Happiness is something you need to become successful, not the other way around.

"It turns out that our brains are literally hardwired to perform at their best not when they are negative or even neutral, but when they are positive." - Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage

You are lying about being happy. We do it every day when someone asks how you are doing, or how your job is, or how the family is doing. “It’s great, thanks for asking.” Chances are you have already done it at least once today. I am not advocating diving into a monologue about why you are not happy when someone asks politely but asking that you do something to BECOME happy.  

Tony Robbins talks about your “state” and how we feel right now mentally and emotionally will determine how we look at life. If you are unhappy when you kids walk into the room, you might get short with them opposed to seeing love coming right at you.   

If you have ever read Mindset by Carol Dweck, you will see this same emphasis on positivity as she talks about “Growth Mindset.” The principle is that your outcomes in life are not fixed, but you always can grow. And “the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.” With the growth mindset, you believe the hand you are dealt in life is the STARTING point for development.  

So the next time someone asks you how you are doing and you have to lie to say something positive take that as a starting point to develop happiness. It might not be there today, but that is ok if your mindset and your state are focused on developing into something better.

HAPPINESS is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can! - Shawn Achor

Evolution is easier than Revolution

Business plans and strategy plans are great.  They can serve as a road map to the growth of a business and often time can help steer people away from making decisions that don't fit into the core of their model.  The problem with plans are they are often too rigid and they are often idealistic.  Planning for your business to be a unicorn is great for moral and ego stroking, but it is as realistic as predicting lighting strikes.  A good plan should outline short achievable goals that don't require giant disruptive shifts in operations and market presence.  The term minimally viable product (MVP) is the catchy phrase for startups launching new products in order to beta and review market reaction to a new product.  The same principle can be applied to a growing business, already viable business.  Yes, this is contingent on having a business that has already seen some success and is looking to expand, not a brand new business.  Dust off those 7th grade science books and you will read about this same basic principle known as the scientific method.  Variables and controls.  Keep the foundational items as your constants while you make small and controlled (and measurable) changes.  Baby steps.  We are making a big assumption here that you are tracking and measuring where and how you develop new business.  Try adding a service or product to an existing offering to gauge customer adoption.  If your wine bar doesn't offer food you don't have to build a gourmet kitchen, try offering light snacks or apps before ordering a year’s supply of steaks.  These small adjustments are not only easier for consumers to adopt but for staff as well.  Remember that staff adoption is almost as important as consumer adoption when you are asking people to take on additional workload and responsibilities without necessarily changing compensation.  Evolution is a process that takes time, but if done correctly can lead to healthy sustainable changes.