Volume 006
October 2009

Hi... I’m Jimmy, and my mission is to improve your life by making it a bit happier - or, better yet, a lot happier - everyday.

I am a doctor, “rejuvenating” corporate executive, entrepreneur, author, and speaker. My wife (Jill), our three-year-old daughter (Joie), our golden retriever (Sunny) – and our soon-to-be-born second daughter (Jae) – live in Tampa Florida and Newport Beach California (we alternate locations every month – so we travel a lot).

Through this newsletter, my website, my books, E-Coaching, and other BeHappy! products, I am committed to improving the lives of as many people as possible. So, I would love to hear from you on how your life has changed by using the BeHappy! system, or how I can help improve your life more by making the system even better.

Please go to BeHappy101.com (or see the yellow box at the end of the newsletter) to provide your comments, suggestions, stories, or thoughts and I’ll respond to you personally – as appropriate - as soon as possible. Here’s to your happiness and to having the kind of life you want to have!

BeHappy! my friends

Inside this Issue

Introduction to The BeHappy! Newsletter (for new subscribers)

Happiness Facts

Follow Up to the Last Edition’s “Actions”

Preparing for a Very Happy Holiday Season

Actions for the Next 60 Days to BeHappy!

What's New at BeHappy101.com

BeHappy! at Work ... A new book in the making
























INTRODUCTION
(for new subscribers)

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide a regular and consistent supplement to the action-oriented process in my website - www.behappy101.com - and in my first book, simply called BeHappy!

It is intended to make a powerful contribution to the amount of joy and fulfillment in your daily life by providing regular tools, reminders, and strategies to:

- Live everyday with more PASSION, JOY, and FULFILLMENT
- Create and maintain better, stronger, long-lasting RELATIONSHIPS
- More easily get through the TOUGH TIMES we all experience in life
- Live HEALTHIER — and even LIVE LONGER — with more VITALITY
- Be more SUCCESSFUL
- Make more MONEY (even get WEALTHY)
- Raise HAPPIER CHILDREN
- And much, much more

This is far beyond a “How To” concept. It is rather a “Do” system, which, when used in conjunction with the BeHappy! book, helps create your own personal “Happiness Plan” for your life. If you want a template or “blueprint” for this Happiness Plan, Click here and you can get it free.

Since my goal is to help make people happier, however, it is best to get the book to use along with the website to achieve maximum benefit from the plan (yes, that’s partly a sales pitch — but it’s true).

35% discount for newsletter subscribers!


To ORDER BeHappy! NOW
Click here

BIG DISCOUNT for newsletter subscribers.
Order NOW and get $7.00 OFF
 Get it NOW for just $12.95!! (Regular price: $19.95)

Use DISCOUNT CODE LF14 WHEN ORDERING


MY GUARANTEE TO YOU: While most of the information at behappy101.com is free, I want you to BeHappy! with anything you purchase on this site; our reputation depends on it. Nothing is more important to me personally than for you to be completely satisfied with the information you receive. So if you are not satisfied with anything you buy on this site, for any reason whatsoever, simply contact me and I will have a refund check cut and sent to you immediately.


So get started right away. Take action immediately. Go to behappy101.com and join the many people whose lives have been changed. Go ahead...

BeHappy! my friends

...Jimmy

HAPPINESS FACTS

  • The rate of depression and suicide does not increase during the holidays as most people once thought.

  • “Seasonal Depression” is a recognized condition around the holiday season - believed to be brought on by several possible factors, including the fewer daylight hours in the wintertime.
Follow Up from the Last Edition of The BeHappy! Newsletter

The last edition of this newsletter focused on money and wealth. Did you take the actions described? Did you draft, review, and refine your personal Definition of Happiness? If not, make sure to do it. It is essential to living the happiest possible life. If so, then, did money and/or wealth show up in that Definition? If there was a financial component to it, did you start thinking about a financial plan to help you achieve your goals and objectives related to money? All these actions are important if you want to lead your happiest possible life.

I know it can be a lot to do, but it’s worth it. And, as I mentioned in that last newsletter, I’m going to follow up with some next steps on this financial issue in future editions. But not this one. No, since it’s “that time of year again”, I’m going to devote the message in this edition of The BeHappy! Newsletter to...

Preparing for a Very Happy Holiday Season

Well, it’s already the end of October and the holidays are approaching rapidly. And this time of year – the holiday season - represents different things to different people. What may be the most joyous time of the year for one person, may be the most miserable time of the year for another.

