The Happiness Code: A sneak preview!

I'm currently working on my new book - The Happiness Code.

Here is a sneak preview...

Have you ever wondered why some people are really, genuinely happy yet others experience a near constant state of stress, frustration or disappointment? Why does happiness come so easily to some people? And how can you make sure it comes easily to you?

If you strive to be the best you can be, not only will The Happiness Code be an exciting and inspiring discovery, it will be a relief. By encouraging you to stop trying to be perfect and instead incorporate its ten guiding principles into your life, you will finally discover the secret to lasting happiness.

---------

As a success coach, I have had the chance to examine the thoughts and feelings of hundreds of people. I have found that many people are so focused on changing themselves that they lose themselves in the process. Although their initial desire may have been for self-improvement, too often they use their new education and discoveries as fresh material with which to engage in critical perfectionist behaviour, leading to frustration and anxiety, an erosion of self-belief, and ultimately a lack of enjoyment and fulfilment from everyday life.

When I share this observation, all too often the response I receive is, “I’m just trying to be the best that I can be”.

But what does being the best you can be really mean?

At last there is an answer...

The 10 Happiness Code: 10 Guiding Principles

1. Take charge: the principle of choice
2. Give up control: the principle of influence
3. Live for now: the principle of presence
4. Expect the best: the principal of optimism
5. Back yourself: the principle of belief
6. Get out of the way: the principle of permission
7. Be grateful: the principle of abundance
8. Give all you can: the principle of generosity
9. Keep it up: the principle of commitment
10. Be brave: the principle of courage

Each month I will be expand on one of the guiding principles in this blog, so you too can begin to unlock the secret of lasting happiness in your life.

I can't believe Christmas is only four weeks away... where has this year gone?!?

Unfortunately for so many people Christmas becomes a time of relentless pressure.

This Christmas, why don't you practice saying no - Say no to the people who insist on 'catching up before christmas' even though you haven't heard from them all year, say no to the social engagements that you really don't want to attend and say no the endless bombardment of media messages about who many presents you should buy and how big that christmas dinner should be... Instead connect with your core values and plan a Christmas celebration that honours those.

Want more tips on saying no - check out last weeks Love Your Lifehttp://eepurl.com/e2HQ

LifeCoachLive - 01: Discovering your dreams

Click on the image below to play the first episode of LifeCoachLive: Discovering your dreams

November Newsletter

Click on the image below to listen to my November Newsletter

What I learned today…. In conversation with Michelle Bowden

My guest today, on Real Women Real Success was Michelle Bowden, the author of DON’T PICTURE ME NAKED – how to present your ideas and influence people using techniques that actually work and one of the most vibrant and energetic people I know.

You can listen to the show here or subscribe to the podcast in the iTunes store

Here are some highlights from our conversation that rang particularly true for me:

• Success is hard work – and it’s not instant! *
• Believe you are a lucky person and luck will come your way
• Exist in a state of gratitude – always recognise how fortunate you are and how much you really have
• There are always going to be compromises and you won’t always enjoy them, but you need to be present to what you are doing right now
• Outsource and get as much support into your life as possible so you can spend your time doing the things you love

Michelle also shared two top tips for beating your nerves when presenting to an audience:

1. Remember it’s about them, not you. Your audience isn’t there to criticise you, they’re there to learn from you, so stop worrying about you and focus your energy on how you can be of service to them
2. Nervousness and excitement create the same physical experience within the body, you just change the language you use to articulate these experiences depending on your circumstances. Next time you think you feel nervous about speaking in public, reframe this experience by changing your language; you are simply feeling ‘funny tummy’ because you’re excited!

Michelle has been the Director of her own thriving business, that offers in-house and public training programs to help people present and influence at work, for the past 10 years. She coaches Australian executives for upcoming important presentations and is a conference speaker herself.

As well as all of that she’s also a very busy wife and mother of three little girls: Holly, Maddie and Annabelle.

You can find out more about Michelle and buy her book, atwww.michellebowden.com.au

* Michelle talked about spending 10 years building a thriving business, 10 years developing her skills as a speaker and a trainer, 10 years creating the wealth of knowledge that went into her book and 10 years earning her CSP qualification, the highest recognition for a professional speaker in the world. I thought it was also interesting that Michelle found 10 years to be her magic number. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, he talks about 10 years or 10,000 hours as being the required effort for mastery and Michelle success is a testament to what you can achieve with continued effort.