[note from Dave: Roy has embedded a few of his classic rabbit hole links in this memo. Take a look. I’ve followed them before and ended up at seminars and ultimately as one of his partners.]
By Roy H. Williams
Let’s begin by defining what happiness is not. Pleasure, fleeting pleasure, is not happiness. Likewise, momentary joy isn’t happiness either. For “happy,” Webster gives us three meanings:
1. notably fitting, effective, or well adapted.
2. favored by luck or fortune.
3. enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment.
I believe definitions two and three stem directly from definition one. In my experience, happy people always seem to have precisely the skills and talents required to accomplish those tasks to which they have pledged their lives. They’ve answered the question, “Why am I here and what is my purpose?” and now they’re serving others in the manner they’ve chosen to serve. Toward this end, the skills and characteristics they’ve picked up along the way always seem (1.) “notably fitting, effective, or well adapted” to the task.
When you’ve set your face toward the sun, the whole universe conspires toward your success. You find yourself constantly (2.) “favored by luck or fortune” and (3.) “enjoying well-being and contentment.” But that’s not to say you won’t have troubles. Oh you’ll most certainly have those. But you’ll also have the constant encouragement of possibilities and a reason not to quit.
Happiness is a product of focus.
Focus comes from having a purpose.
Having a purpose comes from being needed.
Being needed comes from serving others.
There you have it. No matter how you slice it, happiness comes from serving others. The needs of others are what help you stay focused in the midst of swirling troubles. They keep you centered in the eye of life’s storm and give those struggles meaning because it suddenly matters whether or not you’re here. If you’re saying to yourself, “I’m not needed,” might I suggest that you’re needed and needed desperately by people you’ve not yet met? Why not go out and find them? You’ll recognize them by their pain. And as you soothe theirs, your own will fade too, replaced by a new kind of glow.
We at Wizard Academy have committed our lives to equipping others with the tools, skills and confidence they’ll need to…
In their book, Healthy Pleasures, psychologist Robert Ornstein and physician David Sobel reviewed a number of previously concluded studies and came to the following conclusion:
How a person stacks up in three categories is a better predictor of health and longevity than lifestyle habits:
1. How much time is spent helping others.
2. Whether a person has a bright, optimistic outlook.
3. Whether a person takes time out of each day to meet his/her daily minimum requirements of “healthy pleasures” — pleasures whose essence is summed up in the expression “stop and smell the roses.)
Interestingly, numerous studies have found that helping others boosts one’s immune system. So, Roy’s quite on target.