For a week-by-week holiday happiness plan, go to BeHappy101.com starting at the end of November (just before U.S. Thanksgiving) for a weekly series called Holiday Happiness 2009. Check out a preview by clicking here
Certainly the holidays can be stressful for just about everyone. The expectations can be enormous. With all the shopping, gift buying, eating, drinking, socializing, partying, and, for some, traveling – this time of year can be incredibly demanding. All this while having to continue to work (for many people) and just deal with the “regular” parts of daily life.

And this year – 2009 (much like 2008) – presents the added stress of an economy which continues to be in turmoil – with many people dealing with financial pressures and money concerns (please see the 4-part series called Eliminating Fear to Thrive in the Current Downward Economic Cycle to help deal with some of that pressure and anxiety).

In this edition of The BeHappy! Newsletter I want to help you start thinking now about a plan for the holidays, so you can get through them feeling happy, fulfilled, and relaxed rather than miserable, empty, and stressed.

The Neighborhood Shrink (a weekly contributor to BeHappy101.com) has also written a special "early" holiday series of Notes from his Desk which can help you prepare for the holidays and minimize the stress associated with this time of year.
Do you have a plan yet for this holiday season? And by “plan”, I don’t mean a list of gifts you are going to buy for your family, friends, and business colleagues. By a plan I mean a fully detailed description of your activities over the next couple of months, from your calendar of parties to your exercise and nutritional program and your holiday budget.

Because, if you don’t have this kind of plan, I can all but guarantee that your holiday season will be more stressful than necessary. And it may have already started for you. Halloween is here (if you’re reading this soon after I first sent it out during the week of October 26th). Then, in almost a blink of the eye comes Thanksgiving (if you are in the U.S.) and then right into Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years. Yes, it’s quite a busy, hectic time!

So what do you do? You prepare for it. You make a plan – that’s what you do. And the plan MUST include (and really begin with) your Definition of Happiness. Yes, the same Definition of Happiness discussed in the last edition of the newsletter about finances. Because the whole objective here is to have a HAPPY holiday season. And to achieve that objective, you must keep your Definition of Happiness in mind (see the box to the right for a brief review of this concept).
As a review for those who haven’t read the last edition of the newsletter, in my book - BeHappy! - and on my website (www.behappy101.com) I suggest that the only way to live the happiest possible life (which is the goal of this whole BeHappy! “system”) is to first establish your own personal Definition of Happiness. If you don’t know your definition – and I mean really know it – you can’t be as happy as possible.

This Definition of Happiness is different for everyone. It’s something each and every one of us must figure out for ourselves. And it is essential as a first step to being totally happy. That’s why it is the subject of the entire first chapter of my book.

And for the holidays, you need to have your Definition of Happiness in mind to get the most joyous effect from the season.


By keeping your definition in mind, you can create a plan that maximizes your chances of enjoying the holiday season – and remembering it as a positive, fulfilling experience.

If your Definition of Happiness includes a health criterion, for example, you’ll want to make sure your “Holiday Plan” includes exercise and nutritional components to it. Because you’ll be somewhat “miserable” after the holidays if you’ve gained 10 pounds and haven’t worked out in several weeks. Or if your Definition of Happiness includes relationships in some way as a criterion, you’ll be less than fulfilled if you don’t spend enough time with your family and friends because you’re so stretched in other directions.

I hope you get the point here. Your Definition of Happiness should form the foundation for your life’s overall Happiness Plan and for your more specific Holiday Happiness Plan.

Next, the plan needs to help create a balance between all the parts of your typical holiday season (we’ll get to the specifics of this in a minute with the “Action” section of the newsletter). And finally, the plan must identify – and minimize – the negative, stressful parts of your typical holiday season.

For a “Holiday Happiness Plan Template”, click here (if you’re reading this on your computer) and you’ll have a ready-made “blueprint” for creating a plan for yourself that maximizes your joy and fulfillment, while minimizing your stress and anxiety at this time of year.

So, for this newsletter, let me suggest you take the actions recommended below to start the process of creating the happiest possible holiday season.

To start off, then, here are some thoughts to keep in mind as you begin to prepare:
  1. First, make a commitment to yourself and your family to have a happy holiday season;

  2. Create a plan to manage your way through the next couple of months with minimal stress and anxiety;

  3. Keep things in perspective and your life in balance

  4. And proceed with the...
BeHappy! ACTIONS TO TAKE UNTIL THE NEXT ISSUE OF THIS NEWSLETTER

“This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!”
- D.M. Dellinger
Like everything in life, the old saying, “practice makes perfect” applies to happiness, too. By using the tools and concepts in BeHappy! - and applying the principles on my website (www.behappy101.com) and in this bi-monthly newsletter - you'll get the coaching and the “practice” you need to lead the happiest possible life. It takes daily action to get “perfect” at it, though.

