobs or committing to healthier relationships, she’ll give you a new way of thinking about creating your best life.

In this episode, you learn:

• Why finding pleasure might be better for you than willpower
• How discovering what gives you pleasure affects your physical and mental health
• Three things you can say “yes” to today

In today’s busy world, sometimes traditions get pushed aside. But blogger and author Jessica Smartt believes that making memories are the missing piece in today’s families. Her book Memory-Making Mom: Building Traditions That Breathe Life Into Your Home looks at how even the busiest family can rethink their day-to-day activities and create memory-making traditions.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How traditions help bring us together
• Ways to choose (and start) new family traditions
• How to join fellow moms on this journey

Even as our world becomes more connected, most of us are feeling less connected and more alone than ever before. Spiritual teacher, poet and author Mark Nepo’s latest book, More Together Than Alone: Discovering the Power and Spirit of Community in Our Lives and In Our World, looks at why we’re feeling so disconnected and how we can reconnect with others and learn to better accept one another’s differences.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What is making us less connected in today’s world
• How our addiction to noise and fear is changing the way we see the world
• What we can learn by listening without judgment

If you’re having trouble turning off your job and can’t seem to unplug from work, Bryan E. Robinson, Ph.D., has just the solution for you. A recovering workaholic himself, he understands how hard it is to step away from work addiction and make time for life. His book, #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn On Your Life, is a month-by-month guide to working less and living more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What happens to us at a cellular level when we’re always busy
• How meditation can change the way you work
• Simple ways to make unplugging easier

Each year, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network releases a comprehensive World Happiness Report to look at happiness from a global perspective. This year, the news isn’t exactly great for the U.S., so Live Happy Editor Chris Libby and Live Happy Now Host Paula Felps sat down to talk about what’s causing us to be less happy than we should be…and what we can do about it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How social media has contributed to our declining levels of happiness
• The benefits of being out in nature
• The surprising addictions that are undermining happiness

If you’ve ever felt that your fears are holding you back from creating the life you love, you’re not alone! This week, New York Times best-selling author Ruth Soukup and host of the Do It Scared podcast, joins us to talk about her new book, Do It Scared: Finding the Courage to Overcome Adversity, Face Your Fears and Create a Life You Love. She explains how all fear is not created equal and identifies the seven different Fear Archetypes that determine how we respond to fearful situations—and how to use our fear as a stepping stone to courage.

In this episode, you’ll learn:  

• Why each of us respond to fear in different ways
• How understanding your Fear Archetype can help you overcome your fears
• The quickest way to overcome your fear

If you have a child, teach a child or have been a child, then you’ll want to hear what Renee Jain has to say on this week’s episode of Live Happy Now. Renee, the founder of GoZen!, developed her company to help children deal with anxiety as well as building life skills to find meaning, purpose and engagement in their lives. On April 8–11, in conjunction with Live Happy, GoZen! Will present the Happy Child Summit, a free online experience designed to help adults and children better understand how to use the tools that lead to happiness in childhood (and beyond).

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What inspired Renee to start GoZen!
• The importance of equipping children with resilience skills
• How you can sign up to attend the Happy Child Summit

This week, it’s all about time as best-selling author and Google Venture design partner Jake Knapp joins us. Jake spent 10 years at Google, where he helped build products like Gmail and Google Hangouts, but perhaps his greatest accomplishment is figuring out how we can design our days to get more out of them. In this episode, he’s talking with Live Happy Now about his new book, Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day, and he teaches us how we can rearrange our days to match the priorities we want.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to identify the things in our lives worth making time for
• How to enjoy technology without letting it swallow all our time
• The joy of giving more focused time to people

Here at Live Happy Now, it’s not just another week; it’s time to celebrate our 200th episode! Live Happy’s Deborah Heisz and Paula Felps talk about how the podcast came to be and what listeners can look forward to in the future.  

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How Live Happy Now began—and how it’s evolved
• What we’ve learned during our first 199 episodes
• What to expect from Live Happy Now going forward

Author and advocate for positivity Shola Richards joins us to talk about how we can live in harmony when we work together. His latest book Go Together, covers the concept of the African philosophy of Unbuntu, which uses the power of human connectedness, compassion, kindness and togetherness to live happier, more productive lives. Shola is on a quest to show how to protect professionalism of our company cultures, the preciousness of our time, the strength of our talents, the dignity of ourselves and the mutual respect of one another.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The word “Ubuntu” and how it can positively change how you live, work and lead.
• How to identify the importance of civility, and why is it the key to healing our workplaces, our nation and the world.
• How to define workplace bullying, and know what to do if/when you are targeted.

Bestselling New York Times author Gretchen Rubin has spent more than a decade exploring what makes us happy. And, she’s found, one of the simplest ways to improve our well-being is to clear the clutter around us. Her latest book, Outer Order, Inner Calm offers more than 150 different ways to get rid of the clutter around us and create more order. In this episode, she explains the relationship between decluttering and happiness, and gives tips on how to make lasting changes.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What achieving outer order does for our happiness
• How to stop hanging on to what you no longer need
• Quick tips for clearing your space

Laird Hamilton plays a lot of roles in his life: surfing legend, fitness and nutrition expert, entrepreneur, TV host, model, stuntman, husband and father, just to name a few. No matter what he's doing, Laird uses five key pillars to guide his actions and improve his life. His new book, Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul and Life Beyond the Ocean, explains those five pillars and how each of us can use them. Laird joins us on the Live Happy Now podcast to explain how he developed his inward-looking viewpoint and why he values his connection to nature.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why death and fear can be our greatest teachers
• The importance of connecting with nature
• Why we need to understand that everything is connected

Her groundbreaking book, Reviving Ophelia, psychologist Mary Pipher changed the way we looked at girls and adolescence. Now, with her 10th book, she is doing for aging what she did for adolescence, providing a wise and heartfelt guide to happiness in later life. Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age provides an engaging and uplifting examination of how to thrive in life’s later stages and how the struggles we face can help us become the people we’ve always wanted to be. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How the end years of life can be the happiest time
• The role of humor and gratitude in later life
• Why mercy is a valuable quality to develop

For many people, Valentine’s Day can be fraught with danger. If you’re in a relationship, you might be worried that it won’t meet your expectations; if you’re single, it might make you feel lonely. This week, relationship expert Stacy Kaiser, author of the popular Ask Stacy column for Live Happy, takes on some of the questions that are common around this time of year and offers her gives insight on how to get what you need from this Valentine’s Day – and how to make that last all year long.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why we put so much emphasis on this day – and how to put it into perspective
• How to communicate your expectations before Valentine’s Day arrives
• Great ways for singles to celebrate Valentine’s Day

Have you ever wondered what happened to your playful side? If so, you’re not alone! Anthony DeBenedet, M.D., is author of the book, Playful Intelligence: The Power of Living Lightly in a Serious World. As a medical doctor and behavioral science enthusiast, Anthony explains how playfulness help us counteract some of the seriousness of our everyday life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The link between humor and resilience.
• How playfulness can help us be nicer to one another.
• The power of wonder in our daily lives.

Most of us ask ourselves the same question every day: What do we need to do, and how will we get it done? But New York Times bestselling author Daniel Pink says that we need to be asking a different question:  When should we do it? His latest book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, looks at how the way we time our decisions can change our days, our jobs and our relationships. In this episode, he explains why the right timing is so crucial and how you can use it to make more of each day.

Three things you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why we should take the question of “when” as seriously as “who,” “what” and “how”
• What times of the day are most productive
• Why you should take more breaks

We’re all looking for a little more happiness in our lives, and author Alli Worthington’s new book is designed to give us the map to find it. In this episode, Alli—a business coach, podcaster, speaker and mother of five—tells us how to find greater happiness through simple practices.

Three things you’ll learn from Alli:

• How to create your own happiness trigger
• Why busyness is such a threat to our happiness
• The importance or relationships in happiness

March is just around the corner, and here at Live Happy that means its time to get ready for the International Day of Happiness on March 20. In this episode, Live Happy marketing manager Britney Chan and editor Chris Libby talk about what the International Day of Happiness is all about, what our #HappyActs are all about and how you can get involved.

In this episode you'll learn:

• How you can be part of this year’s celebrations
• How to make your own happiness wall
• Ways to get your community involved in the celebration

If you’re looking for books that will get your new year off to a great start, this week’s podcast will hit the spot. Live Happy Books Editor Sandra Bilbray tells us about five fantastic books worth picking up and tells us what you can expect to learn from each one.

Have you ever felt like the stress and busyness in your life is never-ending? Being overwhelmed can make you feel like your life is out of control and that isn’t good for your mental or physical health. Samantha Brody, ND, author of Overcoming Overwhelm: Dismantle Your Stress From the Inside Out, shares her insight on how we can restore more balance in our lives by preventing stress from turning into overwhelm.

If you want to get the new year off to a great start, then this is the podcast for you! This week, Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz joins us to talk about 5 practices that can bring you greater joy in 2019—and beyond.

What does it mean to live as a wholebeing? At the Wholebeing Institute, they not only answer that question, but offer the tools to make it happen. On this episode, Wholebeing Institute co-founder Megan McDonough explains the science of whole-person well-being and engagement—and how it can elevate us as we enter the new year.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and for many people, that’s accompanied by a lot of holiday headaches and seasonal stress. Nancy Jane Smith, author of The Happier Approach: Be Kind to Yourself, Feel Happier and Still Accomplish Your Goals, has some helpful (and often humorous) tips on how to survive the holidays with your happiness intact.

Finding more happiness in your life doesn’t have to be hard. In this episode, journalist, New York Times–bestselling author and excavator of fascinating facts Alex Palmer joins us to talk about his latest book Happiness Hacks and how we can use simple science-based shortcuts to increase our daily happiness and well-being.

It’s Thanksgiving week, which means there’s a lot of talk about being grateful and giving thanks. Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz joins us this week to talk about the amazing power of gratitude and why it’s so important not just at Thanksgiving, but as a daily practice.

Sasha Heinz, Ph.D., MAPP, Developmental Psychologist and life coach, is an expert in Positive Psychology, lasting behavioral change and the science of getting unstuck. Through her private practice, she helps women feel as good as their life looks. A graduate of Harvard University and a working mom, she’s lived life on the frontline of the battle with perfectionism. So she can help you with that, too.

With his breakthrough book, “The Genie in Your Genes,” Dawson Church, Ph.D., showed the scientific connection between emotion and genetics. Now, with his fascinating follow up, “Mind to Matter,” he looks at the science of achieving our peak mental states, how the energy around us affects our hearts and minds … and how we can change our state to build a happier, healthier life.

Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D., also known as Dr. Success, is an author, speaker and executive coach who uses the practices of positive psychology to manifest success in the business world. Having worked as an entrepreneur as well as the executive level, Andrea uses her experience to teach business leaders how to implement the principles of positive psychology to find both personal fulfillment and greater career success with her Las Vegas-based company, Serving Success. Andrea joins Science Editor Paula Felps to discuss how positivity and character strengths can lead to personal success, as well as other top secrets that lead to a flourishing life.

Dr. Robert Zembroski specializes in functional medicine and clinical nutrition. As a board-certified chiropractic neurologist, he has spent much of his career helping people rebuild their lives after illness and injury. And when he was diagnosed with cancer, he used those same techniques to rebuild his own life. 

Dr. “Z”—as his patients call him—is the author of Rebuild and on today’s podcast, he’ll tell you how you can start rebuilding your health, regardless of where you are and what you’re facing.

Have you ever felt like your barber knew everything about life? Well, leading expert happiness and Harvard professor Tal Ben-Shar did, and he even wrote a book about it. Tal joins us on the Live Happy Now podcast to talk about his latest book, Short Cuts to Happiness: Life Changing Lessons From My Barber, which chronicles his visits with his neighborhood barber, Avi. Throughout the years, Avi’s barber shop has been the neighborhood hub of social connectivity as he hands out priceless wisdom on how to live a happy life—all for the small fee of a haircut.

When Colten Moore and his older brother, Caleb, competed for the first time in the 2010 X Games, they made a lasting impression. Specializing in freestyle and trick snowmobiling, the Texas brothers showed they were fearless, fierce and incredibly close to each other. They quickly became top athletes in the sport and were counting on taking home the gold and silver in 2013—although they argued over which brother would take the top spot. But their careers took a tragic turn during that competition: Both brothers crashed during their runs, and Caleb passed away a few days later as a result of his injuries.

Colten has continued to compete and is using his experiences to encourage and inspire others. In 2016, he released his autobiography, Chasing the Sky, which tells his story of loss, resilience and the importance of family bonds.

Lea Waters, Ph.D., is more than just the current president of the International Positive Psychology Association; she’s also a researcher and expert on character strengths—and the mother of two. Her latest book, The Strength Switch: How the New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish showed parents how focusing on children’s strengths instead of trying to correct their weaknesses can yield extraordinary results.

Now, Lea has created an online course based on The Strength Switch to give families the tools they need to put her findings into practice. In this episode of Live Happy Now, Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz talks to Lea about how (and why) strengths-based parenting can benefit every family.

If your internal critic and busy schedule keep you from the creative pursuits you enjoy, this interview—and a new book by actress Keiko Agena—are for you. Keiko, best known as Lane Kim on the TV show Gilmore Girls, wrote and illustrated No Mistakes: A Perfect Workbook for Imperfect Artists, for anyone looking to nuture their “wild, wacky” and more spirited side. In No Mistakes, interspersed with coloring pages and her original artwork, Keiko guides you through simple exercises based on one of the founding ideas of improv: Any misstep is an opportunity for growth and creativity.

Rick Hanson is one of the foremost experts on neural networks and a New York Times best-selling author. With his latest book, Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness, Rick gives us the tools to develop our inner strengths and stay strong—no matter what life throws at you.

Have you ever wondered if you are having a midlife crisis or can’t figure out why you’re more worried or down than you were just a few years ago? Journalist Jonathan Rauch explains why that disheartened feeling in your 40s and 50s is not a crisis but instead a normal part of the aging process. His book, The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, delivers hope for plenty of happiness in midlife and beyond. While we can’t always skip over the low points, Jonathan provides great tips and guidance to help fend off and triumph over those negative feelings.

What does it take to be happy at home? Interior designer Rebecca West has a few ideas that might surprise you. The author of the book, Happy Starts at Home: Getting the Life You Want By Changing the Space You’ve Got and founder of the company Seriously.Happy.Homes joins us this week to talk about how you can make any space your happy place.

It’s hard to imagine our little ones dealing with stress and anxiety, but they do suffer more than we think. Nick Ortner, New York Times best-selling author of The Tapping Solution, joins the Live Happy Now podcast to discuss his latest book about mindful breathing for young children. My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing is a colorful and interactive story designed to teach the basic principles of calming breathing techniques. The book is also a great conversation starter for teachers and parent to encourage children to talk about their feelings.

Scott Crabtree, founder of the company Happy Brain Science, has spent years studying positive psychology and what makes us happy. But when Scott combined his love of game design with his passion for positive psychology, he blazed an entirely new trail by creating the game, Choose Happiness @ Work.

Today, Scott tells us how the very things that make us happy when playing games are the same things that make us happy at work — and then he explains how we can all gamify our lives to create greater happiness at work.

Dr. Joe Bates wants to make your brain hum. The award-winning double board-certified psychiatrist and pediatrician is spending his “retirement” working with veterans at the Tyler VA Clinic in Tyler, Texas. He has been recognized by Mensa for his work with cognitive remediation training, and now he’s created a way for people of all ages to make their brains work smarter, not harder.

His new book, Making Your Brain Hum: 12 Weeks to A Smarter You, uses a technique he developed called braincardio™, which is designed to use “brain workouts” to build confidence, hope, well-being and energy.

Also in this episode, we talk with dog trainer John Miller, who tells us how to make back-to-school time easier on everyone in the house—including our canine family members.

Kristin Neff, PhD., is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion as well as associate professor of human development and culture at the University of Texas at Austin. Her groundbreaking insights on how to nurture self-compassion, along with research into the role self-compassion plays in our overall well-being, has led to academic courses on the topic as well as online courses, audio programs and books.

Her latest project, The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, walks readers through a step-by-step process to help build a greater sense of self-compassion.

Gretchen Rubin is the author of several books, including the New York Time best-sellers Better Than Before, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. Her newest book, The Four Tendencies, is about a personality framework she devised that divides people into four personality profiles.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How to understand yourself better
• How to understand other people better
• How to create change more effectively

Each week, Live Happy Radio presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. This week we look at the following facts:

• The secret to well-balanced happiness may include embracing emotions that aren’t very pleasant, such as anger, sadness and contempt.
• People who engage with one another through live music or dance have higher levels of well-being.
• You can spice up your marriage...by showing a little more gratitude.

GripTape is an initiative committed to putting young people in the driver's seat of their learning. They create opportunities for youth to follow their passions — as inventors, designers, and producers, actively constructing their path for success and supporting other young people to do the same. The GripTape Learning Challenge is a call to action to youth to design, create, and execute their own learning journeys.

What you’ll learn in this podcast:

• Why the way formal schooling traditionally functions can be an impediment to the development of agency
• The "supports" that adults often put in place in service of helping youth to develop and learn run counter to the development of independence
• The 3 things young people request to better own and drive their own learning

Each week, Live Happy Radio presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. This week we look at the following facts:

• People who traded cash for time were found to be less anxious at the end of the day and reported less stress as well.
• People who go to concerts are more satisfied with their lives.
• Encouraging your employees to practice meditation can increase happiness and productivity.

Each week, Live Happy Radio presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. This week, in honor of Character Day on Sept. 13, we’re talking about character strengths.

Sarah Ockwell-Smith is a mother of four children, founder of the parenting website GentleParentingInternational.com and author of eight parenting books, including the upcoming release Gentle Discipline.

What you’ll learn in this podcast:

• How to effectively discipline your children for a peaceful, harmonious family life
• How to raise kids who will be emotionally intelligent, confident and independent
• How to control your temper and reduce yelling in the household

Mithu Storoni is an author, physician, and researcher. She qualified in Medicine from the University of Cambridge and trained in Ophthalmology before undertaking research at the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, London where she was a Clinical Research Fellow before relocating to Hong Kong.

What you’ll learn in this podcast:

• One behavior that can dramatically reduce the impact of a stressful moment
• Why you need a pleasure ‘piggy-bank’
• Why chronic stress is the price we pay for having a plastic brain

Elliot Berkman is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon and Director of the Social and Affective Neuroscience Lab. He studies the motivational and cognitive factors that contribute to success and failure at health goals such as cigarette smoking cessation and dieting. His work uses knowledge of brain function, structure, and connectivity to design and improve interventions on health behavior and wellbeing.

What you’ll learn in this podcast:

• Achieving goals is not as important to well-being as striving for them
• Why habits are hard to break and how you can create better habits
• How to overcome temptations to create lasting change

Each week, Live Happy presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. Here’s a look at what we’re talking about this week:

• People who get paid by the hour are happier by the minute.
• Most of the world is in a good mood.
• Next time you're not feeling well, maybe you need a playlist, not a prescription.

Dr. Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times bestselling author (Bankable Leadership). With a PhD in organizational psychology, she is also the founder of The Eurich Group, where she’s helped thousands of leaders and teams improve their effectiveness through greater self-awareness.

What you’ll learn in this podcast:

• How to make better career and life choices through a better understanding of your values, aspirations, strengths and weaknesses, and impact on others
• The anatomy of a self-aware leader
• How to deal with a boss, friend, in-law or sibling who completely lacks any self-awareness

Explore some of the fun facts that are shared in the October 2017 issue of Live Happy magazine.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Lifelong learning makes you more optimistic and satisfied with life.
• It’s never too late to find purpose, even if you’ve retired.
• Your boss’ competence is the biggest predictor of your happiness on the job.

Lea Waters is an Australian positive psychology expert and educator who specializes in positive education, parenting and organizations. Her first book The Strength Switch: How the New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish shows how focusing on our children’s strengths rather than trying to correct their weaknesses may be the key in raising a resilient, optimistic and successful child.

What you’ll learn in this podcast:

• What is strength-based parenting and what are its benefits
• How to address your child’s weaknesses
• Two easy tips to implement strength-based parenting

Performing under the stage name Stealing Oceans, Nashville-based artist Brian Thompson uses his hip-hop fusion music to inspire and encourage others. After overcoming battles with addiction and depression, he decided to use his own life challenges to help those who are experiencing similar struggles. 

That led to creating the #ThisIsMySelfCare mental health awareness campaign, which he launched to promote positive self-care and build awareness about mental health organizations that can provide help and hope.

Dan Tomasulo, Ph.D., is a sought-after speaker and author on topics including positive psychology, positive education and positive psychotherapy. His new book, American Snake Pit: Hope, Grit and Resilience in the Wake of Willowbrook, tells the story of the fallout after the closing of New York state’s most controversial state hospital for the mentally disabled. After a groundbreaking expose from Geraldo Rivera about the horrendous living conditions at Willowbrook State School, including overcrowding, patient abuse and questionable treatment methods, plans were made to close its doors. Dan, then a young post-graduate student, was hired to relocate and treat its most seriously disabled residents.

