Don’t worry. Be happy. Make money.

If you’re mature enough, you may remember a hit song done by Bobby McFerrin a number of years ago.  It was called Don’t Worry, Be Happy, and it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.  Some people loved the music and some hated it, but pretty much everyone who had access to a radio heard it sometime during the height of its popularity.

While McFerrin may have had good advice, it’s easy to shrug it off as being too simplistic a recommendation, too hard to actually do on a consistent basis.  If that was your first thought, you’ll want to read on, because it turns out that happiness is one of the critical success factors  behind successful entrepreneurs.

Happiness as a success factor?  Really?

Really.

The last decade has seen a huge upsurge in research on positive psychology.  Study results are fascinating.  Some of the conclusions researchers have drawn:

• Being happy involves setting goals; doing fulfilling work you’re good at; contributing to others; and appreciating others as well as yourself.

• Your level of happiness powerfully affects your effectiveness in both personal and professionals realms.

• Happiness promotes better physical and emotional health.

• Happy people live longer, make more money, and contribute more to society than unhappy people do.

• Happiness makes you smarter and more creative.

• You do better work when you’re happy.

• Happiness is a choice.

Isn’t it interesting how something as touchy-feely as “being happy” can have such a powerful impact on your bottom line?  Just think what it would do for your spirits and for your business if you practiced effective goal setting; provided more creative solutions to your clients’ problems; up-leveled the overall quality of work you provide;  and made more money while modeling for your clients what it’s like to do work that’s fulfilling and meaningful.

If you’re interested in further exploring how increasing your happiness can give you an edge over your unhappy competitors, here are a couple of resources for you.

• Cross Country Education is offering a one-day workshop around the country called “Happiness: How Positive Psychology Changes Our Lives.”

• Dr. David Niven has reviewed and summarized the key findings of over 1000 studies on happiness and has distilled them into his compelling little book, The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It, available on Amazon.com.

So what about you?  Do you consider yourself to be a generally happy person?  If so, what contributes to your being one?  If not, are you willing to choose happiness?

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