So, if you have read previous BeHappy! Newsletters you know that every issue provides some simple action-oriented exercises for the next two months (until the next edition of the newsletter) which relate to the main "subject" of this edition of the newsletter to help make happiness a habit.

Just a few minutes of focus every day or two and you’ll be laying the foundation for the happiest possible life - both for yourself and for those you love.

If you do these things, I can promise you’ll notice a big difference in the quality of your life.

You will BeHappy!

To improve your life, click on any of the pictures below which represent areas of your life which you need to make better:
Actions for the next 60 days:

Take these actions over the next sixty days and by the time you receive the next edition of the BeHappy! Newsletter (around the middle or end of December), I am sure you’ll have the happiest possible holiday season:
  • Make a list of (a) everything you love about the holidays and (b) the things you don’t like so much about the holidays

  • Develop a budget for the season

  • Develop a list of priorities for the holidays

  • Use the "Holiday Happiness Planner" I have created by clicking here, printing out the template and using it to create a complete Holiday Plan (NOTE: I will probably be tweaking the planner some over the next few weeks, so keep updating your version as we get toward the end of November)

  • Go to BeHappy101.com every week starting just before U.S. Thanksgiving until the start of the New Year to get a more detailed and specific perspective on “Holiday Happiness” (as a reminder to do this, set an alarm right now - while you're thinking about it - in your cell phone or PDA [or put a note in your planner/organizer/calendar if you're still not digital] for around the end of every week starting the week of November 16th and read each weekly installment of the BeHappy! Holiday Happiness Series)

If the information on this site helps you and you'd like to make a donation to BeHappy101.com
(to help make others happy),
please click on the "DONATE" button below to make a contribution. The amount you give is entirely up to you, and would be greatly appreciated. A portion of the proceeds will used to contribute to the happiness of others.

WHAT'S NEW AT BeHappy101.com:

Every issue of this newsletter will keep you up to date on new stuff at BeHappy101.com so you can get maximum benefit from the BeHappy! system. You can access any of these quickly by just clicking on the links in the list below.

Here are a few additions over the past two months:
  • I recently became an official Health and Happiness writer for Examiner.com. Check it out by going to BeHappy101.com and clicking on the Examiner.com link just below the "Thought for Today".

  • BeHappy! at Work free e-book: I’m giving away a free introductory (summary) e-book version of the book I’m writing to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. Since you are already a subscriber, you will get a copy when it is released (within the next week). PLEASE tell your friends to subscribe so they’ll get a FREE copy, too.

  • A new E-Coaching opportunity: get personal, private coaching from me - all electronically (by e-mail) with this new, effective part of the BeHappy! system.

  • Several new articles on relationships and other life issues by The Neighborhood Shrink: a regular “clinical psychology” contributor to behappy101.com.

  • A new "tour" component of the website is under construction, which is intended to help you get the most from the behappy101.com site on a regular basis (to be finished in September). This "tour" will provide you the ability to navigate the entire website easily based on whatever interests you - or whatever you need to be happier and more fulfilled.

    Please contribute to the happiness of others by providing your own stories, jokes, testimonials, comments and personal tips on happiness, dealing with adversity, and relationships on the website (there are many places throughout the site to add your messages to help others)

    To contribute HAPPINESS tips: click here
    To contribute RELATIONSHIP tips: click here
    To contribute ADVERSITY tips: click here
    To contribute GOAL tips: click here

  • Several important new blog posts to add to your "happiness toolbox".

  • The popular Thought for Today: a feature on the site initiated February 1st which has provided a new thought every single day since then. Each new Thought for Today gets posted on the behappy101.com homepage every morning (365 days a year) around 5:00 a.m. (unless I sleep in – then it might be 6:00 a.m.). These are thoughts to help start your day off right. The thoughts are generally about happiness, success, relationships, money, etc. So go to the website everyday for a new “thought”. You’ll soon become “addicted” – and it will improve your life tremendously.

  • Several new “Quick Tips” to help increase happiness everyday

  • New Quotes, Poems, and Jokes to help inspire and motivate you, or just make you laugh.
And much, much more. So until the next edition of the BeHappy! Newsletter in mid-to-late December...

Thanks, have a very happy holiday season – and...

BeHappy! my friends


35% discount for newsletter subscibers



To ORDER BeHappy! NOW
Click here

BIG DISCOUNT for newsletter subscribers.
Order NOW and get $7.00 OFF
 Get it NOW for just $12.95!! (Regular price: $19.95)

Use DISCOUNT CODE LF14 WHEN ORDERING


To go to behappy101.com click here now


Order BeHappy! Now