Emily Larson is a researcher, instructor and practitioner in the fields of education and public policy. As director for the International Positive Education Network (IPEN), which was formed by Martin Seligman, Angela Duckworth and Sir Anthony Seldon, Emily is part of a movement that is turning the academic research surrounding positive psychology into practical lesson plans and interventions for educators and students. In this episode, Emily talks with Live Happy CEO and IPEN Advisory Board member Deborah K. Heisz about how positive education is changing the way students learn and tells listeners about the upcoming World Positive Education Accelerator.

If someone’s ever told you to “take a hike,” chances are you never took it as seriously as Jennifer Pharr Davis. Named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Jennifer has hiked more than 13,000 miles on six continents. She was the first woman to set a Fastest Known Time on the Appalachian Trail, and during her time on the trails she has learned some incredible things about setting goals, bouncing back and pushing through.

Inspired by an unfortunate toxic work environment in her first job out of college, Christine Porath took on the topic of workplace incivility and its cost to both companies and employees. She’s been running with it ever since. Christine Porath, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and the author of Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace and co-author of The Cost of Bad Behavior. She works with leading organizations to help them create thriving workplaces.

Music has the power to change lives, and nowhere is that more evident than in the powerful SongwritingWith:Soldiers program. This unique program pairs members of the military with professional songwriters to craft songs about their experiences. Through their songs, they learn to release pain, tell their stories and build a strong bond with one another. Program co-founder Mary Judd and singer/songwriter Jay Clementi talk about the power of the program—and what it’s taught them.

How do you encourage children to thrive when their lives are filled with stress and trauma? As executive director of the Momentous Institute in Dallas, Michelle Kinder carries on a century-old mission to help children overcome trauma and toxic stress to learn how to live happy, healthy lives. She talks with us to show how their practices are changing the lives of entire generations of family — and tells us what we all can learn from them.

Becky Blades is author and illustrator of the award-winning book Do Your Laundry or You’ll Die Alone: Advice Your Mom Would Give if She Thought You Were Listening. You can also find her writing on blogs including Oprah.com, The Huffington Post and Grown and Flown, or follow her on Twitter and Facebook at LaundryorDie.

When Pat Graves was going through a difficult time in his life, he flipped out. But not in the way you might think: He committed to doing a backflip every day and videotaped his flips for an audience that quickly grew. Doing flips reconnected him with something he had loved doing since he was a child and also gave him a mission. Find out how his simple idea launched the #InspireHappiness movement, and how he is using it to spread joy while maintaining his own balance.

World-renowned developmental psychologist Thomas Lickona, Ph.D., joins the Live Happy Now podcast to discuss his latest book, How to Raise Kind Kids: And Get Respect, Gratitude, and a Happier Family in the Bargain.

Wouldn’t it be great if kids came with a handbook? Well they don’t, so How to Raise Kind Kids may be the next best thing. Join us for this episode of Live Happy Now as we talk to Thomas and tackle issues such as reducing screen time, developing positive attitudes and what to do in challenging situations.

As director of the Resilience and Positive Psychology Training program at the Psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Karen Reivich specializes in what makes us bounce back from adversity. Join us as she shares the attributes that help us create more resilience in our lives—and how we can teach our children to become more resilient, too.

Tipper Gore stepped into the spotlight as wife of Al Gore, who would go on to become vice president and then a presidential candidate. During her time at the White House, Tipper focused much of her energy on bringing awareness to mental health issues. Today, she continues to work on initiatives to help give a voice to those who are affected by anxiety and depression and to help create more understanding about those conditions.

Most of us wish we had just a little more free time in the day. Now, Live Happy host Jeff Sanders tells us how we all can discover free time that we didn’t even know we had! Jeff, who is host of the top-ranking weekly podcast on productivity, The 5 AM Miracle Podcast, shares some of the secrets from his new book, The Free-Time Formula. He tells us how we can get more out of each day—and how productivity and happiness go hand in hand.

Senior editor of New York magazine and health journalist Melissa Dahl has released her first book, Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness, about the science behind those less than comfortable moments in our lives. Melissa joins the podcast to discuss why we have awkwardness and how embracing the cringeworthy moments in life can help us grow into emotionally stronger people.

John Miller has built a career out of training the dogs that others have given up on. From shelters and rescue groups to working with families, John has saved many dogs from being destroyed through his unique approach that uses practices that turn out to be good for humans, too. Whether you have a troubled pet or just want to be a better leader for the dog in your home, John provides insight into how we all can have a happier relationship with our four-legged friends.

Psychiatrist, author and farmer Drew Ramsey, M.D., is one of psychiatry’s leading voices when it comes to using nutrition as a form of mental health interventions. An assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and chair of the American Psychiatric Association Council on Communications, Drew also is founder of the Brain Food Clinic in New York City, which offers treatment for depression, anxiety and emotional wellness concerns by relying upon the latest in brain science, nutrition and mental health research.

In this episode, Live Happy’s own Chris Libby, Donna Stokes and Paula Felps give you a preview of what to expect in the latest issue of Live Happy magazine. Then we talk with developer Jeremy Fischbach, who combined his background in psychology with his personal experiences to create an app that pairs users with a compassionate listener. Despite our increasingly connected world, sometimes it’s hard to find someone you can really talk to. Research shows that loneliness is a growing—and dangerous—problem, but now there’s an app for that!

Acclaimed artist Stefan Sagmeister’s work has been enjoyed around the world; in addition to gracing the album covers of such artists as the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Jay-Z, Stefan has mounted art exhibitions in cities including Zurich, Vienna, Prague, Seoul and New York. In 2016, he released The Happy Film, a seven-year project he created to chronicle his journey to find greater happiness.

As founder and Chief Operating Officer of WOHASU LLC, which produces the World Happiness Summit and H-20 government meeting, Karen Guggenheim is committed to helping others choose happiness and then spread it to others. While her mission is one of building a more joyous, enlightened world, her journey to happiness actually was born from a very tragic event: the sudden death of her husband. Find out how this life-changing tragedy led to creating an event designed to change the lives of others for the better.

Ken Page is a well-known psychotherapist and blogger for both Psychology Today and The Huffington Post who specializes in topics related to intimacy and spirituality. In his best-selling book, Deeper Dating: How to Drop the Games of Seduction and Discover the Power of Intimacy, he teaches readers how to find lasting, more fulfilling relationships.

New Zealand native Brent Williams was a successful human rights attorney when a debilitating illness halted his career. The depression that overtook him not only ended his career, but also destroyed relationships with friends and family. In his new graphic novel, Out of the Woods, he chronicles his personal journey through depression while also sharing self-help strategies and some of the latest research on depression.

Dr. Andrea Brandt is a psychotherapist, speaker and author with nearly four decades of experience. Although she is a pioneer in the treatment of anger issues, she recently began going in a new direction to look at how we can age better. Her latest book, Mindful Aging: Embracing Your Life After 50 to Find Fulfillment, Purpose, and Joy,” looks at how we all bring more joy to the way we age—no matter what age we are.

In the movies, happily ever after comes pretty easily. In real life? Not so much. But the husband and wife team of Suzann Pileggi Pawelski, a writer with a Master of Applied Positive Psychology degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and James Pawelski, Ph.D., professor of Practice and Director of Education in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, have learned a few things about what it takes to be “Happy Together.” That’s the name of their new book, Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love that Lasts, and in this podcast they share the secrets of what it takes to create deep, lasting love.

Dr. Jenny Taitz is is a board-certified cognitive behavioral clinical psychologist who offers people proven tools to enhance their life. She has presented her novel clinical application on mindfulness and managing emotions at national and international conferences. Her new book, How to be Single and Happy, applies those principles to life in the dating world.

Merlin Thomas is a physician, scientist and program leader in the newly created Department of Diabetes at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Merlin is widely recognized as an opinion leader, researcher and medical storyteller, and he specializes in how to live longer…and better. He’s author of several best-selling books including The Longevity List and Fast Living Slow Aging as well as his podcast The Chopping List.

MJ Ryan is one of the creators of the Random Acts of Kindness book series and the author of several books, including The Happiness Makeover, The Power of Patience and Attitudes of Gratitude. MJ has mastered the art of living in gratitude, and says that anyone can find more joy by applying this simple practice. She’ll teach us how we can improve our workplace, our relationships and our personal lives with a little more gratitude.

Thomas Moore is the New York Times bestselling author of Care of the Soul, as well as many other books on deepening soul and cultivating a mature spiritual life, three of which have received the Books for a Better Life Award. At turns he has been a monk, a musician, a university professor, and a psychotherapist. Today he lectures widely on creating a more soulful world and spirituality.

Courtney Carver is one of the world’s top bloggers on the topic of minimalism and author of the new book, Soulful Simplicity. Courtney’s simple experiment to live with less stuff grew into a complete overhaul of her mind, body and spirit. She found that clearing her physical space improved her psychological space, too—and has learned firsthand how ridding ourselves of excess can actually lead to enjoying more of what life has to offer.

Andrea Petersen is a science and health reporter who hasn’t just studied anxiety from a reporter’s standpoint; she has lived with it. Her new book, On Edge: A Journey Through Anxiety gives an honest and heartfelt account of living with anxiety and how she learned to come to terms with it. Andrea looks at how anxiety affected her, how she overcame it, and shows us some of the groundbreaking research that’s being done on anxiety.

Singer BJ Thomas has enjoyed nearly half a century in the music business, selling more than 70 million records and winning multiple Dove and Grammy awards. When Hurricane Harvey devastated his hometown of Houston, he knew he wanted to help, and that his music was the best way to do that. Here’s how he turned a song into a cause, and what it means to him to be able to give back.

Stephen Cope is a Senior Scholar-in-Residence and a Kripalu Ambassador. He is a Western-trained psychotherapist who writes and teaches about the relationship between Western psychological paradigms and the Eastern contemplative traditions. In its 25th anniversary edition, Yoga Journal named him one of the most important innovators in the developing field of American yoga.

Niki Brantmark is the founder and creator of the award-winning daily interior design blog My Scandinavian Home, which was inspired by her move to Sweden from London. Niki has an MA in psychology from the University of Edinburgh and she talks about Lagom (Law-gom) the swedish art of living a balanced, happy life.

Ken Druck, Ph.D., is an award-winning mental health expert specializing in parenting, aging, and resilience training. After some of the nation's worst tragedies. Dr. Druck's many books, including The Real Rules of Life and The Secrets Men Keep, have been featured on Oprah, The New York Times, NPR, CNN, and in countless other media.

Dive into these fun facts on this week's episode of #HappyFacts.

• Smiling baseball players tend to live longer
• Exercise makes you happy, especially if you are old
• Your age helps determine what makes you happy at work

Take a peek into the newest issue of Live Happy magazine and learn more about these fun facts:

• Research shows that spirituality is the leading character strength associated with a meaningful life.
• Practicing gratitude may help you live longer.
• Having purpose in your life every day may result in better sleep.
• When in dire situations, simply expressing gratitude can brighten your outlook!
• When it comes to happiness, your location matters
• Research shows that when children have knowledge of their family history, it can have positive effects on their psychological well-being

Dan Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author. He is an explorer, educator, author, producer, storyteller and public speaker.

Patty Van Cappellen is the director of the Interdisciplinary Behavioral Research center at Duke University. She studies the affective and motivational determinants and consequences of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices.

This week's facts include:

• Being in a good mood while getting a flu shot can boost its effectiveness. A study from the University of Notthingham found that of all the factors researchers looked at, a positive mood is the only factor that was associated with a higher level of antibody with an 8 to 14% variance.
• Boredom can be good for you! So, maybe you're one of those people who would rather staple their tongue to a piece of paper than be bored, but it turns out that boredom has many benefits (beyond not leading you to poke holes in your body).
• Smiles can be used to convey twice as many indifferent to unhappy emotions as they can happy ones.

Sometimes it's not about bad things happening...it's about the good things that are not happening. Like finding a soul-mate, being able to afford a nice vacation, or finally moving into that dream home.

Louisa Jewell holds a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and is the Founder and President of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association. After learning how to permanently overcome depression, she's now focused on what she loves most: helping other people take control of their own happiness and lead a positive, fulfilling life.

Megan Alexander is one of the youngest rising stars in the television news industry. For the past decade she has carved a solid carer as a TV Host, Producer, Speaker and Actress. She can be seen every evening as a correspondent on the longest-running, top rated syndicated national news magazine television show INSIDE EDITION.

Ken Baker, the Los Angeles–based senior correspondent for E! News, has worked in entertainment news for more than twenty years. In between interviews with A-list celebrities amidst the land of fairy tales and double-dealing, Ken came to realize his spiritual cup was evaporating and it was up to him to fill it back up again. His new book The Ken Commandments: My Search for God in Hollywood reveals a world that is deeper and more God-centered than many of us might ever imagine.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The most important question that prompted Ken's question in faith
• Advice on creating your own spiritual journey
• A glimpse into the world of spirituality in Hollywood

In this episode Live Happy shares Happy Facts:

• Your friends can pick up your good mood…but they can pick up your bad one too.
• Your nose knows how to make you happy.
• If you want to live a longer life, dedicate some of it to making the lives of others better.

It’s not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will help make them successful human beings. This week learn how to raise positive and gritty teens with Dr. Caren Feldman and Molly Dahl.

About Molly Dahl

Molly Dahl is author of Youth Positive, Exploring the Unique Genius of Every 21st Century Adolescent and The YOUTH Positive Teacher’s Guide. She conducts teacher trainings and workshops, and presents YOUTH Positive and Positive Education at conferences around the country. She holds a Certificate in Positive Psychology from The Wholebeing Institute.

About Caren Feldman

Dr. Caren Baruch-Feldman is a clinical psychologist and a certified school psychologist. Providing in-services, interactive workshops, and now writing her first book, titled, The Grit Guide for Teens are the highlight of Dr. Feldman’s professional life.

Each week Live Happy radio presents #HappyFacts. This week's facts include:

Managing like a coach can lead to greater company loyalty.

Thinking about death is good for you.

The secret to happiness depends on how well you thrive.

Dr. Partha Nandi is the creator and host of the medical lifestyle television show, Ask Dr. Nandi. Dr. Nandi is also the Chief Health Editor at WXYZ (ABC) Detroit, a practicing physician and a renowned international speaker. His new book Ask Dr. Nandi shares the 5 steps to becoming your own #HealthHero for longevity, well-being and a joyful life.

What you’ll learn in this podcast:

• What it means to be a health hero
• An introduction to his book Ask Dr. Nandi
• The 5 pillars to being a health hero

Each week, Live Happy Radio presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. This week we discuss:

• Pet dogs can help kids feel less stressed during anxious moments.
• If you want to put some romance back in your marriage, watch internet videos of puppies.
• Pets can provide the same psychological benefits as a close friend.

Each week, Live Happy Radio presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. Here’s a look at what we’re talking about this week:

• Maybe its the sunrise, maybe its the coffee, maybe it's the Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries, but people are at their most positive in the mornings.
• Biking to work may save your life, or at the very least, make your day great.
• Do smart phones create stupid people? 

After producing and hosting over 1500 segments of ESPN Sport Science, 6 times Emmy Award-winning host and The New York Times best-selling author, John Brenkus, recognized that “high achievers” tend to share a similar story of attaining success. Through The Brink of Midnight podcast, John explores the moments that guests credit with changing their lives forever. Those moments that pushed them in an unexpected direction, shaping the experiences that followed and molding them into the people who they are today.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The inspiration behind The Brink of Midnight podcast
• What goes into creating life-changing moments
• Inspirational stories from sports figures, celebrities and more

Each week, Live Happy Radio presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. Here’s a look at what we’re talking about this week:

• Paying your bills makes you happy
• Swinging can teach kids to be more collaborative
• Remembering the good old days can help you appreciate the good new days

Jaime Kurtz is Associate Professor of Psychology at James Madison University. Her research on happiness and savoring has been published widely in scientific journals, receiving national attention from NPR and The Today Show, as well as in print and online magazines. In her book, The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations, Jaime looks at how travel can boost happiness and how we can get more of its benefits.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How experiences are more influential to your happiness than material things
• How to get more out of your vacations
• Tips for a happy homecoming

Each week, Live Happy Radio presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. Here’s a look at what we’re talking about this week:

• Friends over family?
• Deep thoughts for happy people.
• Craving coffee? Take the stairs!

Garry McDaniel is an award-winning professor teaching courses in leadership, organizational behavior and management. He has written books on leadership strategy, conflict management, and most recently, The Dog’s Guide to Your Happiness: Seven secrets for a better life from man’s best friend. Garry is a frequent on topics such as developing leadership skills, how to create an inspirational workplace, life balance, and what humans and businesses can learn from dogs to improve their lives.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• Seven attributes of dogs from which humans can learn and build their own happiness
• What is keeping you from being happy now
• Steps you can take to improve your feeling of happiness and fulfillment

Each week, Live Happy Radio presents #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. Here’s a look at what we’re talking about this week:

• Music is medicine
• Joy is contagious
• Could this be your happy place? 

Caroline Miller is recognized as one of the world’s leading positive psychology experts in the areas of goal setting and accomplishment, grit, happiness and success and how to apply it to one’s life for maximum transformation and growth. In her book Getting Grit she provides an evidence-based approach to cultivating passion, perseverance and purpose.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The different types of bad grit
• Why goal setting is so important to your overall well-being
• Steps to take to reach your full potential

Each week explore our favorite #HappyFacts designed to enlighten, educate and entertain you. Here’s a look at what we’re talking about this week:

• Eat Your Veggies!
• Catch Some Zzzzzzzs
• Big Bloom Theory

Lani Shiota completed her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology at University of California, Berkeley, in 2003, and then received post-doctoral training in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab. She established the Shiota Psychophysiology Laboratory for Affective Testing (a.k.a. SPLAT Lab), which studies human emotions, relationships, and awe. Awe has been defined as the positive emotion one may experience when confronting a vast stimulus that is not accounted for by one's current understanding, and/or challenges one’s day-to-day scope of experience.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to tap into awe
• Why experiencing awe is so important
• The research being conducted on the benefits of awe

Explore some of the fun facts that are shared in the July 2017 issue of Live Happy magazine.

• You can slow time down by doing things that leave you awe-struck.
• Cities with more public grass are happier and healthier.
• There are five characteristics that the most long-lived cultures seem to share, and one of them is that they don’t exercise.

Jack Kornfield is one of the best known, most respected meditation teachers in the world. A psychologist and founder of two of the largest Buddhist Centers and communities in America, he is one of the key teachers who introduced mindfulness to the West. Jack has taught at major universities and medical schools including Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, and Berkeley, teaches weekly classes to 400 at Spirit Rock, and to large crowds nationwide at retreats and conferences.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to be more mindful in the present
• The benefits of meditation to your overall well-being
• How to reset and find your center

Mike Massimino served with NASA from 1996 to 2014, and is the veteran of two space flights to the Hubble Space Telescope. Spaceman is the tale of his unlikely journey to becoming an astronaut, from his small town in Long Island, to Columbia and MIT, to NASA, and finally to the cosmos. It’s a testament to the importance of following your dreams, no matter how out of this world they may seem, and to the power of teamwork to achieve impossible goals.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The journey of becoming an astronaut
• The freedom you can achieve when you follow your dreams
• What it's like to look down at Earth from space

Ora Nadrich is a Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher and author of Says Who? How One Simple Question Can Change the Way You Think Forever. In Says Who, Ora Nadrich has created an incredibly easy to follow method to get rid of negative thoughts, taking away all their power over us. It will work for anyone. It starts by realizing that we are in control over our own thoughts, and we get to decide who stays.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• 7 questions to ask yourself to help banish negative thinking
• Why most of our negative thoughts don't even belong to us
• Why we find negative thoughts so comforting

Steve Kamb is the author of Level Up Your Life: How to Unlock Adventure and Happiness by Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story. He’s also the creator of nerdfitness.com, a worldwide community of regular people looking to live better lives. He hopes to one day become Captain America.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• Why motivation is a horrible thing to rely on
• How important nutrition is to a healthy lifestyle
• How turning life into a gam can help you start reaching any goal you want

Barbara Oakley is a Professor of Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and her work focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. Her newest book Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential is available now and it reveals how we can overcome stereotypes and preconceived ideas about what is possible for us to learn and become.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• Why the imposter syndrome is actually a good thing
• How to change your worst traits to your best traits
• Tips on developing a learning lifestyle

Leigh Stringer is Senior Workplace Expert for EYP Architecture & Engineering and is researching employee health and productivity in conjunction with the Harvard School of Public Health, the Center for Active Design, and other leading organizations. 

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• Healthy habits to adopt at work
• How to avoid making unhealthy choices at work
• The connection between the built environment and well-being

Amy Blankson has become one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between positive psychology and technology and is the only person to be named a Point of Light by two presidents (President George H. W. Bush and President Bill Clinton) for creating a movement to activate positive culture change. Her new book The Future of Happiness looks at technology’s role in our happiness.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• Why technology is so influential to our happiness
• The three burning questions of the digital era
• Strategies for balancing productivity with well-being

Laurie Berkner is a best-selling, award-winning children’s recording artists and widely recognized as the uncrowned queen of children’s music. Laurie’s albums have been best-sellers on a chart typically dominated by movie soundtracks and major label compilations. Laurie has written the music and lyrics for two Off-Broadway children's musicals produced by New York City Children’s Theater: Wanda's Monster (2013) and The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the Princess (2014).

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• What children can teach us about music
• How music can help children learn and grow
• How to get rid of self-criticism and let go

Erik Wahl is an artist, author, and entrepreneur. He is internationally recognized as a thought provoking graffiti artist and one of the most sought-after speakers on the corporate lecture circuit to audiences as diverse as companies like Disney, Microsoft, Toyota, government institutions, and university students.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to harness creativity and discipline
• The relationship between structure and freedom
• How to activate creativity amidst uncertainty and frustration

In 2012 the United Nations established March 20 as the International Day of Happiness. Each year Live Happy leads the way with a campaign to spread happiness around the globe. On March 20 giant orange Happiness Walls are erected across North America as a central point for people to pledge how they will share happiness with others. Schools, offices and local community organizations also can join in the celebration by hosting their own happiness walls.

Learn more at happyacts.org

Isaac Lidsky is a CEO, corporate speaker, author and entrepreneur, now leading Florida’s largest residential shell contractor ODC Construction. A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School, Isaac is the only blind person to serve as a Law Clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court. His debut book Eyes Wide Open was cited by The Washington Post among 10 key leadership books in 2017. As a child actor, he played “Weasel” on NBC’s Saved By The Bell: The New Class and appeared in 100+ commercials.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to think differently about true vision and ways to approach life goals
• Why entrepreneurship is the answer for many of us to “Live Happy” but not everyone
• What you need to know to shatter misconceptions that may exist about you

The World Happiness Summit is coming! Find out what this meeting of the minds is all about on this episode of Live Happy Now.

Karen Guggenheim is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer of WOHASU and a Co-Founder of the World Happiness Summit. Stepping into this role is an evolution of her extensive career arc, which includes editorial board work with The Miami Herald, strategic communications and integrated marketing expertise with C-Level executives as well as worldwide brands.

In this episode of the Live Happy Now podcast we explore the new issue of Live Happy magazine with Live Happy Science Editor Paula Felps. Listen in as we preview a few of the articles in this issue.

What you'll hear in this podcast:

• Queen Latifah shares her secrets to success and lasting joy
• Sam Worthington explores his own evolution both on and off the screen
• How to use humor to build confidence and charisma
• 33 ideas to make your home a place of positivity

Yakov Smirnoff is a Soviet-born American comedian, actor and writer. After emigrating to the United States in 1977, Yakov began performing as a stand-up comic. He reached his biggest success in the mid-to-late 1980s, appearing in several films and the television sitcom vehicle What a Country!. He has received a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology at UPenn and is currently pursuing a doctorate at Pepperdine University in Psychology.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• Why laughter really is the best medicine
• Warning signs your relationship may be in trouble
• Why laughter is essential to the well-being of a relationship

Amy Blankson has become one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between positive psychology and technology and is the only person to be named a Point of Light by two presidents (President George H. W. Bush and President Bill Clinton) for creating a movement to activate positive culture change. In this episode of Live Happy Now she expands on her article Get a Grip on Your Gadgets in the February 2017 issue of Live Happy magazine.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• Tips on a healthy and happy digital cleanse
• The steps to de-clutter your tech devices
• How organization contributes to your overall happiness

The World Happiness Summit is coming! Find out what this meeting of the minds is all about on this episode of Live Happy Now.

Suzanne Jewell is the Chief Mindfulness Officer for the World Happiness. Suzanne believes her life path has led to participate and support this history making movement of sharing the science and practice of happiness. Having struggled through her own paralyzing anxiety after the loss of her best friend, which was her Mom, she dedicated herself to learning tools & techniques to “grow through”, not just “go through” the challenge and build her own personal resilience.

Bruce Cameron began his writing career as a humor columnist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News. Sadly, the Rocky went out of business, but he says that was not his fault. He is a Benchley award winner for humor and was the 2011 NSNC Newspaper Columnist of the Year. His novel A Dog’s Purpose spent 52 weeks on the NY Times best-seller list and DreamWorks has developed it into a film currently playing at theaters across the country.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The amazing story of how A Dog's Purpose became such a huge hit
• The true message of the book and of our dogs
• What prompted the writing of A Dog's Purpose

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded its world-renowned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic (in 1979), and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (in 1995).

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to live life with intent
• The minimum amount you should spend being mindful or meditating
• How to create a love affair with your own life

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded its world-renowned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic (in 1979), and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (in 1995).

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to live life with intent
• The minimum amount you should spend being mindful or meditating
• How to create a love affair with your own life

Giacomo Bono, Ph.D., is Associate Editor for The Journal of Positive Psychology, and director of the Youth Gratitude Project. The aims of the Youth Gratitude Project are to create youth measures of gratitude and to develop and test a gratitude curriculum targeting pre-K and grades 4 through 12 throughout the United States with the broad goal of providing schools with resources to support students' well-being, socio-emotional skills and character.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The science behind developing gratitude
• The effects of gratitude on mental health
• Strategies for motivating and better relating to children and teens

Carin Rockind is a leading happiness expert, media personality, and the creator of PurposeGirl, a movement to empower purpose-driven living. She has taught thousands of people real-life strategies to reclaim their happiness, and live to their fullest potential of success and well-being.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to find your purpose
• Why it is important to take action towards your goals now
• How to use midlife for a catalyst instead of a crisis

In this episode of the Live Happy Now podcast we explore the new issue of Live Happy magazine with Live Happy CEO and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz. Listen in as we preview four of the articles in this issue and explore the topic of how to supercharge your life.

What you'll hear in this podcast:

• How Ming-Na Wen of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stays positive
• Why Luke Cage and Sons of Anarchy star Theo Rossi gives back
• The latest theory in creative goal setting, called “design thinking”
• Four traits to develop in your children to help them become high achievers

Actress Ming-Na Wen, star of ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., has become a role model at age 53, with a new book in the works and a burgeoning brand, #Wenever. Learn how this age-defying, butt-kicking superhero manages it all in this episode of Live Happy Now.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The importance of taking care of yourself
• How to create your own happiness through positivity
• Tips on combating negativity

The right playlist can help keep you motivated, focused and determined to finish a great workout. We sit down with Live Happy science editor Paula Felps on what it takes to create the perfect exercise playlist and we create a playlist for you to use during your workouts.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to create a playlist to motivate you during exercise
• Characteristics to look for in great workout songs
• How to arrange your playlist for peak performance

Jan Stanley is an executive coach, consultant, speaker and facilitator who helps individuals and organizations thrive. Jan is well versed in the practical side of change, and is adept at finding just the right tool, system or method to enhance performance or to find joy and meaning in all that we do. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology program, where she is seen as an expert on using ceremony and ritual to enhance daily well-being.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How goals contribute to fulfilling life
• Why goals and resolutions fail and what to do to increase rates of success
• How to commit to your goals once you've established them

Genella Macintyre is an author and international trainer and consultant with a focus on improving the quality of personal and professional living. Topics of her workshops include dealing with difficult clients and customers, working with colleagues, managing conflict through conversations, and leading remote teams.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to determine your stress reducing style
• The critical role of a positive state of mind
• How to trigger a relaxation response

Tana Amen, RN, BSN is the executive vice president of Amen Clinics, a NY Times best-selling author of The Omni Diet and highly respected health and fitness expert. Tana helps people to become warriors for their brains and bodies by arming them with the tools and knowledge to win the fight of their lives.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• What a brain warrior is
• Why we're in a war for our health
• Tips on making healthier choices during the holidays

Jessica Rovello is the CEO and co-founder of Arkadium, which provides an audience attention platform for the world’s most well-known brands and publishers, including CNN, Comcast, Microsoft, The Washington Post and USA Today. In this episode Jessica shares what Arkadium has done for their company culture in order to be named a Best Workplace by Inc. magazine.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• What kinds of work environments foster fulfilling lifestyles
• The importance of prioritizing happy living in a company culture
• Things to implement in your office to help boost happiness

TIME magazine named him one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World.” Men’s Fitness hailed him as one of the fittest men on the planet. An acclaimed endurance athlete and NY Times best-selling author, Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. We learn more about Dean's journey along the road to Sparta in this episode of Live Happy Now.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The origin and evolution of the marathon
• How to fail beautifully
• Why there's magic in misery

At the young age of 15, Jennifer Rothschild was diagnosed with a rare, degenerative eye disease that would eventually steal her sight. It was more than a turning point for the Miami, Florida, native. Her dreams of becoming a commercial artist and cartoonist faded. Words and music have replaced her canvas and palette for more than 25 years. She shares how she has been able to remain optimistic and positive through her life despite the adversities.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How changing the way you look at the world can change your attitude
• The power of gratitude
• The importance of knowing your authentic self

Tis the season for giving thanks! We say it time and again that gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to share happiness and feel authentic happiness. We sit down with Live Happy science editor Paula Felps to talk about how to create the perfect gratitude playlist.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How the arrangement of a playlist affects you
• The power of music to become more mindful
• How to appreciate the little things

Janell Burley Hofmann is an international speaker, consultant & the author of the book iRules: What Every Tech Healthy Family Needs to Know About Selfies, Sexting, Gaming & Growing Up. Janell is the founder of The Slow Tech Movement & iRules Academy.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to use technology with mindfulness and intention
• The personal and professional iRules to help build a life of digital well-being
• How to engage in conversation to build connection and strengthen relationships

Most adults today spend more time on the job than anywhere else and receive from it not just monetary rewards but also the feelings of accomplishment and purpose necessary to good mental health. Live Happy magazine section editor Chris Libby joins the podcast to share how mindfulness, gratitude, compassion and more can help boost your happiness at work.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to manage stress levels at work
• What you can do to combat negativity in the office
• The impact gratitude and compassion can have on your coworkers

Susan Verde, a proud mother of a daughter and twin boys, writes children’s books and teaches kid’s yoga and mindfulness. She is the author of the picture books The Museum, You and Me, I am Yoga and the forthcoming The Water Princess.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The relationship between yoga and happiness
• How kids yoga can help to cultivate patience, resilience, creativity and confidence
• Ways to introduce yoga to your child

Adam Shell is an award-winning documentary film director, editor and musician. In his latest film, Pursuing Happiness, Adam and producer Nicholas Kraft, embark upon a journey to find what makes Americans happy.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How the creative process works in compiling a film of this magnitude
• The impact the film has had on Adam's personal well-being
• A glimpse of some of the stories shared in Pursuing Happiness

Athletics, theater, music lessons, honors classes…these are all great things for your child to be involved with but is it stressing them out? In this episode we learn what parents can do to help their child experience less stress from their busy schedules and help them to be more successful through the practice of mindfulness.

Susie Wolbe holds a Doctor of Education in educational supervision with a concentration in curriculum and instruction and has spent 30+ years as an educator in public and private schools. By making use of mindfulness strategies Susie has learned how to manage life’s (sometimes) overwhelming demands, and she is now committed to helping others do the same, especially as it applies to students, educators and parents.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to have a school year that is less stressful for students and families
• How to create a family mission statement
• How to ensure that your family is making conscious decisions that are aligned with what's most important

In this episode of the Live Happy Now podcast we geek out over the new issue of Live Happy magazine with Live Happy CEO and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz. Listen in as we preview four of the articles in this issue and explore the topic of happiness in the brain.

What you'll hear in this podcast:

• How Mayim Bialik stays balanced with a busy schedule
• The importance of your vagus nerve to your happiness
• The value of friendship and healthy relationships
• How a community in Detroit has brought joy to the Eastern Market

Dr. Srikumar Rao joins the Live Happy Now podcast again to help us learn how to stop the negative mental chatter that we all experience from time to time. Dr. Rao has helped thousands of executives and entrepreneurs all over the world discover deep meaning. His methods have enabled them to achieve quantum leaps in effectiveness. Graduates of his workshops have become more creative and more inspiring leaders. He conceived the innovative course Creativity and Personal Mastery course that he teaches in London and New York. Students found it so overwhelmingly powerful that it remains the only business school course in the world to have its own alumni association.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How to overcome negative self talk
• How to have deeper connections with others
• How to combat toxic personalities

Dr. Daniel Amen is a psychiatrist, a brain disorder specialist and director of the Amen Clinics which offer medical services to people who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other disorders. He is author of the best-sellers Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, Magnificent Mind at Any Age and The Amen Solution.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• What can help improve your brain health
• The connection between exercise and your brain
• How some people are turning into dinosaurs

Steve Keller, CEO of ivAudio Branding, is one of the world’s leading experts in the field of audio branding. Combining his degree in Psychology with over 25 years of experience in the music industry as a producer, composer, independent label executive, music publisher and manager, he looks at how sounds and music affect us.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How your senses affect your perception of things
• What sweet and spicy sound like
• More about the emerging field of neurogastronomy

Wendy Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and psychology at New York University. Her research has focused on understanding the patterns of brain activity underlying long-term memory and more recently understanding how aerobic exercise might improve our learning memory and cognitive ability. In this episode Wendy shares her expertise of brain plasticity and how she figured out how to get a happy brain and a happy life.

What you'll learn in this podcast: 

• The long-term effects of exercise on the brain
• How meditation affects the brain
• How love and altruism affects the brain

The ultimate creative challenge is to take complicated scientific ideas and make it super accessible. In this episode of Live Happy Now we talk with Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tiffany Shlain about the power of film and an event called Character Day which is a free global initiative where groups around the world screen films on the science of character development and dive into free discussion materials.

After a melt down on live television, ABC News’ Nightline anchor Dan Harris knew he needed to make a change in how he approached his career and his overall happiness. Dan joins this episode of Live Happy Now to share how he has learned to become just 10% happier at a time, how he reduced stress without losing his edge and found self-help that actually works.

Rosalind Wiseman has had only one job since graduating from college—to help communities shift the way we think about children and teens’ emotional and physical well-being. Rosalind is the author of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World—the groundbreaking, best-selling book that was the basis for the movie Mean Girls. We sat down with Rosalind to dive into the life of teenagers on this episode of Live Happy Now.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• Concrete strategies to help you empower your daughter to be socially competent and treat herself with dignity
• How Girl World has fundamentally changed in recent years
• The roles of technology in your teen's life
• How to prevent the influence of cliques on your child's decision making 

We all have “that song,” the one that instantly makes us feel invincible, like Rocky Balboa running up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Bid did you know that you can use that song to actually reset your brain? We sit down with Live Happy science editor Paula Felps to talk about how to create the perfect playlist

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• How the arrangement of a playlist affects you
• The power of a playlist to change your mood
• The 5 key components of creating the perfect playlist
• Different ways you can use playlists to improve your mood

In this episode we look back on past interviews from the Live Happy Now podcast with Live Happy CEO and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz. Did your favorite episode make the list?

What you'll learn in this podcast:

How to unplug from work with Christine Carter
The secret to a better night's sleep with Michael Breus, Ph.D.
The importance of connection with Barbara Fredrickson
How practicing gratitude impacts your hapiness with Sonja Lyubomirsky
The act of mindfulness with Matt Tenney
Happiness lessons that adults can learn from children with Dr. Edward Hallowell
How to never be too busy again with Neil Pasricha

Dr. Srikumar Rao has helped thousands of executives and entrepreneurs all over the world discover deep meaning. His methods have enabled them to achieve quantum leaps in effectiveness. Graduates of his workshops have become more creative and more inspiring leaders. He conceived the innovative Creativity and Personal Mastery course that he teaches in London and New York. Students found it so overwhelmingly powerful that it remains the only business school course in the world to have its own alumni association.

This week we sat down with positive psychology and well-being thought leaders live at The Festival of Positive Education in Dallas, TX. We asked them why positive education was so important, what children can gain from it and how focusing on developing character strengths in students can begin to help society as a whole.

This week we sat down with positive psychology and well-being thought leaders live at The Festival of Positive Education in Dallas, TX. We asked them why positive education was so important, what children can gain from it and how focusing on developing character strengths in students can begin to help society as a whole.

Heather Shumaker is a national speaker on parenting and early childhood topics and is the author of two renegade parenting books: It’s OK Not to Share...and Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids and It’s OK to Go Up the Slide. An advocate for free, unstructured play in homes and schools, she lives in northern Michigan with her family.

With 15 years experience of living and working in over 50 countries, Natalia Cohen has chosen to follow an unusual and fascinating path. Natalia is no stranger to being outside of her comfort zone and has made an art of embracing and adapting to change. Her understanding of team dynamics, the importance of a positive mindset and the ability to live in the moment led her to become part of the first all-female team to row unsupported across the Pacific Ocean. Natalia shares her amazing story in this episode of Live Happy Now.

Pop star, author, style maven, philanthropist and mom Lisa Loeb has recently released her fourth children’s album exclusively with Amazon, Nursery Rhyme Parade. In this episode we talk about the importance of creativity to overall happiness, the song writing process and the Camp Lisa Foundation.

Raj Raghunathan is professor of marketing at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in exploring the impact that people’s judgments and decisions have on their own happiness and fulfillment. Raj also has an online course on happiness with over 120,000 students from literally every country in the world.

Joseph Cardillo, Ph.D. joins Live Happy science editor Paula Felps this week to look at body intelligence and harnessing your body’s energies for your best life. Joseph is the best-selling author of several books in the fields of health, mind-body-spirit, and psychology and appears as the energy management expert in Michael Strahan’s new book Wake Up Happy.

Zelana Montminy, Ph.D., is a leading figure in positive psychology, bringing a unique and varied skill set to the well-being realm. Zelana is the author of 21 Days to Resilience, which is ranked No. 1 on Amazon’s Mental Health Hot New Releases, and she speaks around the world on the topic of resilience.

Live Happy CEO Deborah K. Heisz joins Dr. Michelle Robin to talk about the impact of small changes on your overall well-being. Michelle is an international speaker, best-selling author and founder of Your Wellness Connection, one of the nation’s most successful integrative healing centers.

In this episode we touch on the difficult subject of finding joy after the loss of a loved one. And although everyone must deal with grief in his or her own way, it is possible to be able to get back to living a life full of joy and find your authentic happiness once again.

Kristin Meekhof who is a licensed master’s level social worker and author of the book A Widow’s Guide to Healing: Gentle Support and Advice For the First Five Years and was a contributor to Live Happy: Ten Practices for Choosing Joy for the piece titled “The Healing Power of Gratitude”.

Neil Pasricha is The New York Times best-selling author of The Book of Awesome series. Neil is a Harvard MBA, one of the most popular TED speakers of all time and the Director of the Institute for Global Happiness. He has dedicated the past 15 years of his life to developing leaders—creating global programs inside the world’s largest companies and speaking to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. In this episode, he shares more about his new book The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything.

Ross Mathews has won the hearts of millions of Americans since his television debut as a correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Ross is author of the national best-seller Man Up!: Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence and can currently be seen as the newest host of FOX's Hollywood Today Live, on the red carpet with E! for the biggest awards shows of the season, and returning as a judge on the smash hit, LOGO series RuPaul’s Drag Race.

In this episode we learn more about Ross’s journey toward happiness and what his keys are to living happy.

Linda Swain is a creator, producer and television host. Her most recent nationally televised show, Tapping IN: The Happiest People & Places on the Planet received a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Travel Program in 2015. Tapping IN combines Linda’s passion to share the stories of others through television and nearly 30 years of spanning the globe, searching for the happiest people and places on the planet for her travel company Swain Destinations.

Joshua Smyth, Ph.D., is a professor of Biobehavioral Health andMedicine at Penn State and co-author of the upcoming bookOpening Up by Writing It Down–How Expressive Writing ImprovesHealth and Eases Emotional Pain. Joshua was interviewed for anarticle in our latest issue of Live Happy magazine abouthow a 20 minute practice of creative writing can help make youhappier, healthier and more resilient. In this episode of LiveHappy Now, we talk with him about how expressive writing canhelp manage stress and improve well-being.

We talk with child and adult psychiatrist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Edward Hallowell on the steps parents can take to help their children become happier as adults.

Dr. Hallowell graduated from Harvard College and Tulane School of Medicine and was a faculty member at Harvard Medical School from 1983 to 2004. He has authored twenty books on various psychological topics including the power of the human connection, methods of forgiving others, dealing with worry, managing excessive busyness and the childhood roots of happiness.

Learn more about the importance of our oceans to our global well-being with Peter Neill, founder and director of World Ocean Observatory.

World Ocean Observatory is a web-based place of exchange for information and education about the health of the ocean. Peter is also host of World Ocean Radio, a weekly series of 5-minute audio essays on a wide range of ocean topics, and editor of World Ocean Journal, a bi-annual e-magazine of the WOO focused on ocean culture and solutions to today’s ocean issues.

In this episode of Live Happy Now, we discover why mindfulness can be considered the ultimate success habit. Matt Tenney is author of The Mindfulness Edge: How to Rewire Your Brain for Leadership and Personal Excellence Without Adding to Your Schedule. Through keynote speeches and training programs, Matt works to develop highly effective leaders who achieve extraordinary, long-term business outcomes and live more fulfilling lives.

In this episode of Live Happy Now we talk with Stacy Kaiser, Live Happy editor at large, about the idea of "super parents" and why striving to be a good parent by allowing room for error and accepting imperfections really helps model to children that trying your best is what is really important.

Stacy is a licensed psychotherapist, relationship expert, media personality and author of How to Be a Grown Up: The Ten Secret Skills Everyone Needs to Know.

In this episode, Live Happy Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with Dr. Drew Ramsey about one of 10 practices for choosing joy: health.

Dr. Drew is The New York Times best-selling author of Fifty Shades of Kale and The Happiness Diet. He is one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of using dietary change to help balance moods, sharpen brain function and improve mental health.

In this episode Live Happy Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with Kenneth Pargament, Ph.D., about one of 10 practices for choosing joy: resilience.

Kenneth has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is professor emeritus of psychology at Bowling Green State University. He is also author of The Psychology of Religion and Coping and Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred.

In this episode Live Happy magazine science editor Paula Felps talks with Steve Leventhal, executive director of CorStone, about one of 10 practices for choosing joy: resilience.

CorStone is an international nongovernmental organization that develops and provides personal resilience programs to improve well-being for youth worldwide, focusing on adolescent girls in developing countries as critical change-agents in their communities. CorStone believes that cultivating personal resilience is a foundational step in helping youth to thrive—one which is often missing in development programs worldwide. Its evidence-based programs impact three interdependent factors in well-being: emotional health, physical health and education.

In this episode we are joined by Live Happy Director of Digital Marketing and Products Laura Coppedge to share more about the International Day of Happiness and what Live Happy is doing to celebrate this special day.

In this episode Live Happy Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with Ali Smith, co-founder of the Holistic Life Foundation, on one of 10 practices for choosing joy: mindfulness.

Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness to diverse populations. Through his work at the Holistic Life Foundation, he has developed and piloted yoga and mindfulness programs with at-risk youth at drug treatment centers, juvenile detention centers, alternative high schools, mental crisis facilities and in many other underserved communities.

In this episode Live Happy co-founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz talks with Birju Pandya, a senior advisor for RSF Social Financial, on one of ten practices for choosing joy: giving back.

Birju is also involved with ServiceSpace, an organization run entirely by volunteers that leverages technology to encourage everyday people around the world to do small acts of service. Some of the projects by ServiceSpace include a daily positive news service, an acts-of-kindness portal, and a gift-economy restaurant.

In this episode Live Happy Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz talks with Sonja Lyubomirsky about gratitude. Sonja is author of The How of Happiness, the first book by a highly-credentialed positive psychologist to present the latest research in a “how-to” format.

Sonja’s work has been awarded a Templeton Psychology Prize, a Science of Generosity grant, a John Templeton Foundation grant, and a million-dollar grant (with Ken Sheldon) from the National Institute of Mental Health to conduct research on the possibility of permanently increasing happiness.

Holly Raynes was inspired by a family member who was a Titanic survivor and another who escaped from Poland in World War II. Her book, Nation of Enemies, combines lessons from the past with a healthy fear of the modern landscape. A longtime member of Boston’s writing community, Holly has a history of trying anything once (acting, diving out of a plane and white water rafting). Out of all the things she has tried, writing and raising children seem to have stuck.

In this episode, Live Happy co-founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with Holly on one of 10 practices for choosing joy—creativity.

Paula Felps is the science editor for Live Happy magazine and has worked as a freelance writer and editor since 1998, covering topics from health and fitness to luxury cars and travel to business and technology. She has written for publications and websites such as Executive Travel, American Driver, Self and Reserve.

In this episode, Live Happy co-founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with Paula about the science of savoring and shares a glimpse into the new April 2016 issue of Live Happy magazine.

Alastair Moock is a 2013 Grammy Awards nominee and a two-time winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Awards. His works have twice been included in The Fids and Kamily Industry Critics’ Top 3 Albums of the Year. Long one of Boston’s premier folk artists, Alastair turned his attention to family music after the birth of his twin daughters in 2006. The New York Times calls him “a Tom Waits for kids” and The Boston Globe declares, “in the footsteps of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, Alastair Moock makes real kids music that parents can actually enjoy.”

In this episode, Live Happy co-founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with Alastair on one of ten practices for choosing joy—meaning.

Mary Miller is the CEO and owner of JANCOA Janitorial Service, Inc., an award-winning commercial cleaning service located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mary is known for her positive outlook and desire to help others realize their uniqueness and personal power. Through her renowned employee benefits program, the Dream Manager, she has created an exceptional work environment and a truly successful organization. The Dream Manager, popularized by the bestselling book under the same name, grew from an employee retention program into an inspiring example of what a business can be.

In this episode, Live Happy co-founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with Mary on one of ten practices for choosing joy—a positive attitude.

Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., serves as the president of the International Positive Psychology Association and is considered one of the most highly cited scholars in the field of psychology today. Her research reveals how micro-moments of love and other forms of positivity nourish your health, wisdom and longevity.

In this episode, Live Happy co-founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with Barbara on one of ten practices for choosing joy—relationships and love.

Suzie Pileggi Pawelski is a contributing editor for Live Happy magazine as well as wellness counselor specializing in the science of happiness and its effects on health and relationships. Her 2010 Scientific American Mind cover story "The Happy Couple" was selected by the magazine as one of its most intriguing articles of recent years.

James Pawelski, Ph.D., is Director of Education and Senior Scholar in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. For the last ten years, he has served as the founding director of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program, the world's first degree program in positive psychology. He is also the founding director of the International Positive Psychology Association.

Live Happy co-founder and Editorial Director Deborah K. Heisz talks with James and Suzie about achieving harmonious passion in your personal relationships.

In this episode we talk to the Live Happy team members who recently took part in the “90 Days to a Happier You” challenge. Find out how Susan, Kim, Donna, Shelley and Chris learned to make better choices and build habits that have helped them become happier people. Through this series we'll tackle topics like improving communication with others, managing negative thinking, overcoming chronic insomnia, setting life goals and learning to unplug from work.

Gretchen Rubin is the author of several books, including the blockbuster New York Times best-sellers Better Than Before, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. On her popular weekly podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin she discusses good habits and happiness with her sister Elizabeth Craft.

In this episode Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz talks about the power of habits in creating a happier and more successful life.

Valorie Burton is a best-selling author and speaker who helps people "get unstuck" and "be unstoppable" in every area of their lives. As a certified personal and executive coach, Valorie has served hundreds of clients in more than 40 states and nine countries, and is the founder of The Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute.

In this episode Live Happy Co-Founder, COO and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz talks with Valorie about identifying your personal happiness triggers, how to bounce back from stress and adversity, and how to savor each moment every day.

In this special podcast series, we have partnered with top well-being experts to help coach five members of our Live Happy team on how to make better choices and build habits that lead to more fulfilling lives. Through this series we'll tackle life-changing topics such as improving communication with others, managing negative thinking, overcoming chronic insomnia, setting life goals and learning to unplug from work.

In this episode, Live Happy science editor Paula Felps talks with Christine Carter who is a sociologist and senior fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and author of The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Work and Home.

Emma Seppälä is Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education as well as the author of The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success. Her areas of research include positive organizational psychology, health psychology, cultural psychology, well-being and resilience.

In this episode Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz talks with Emma about what the science of happiness is according to science and the ability to bounce back from difficulties in life.

In this special podcast series we have partnered with top well-being experts to help coach five members of our Live Happy team on how to make better choices and build habits that lead to more fulfilling lives. Through this series we'll tackle life-changing topics such as improving communication with others, managing negative thinking, overcoming chronic insomnia, setting life goals and learning to unplug from work.

In this episode Live Happy magazine Science Editor Paula Felps talks with Caroline Miller who has been a pioneer with her ground-breaking work in the areas of goal setting/accomplishment, grit, happiness and success. She is recognized as one of the world’s leading positive psychology experts on this research and how it can be applied to one’s life for maximum transformation and growth.

In this special podcast series we have partnered with top well-being experts to help coach five members of our Live Happy team on how to make better choices and build habits that lead to more fulfilling lives. Through this series we'll tackle topics like improving communication with others, managing negative thinking, overcoming chronic insomnia, setting life goals and learning to unplug from work.

In this episode Live Happy magazine Science Editor Paula Felps talks with Michael Breus, Ph.D., a Clinical Psychologist as well as a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of The American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

As the subject of sleep continues to gain momentum in our sleep-deprived society, Michael has become a widely recognized leader in this ever-evolving field and serves on the clinical advisory board of The Dr. Oz Show. Dedicated to raising awareness of both medically diagnosed sleep disorders and the importance of quality sleep for all, Michael is on a mission to develop innovative education and communication programs.

Karen Cassiday is the president-elect of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America as well as owner of the Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago-the first private clinic in the Chicago area to offer exposure-based treatment for anxiety disorders. Karen has multiple published articles in the area of anxiety disorders, and is an internationally recognized expert on the treatment of anxiety and related disorders in children through adults.

In this episode Live Happy magazine Science Editor Paula Felps talks with Karen about the causes and difficulties with worry and how to overcome it.

In this special podcast series we have partnered with top well-being experts to help coach five members of our Live Happy team on how to make better choices and build habits that lead more fulfilling lives. Through this series we tackle topics like improving communication with others, managing negative thinking, overcoming chronic insomnia, setting life goals and learning to unplug from work.

Michele Gravelle is a consultant with Triad Consulting where she works with the authors of the bestselling books: Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, and Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well. Michele also facilitates executive education programs at the Harvard Negotiation Institute and Duke Corporate Education.

In this episode Live Happy magazine Science Editor Paula Felps talks with Michele about the obstacles to effective communication and how to improve your communication with others.

Tal Ben Shahar, Ph.D., is an author and lecturer who taught Harvard University’s most popular course on positive psychology and its third most popular course on the psychology of leadership. Tal is also a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder of the Wholebeing Institute, Happier.TV, Potentialife and the Maytiv Center for Research and Practice in Positive Psychology.  

In this episode Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz talks with Tal about the three steps to lasting change and what you can do to help make your resolutions succeed. We also listen in on a conversation from our recent cover shoot with Jillian Michaels about her keys to living a happier life and share what's inside the February 2016 issue of Live Happy magazine.

Michelle Segar, Ph.D., is a motivation scientist and author of the critically acclaimed No Sweat! How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness. She is also the Director of the Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center (SHARP) at the University of Michigan, chair of the U.S. National Physical Activity Plan’s Communications Committee and a leading authority on what motivates people to choose and maintain healthy behaviors.

With the new year upon us, we explore what really motivates us to make and keep resolutions as well as what we can do to successfully reach our health and fitness goals.

In this episode we look back on past interviews from the Live Happy Now podcast with Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz. Did your favorite episode make the list?

Over the past 20 years, Grammy Award-nominated Jim Brickman has amassed a huge following as a contemporary pianist. Fans trust his music to deal with a crisis, rekindle romance, or simply relax. In his latest book, Soothe: How to find Calm Amid Everyday Chaos—he compiles a collection of both spiritual and practical advice that mirrors the way it feels when listening to his music.

In this episode we learn more about Jim's experience and his tips to soothe your stress to find a more relaxed state of mind.

Margaret H. Greenberg is a certified executive coach, international speaker, “Positive Work” columnist for Live Happy magazine, and the coauthor of the business book Profit from the Positive: Proven Leadership Strategies to Boost Productivity and Transform Your Business. Margaret is a pioneer in the field of positive psychology, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s very first Master of Applied Positive Psychology program.

In this episode, Margaret and Live Happy Co-Founder, COO and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz talk about the emerging field of positive psychology, explore numerous tools to help you profit from the positive and offer advice to help you find your authentic happiness.

Jenny Santi is a trusted philanthropy advisor to some of the world's most generous givers and celebrity activists. In this episode Jenny shares the science behind giving, how it makes you feel good and ways to overcome compassion fatigue.

Deepak Chopra is a pioneer of integrative medicine and the author of more than 80 books published in 43 languages. Many have been New York Times best-sellers in both the fiction and nonfiction categories.

Rudolph E. Tanzi is an internationally acclaimed expert on Alzheimer's disease and was included in TIME magazine's "TIME 100 Most Influential people in the World."

In this episode, Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz talks with Deepak and Rudolph on their latest book Super Genes: Unlock the Astonishing Power of Your DNA for Optimum Health and Well-Being.

Sara Oliveri is a Washington, D.C-based life coach and speaker who helps people, as well as organizations, create happier lives. She is one of less than 300 graduates of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania.

In this episode we talk about effective tools to create a more meaningful and fulfilling life and how to identify your personal core values to help you achieve authentic happiness.

Dr. Drew Ramsey, New York Times best-selling author of Fifty Shades of Kale and The Happiness Diet, is one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of using dietary change to help balance moods, sharpen brain function and improve mental health.

In this episode Live Happy Science Editor Paula Felps talks with Drew about the best foods for a healthy and growing brain as well as great tips for wholesome eating on a budget.

Anne K. Fishel, Ph.D., is director of the Family and Couples Therapy Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and an associate clinical professor of psychology at the Harvard Medical School. She is a co-founder of The Family Dinner Project, a non-profit group that works online and in person to help families have healthy and enjoyable dinners, as well as meaningful conversation at the table.

In this episode we explore why family dinners are great for the body, mind and mental health of all family members involved as well as some tips for making the conversation around the dinner table interesting, lively and meaningful.

Rhonda Cornum was a 36-year-old flight surgeon in 1991 when her Black Hawk helicopter was sent to rescue a downed F-16 pilot. Through this “one week of misadventure” she remained positive. Learn where that resilience came from, the major challenges to teaching and learning resilience, and a few tips to help you become more resilient.

Tom Rath is a best-selling author and researcher who studies the role of human behavior in business, health and well-being. Live Happy Editorial Director, COO and Co-Founder Deborah Heisz talks with Tom about his most recent work, a feature-length documentary film, Fully Charged, which explores the key elements of energizing one's work and life through personal stories and interviews with the world's leading social scientists.

Louis Alloro is a change-agent working with individuals and organizations to enable positive evolution, even through the most difficult challenges. He is one of the first 100 people in the world to earn a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a second master's degree in the Foundations of Education.

In this episode we look at the power of gratitude as well as recommendations for positivity and peace during the holiday season.

Dr. Michael Finkelstein, also known as The Slow Medicine Doctor, is the author of Slow Medicine: Hope and Healing for Chronic Illness. Dr. Finkelstein has been featured in The New York Times and on CNN for his work on both a micro and macro point of view on today’s health care needs and challenges.

Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz joins Dr. Finkelstein to discuss the definition of forgiveness and some tools for releasing stress from traumatic experiences or toxic personalities.

Find out the family dynamics of New York Times best-selling author Deepak Chopra and his daughter Mallika and gain valuable insight into the importance of creating a relationship with yourself, the positive impact of meditation, and inspiring advice for parents. Deepak, a board-certified physician and co-founder of The Chopra Center for Well-being, is at the forefront of integrative medicine and personal transformation. His daughter Mallika Chopra is a busy mom of two, a successful entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of Intent.com, a successful social platform for people sharing their intents to lead a happier, healthier and more meaningful life.

We also talk with Live Happy Web Editor Emily Miller about the gift that changed her life, and get a preview of the December issue of Live Happy magazine available on newsstands now.

Adam Shell is an award-winning documentary film director, editor and musician. In his latest film, Pursuing Happiness, Adam and producer Nicholas Kraft, embark upon a journey to find what makes Americans happy. Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director, Deborah Heisz talks with Adam about his documentary and what insights he has discovered along the way.

This week we look at the power of forgiveness with an emotional story from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker/TV producer Gayle Kirschenbaum and her mother Mildred. You can learn more about their path to forgiveness in the feature documentary, Look At Us Now, Mother!

Dr. Eric Pearl is the founder of The Reconnection and a pioneer in energy healthcare. In this episode, we'll learn more about what energy healing can do for you, and how you can begin to restore your body to its optimal balance.

Shane Lopez, Ph.D., is one of the world’s leading researcher on hope. Find out the importance of creating a relationship with your future self, coming up with multiple pathways to reach your goals and a few activities you can try to become more helpful.

James Pawelski-founding director of the UPenn Masters in Applied Positive Psychology program-and his wife, journalist and contributing editor to Live Happy Suzann Pileggi Pawelski, discuss how research from positive psychology can lead to meaningful and long-lasting relationships.

Shawn Achor is a New York Times best-selling author of Before Happiness and The Happiness Advantage. He is the winner of more than a dozen distinguished teaching awards at Harvard University, where he delivered lectures on positive psychology in the school's most popular class. Shawn has become one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success.

In this episode, Shawn talks with Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz about how happiness fuels success and how you can capitalize on the Happiness Advantage as well as his two-part O-Course Experience on Oprah.com.

David Shadrack Smith serves as executive producer and director on the highly anticipated landmark series with Oprah Winfrey, Belief. Throughout his career, David has earned nine Emmy nominations and worked with broadcasters around the world, including National Geographic, PBS, Discovery, History, Showtime, BBC, and many more.

In this episode, David shares more about the upcoming series Belief, a groundbreaking television event exploring humankind’s ongoing search to connect with something greater than ourselves.

Live Happy Section Editor Chris Libby joins us to discuss the topic of bullying, how it starts and what you can do to help stop bullying. In this episode we are joined by a panel of people that were interviewed for an article published in the October issue of Live Happy magazine.

You will hear from Jaylen Arnold, a 15-year old with a mission to stop bullying, Deborah Temkin, Ph.D., who has worked closely with the US government to bring an intersection between education and healthy social and emotional development, and Alejandro Adler, a PhD candidate in Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania whose research focuses on well-being, education and public policy.

Darlene Mininni, Ph.D., is the author of The Emotional Toolkit and creator of the UCLA undergraduate well-being course Life Skills. Her work focuses on teaching research-based strategies that answer the question: “How can I thrive in my life?” In this episode, Live Happy editor at large Stacy Kaiser talks with Darlene about using mindfulness and meditation to reduce stress and how to fit it into your busy schedule.

Richard Sears, Ph.D., is a board-certified clinical psychologist, the Director of the Center for Clinical Mindfulness & Meditation and is a clinical and research faculty member of the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Integrative Health and Wellness. Richard shares the definition of mindfulness, activities you can do with your kids to teach them mindfulness and how to unplug from the technological world in this episode of Live Happy Now.

Caroline Miller is recognized as one of the world’s leading positive psychology experts in the areas of goal setting, grit, happiness, success and how to apply it to one’s life. Caroline was one of the first graduates of the University of Pennsylvania’s Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program and is author of Creating Your Best Life and Positively Caroline. In this episode Caroline discusses goal setting, how to become grittier, and her new book Authentic Grit with Live Happy COO, Co-founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz.

Michelle McQuaid, best-selling author, workplace well-being teacher and playful change activator, joins Live Happy Now to talk about how to discover your strengths at work and how to use these strengths to bring you a more enjoyable and engaging workplace.

Tory Johnson is seen every Thursday on ABC's Good Morning America where she presents the popular Deals & Steals segment. Her last book, The Shift, was a #1 New York Times bestseller, and now she has a brand new book Shift for Good: Simple Changes for Lasting Joy Inside and Out. Tory joins Live Happy COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz to discuss more about her happiness journey.

Dr. Christine Carter combines scientific research and practical application to offer audiences not just a way to cope with modern pressures, but a way to truly thrive. Dr. Carter looks at living life from our “sweet spot”—that place of both power and ease.

Robert Holden, Ph.D., is a best-selling author, speaker and expert on happiness, forgiveness and well-being. In this episode Robert discusses his 8 week happiness program and finding the happiness within yourself.

Jonathan Haidt recently spoke at the 2015 IPPA (International Positive Psychology Association) conference. COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Live Happy LLC, Deborah K. Heisz joins Haidt to further discuss the 10 great truths, ideas to creating lasting happiness and how to deal with opposite beliefs in a heated discussion.

Paula Felps, the science editor for Live Happy magazine has recently looked into current research about the “backlash” on positive psychology. This episode delves into how the pursuit of happiness is stressing us out, what the experts say about that – and how to take some of the pressure off yourself. Live Happy Co-Founder, COO and Editorial Director Deborah Heisz also gives a preview of the October issue of Live Happy magazine on newsstands now.

Founder of Live Happy, Jeff Olson, shares insights to small actions you can take every day to achieve happiness. Over the past 30 years Jeff has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals achieve better levels of financial freedom and personal excellence. 

Michelle Gielan, founder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research and an expert on the science of positive communication shares the steps you can take to broadcast happiness to create a positive impact on your community.

Tom Rath, author of Are You Fully Charged? The Three Keys to Energizing Your Work and Life, studies the role of human behavior in business, health and well-being. In this episode Tom discusses the importance of positive interaction and how to handle negative emotions.

Deborah Heisz, COO, Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Live Happy introduces what you can look forward to with the Live Happy Now podcast and a preview of the upcoming guests like Michelle Gielan, Tom Rath, Christine Carter, and Deepak Chopra. Deborah also shares more about the Live Happy mission to help make the world a happier place.