Archives for November 2022

How to Find Gratitude When Everything Goes Wrong

11.28.2022 by Marc Chernoff // 12 Comments

Angel and I recently interviewed a minimum wage motel housekeeper in Miami for a side project we’re working on inspired by our New York Times bestselling book, Getting Back to Happy: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Reality, and Turn Your Trials into Triumphs. “Do you like your job?” we asked her. To our surprise, she smiled from ear to ear and was breathless for a couple moments. She finally collected herself and said, “I can’t believe how much I love my job! I get to make dozens of our guests happy every day and feed my two beautiful children at the same time…”

Then, at that same motel 30 minutes later, we met a family of six in the lobby. They were [Read more…]

19 Signs You’re Doing Better than You Think

11.23.2022 by Marc Chernoff // 13 Comments

Even in uncertain times, it’s always important to keep things in perspective.

True wealth is the ability to fully experience life.
– Henry David Thoreau

You are alive.
You are able to see the sunrise and the sunset.
You are able to hear birds sing and waves crash.
You can walk outside and feel the breeze through your hair and the sun’s warmth on your skin.
You have tasted the sweetness of chocolate cake.
You didn’t go to sleep hungry last night.
You awoke this morning with a roof over your head.
You had a choice of what clothes to wear.
You haven’t feared for your life today.
You have overcome some considerable obstacles, and you have learned [Read more…]

12 Little Things You Should Know Before Letting Go

11.12.2022 by Angel Chernoff // 11 Comments

(NOTE: This is an excerpt from “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently”.)

She rarely makes eye contact. Instead, she looks down at the ground. Because the ground is safer. Because unlike people, it expects nothing in return. The ground just accepts her for who she is.

As she sits at the bar next to me, she stares down at her vodka tonic, and then the ground, and then her vodka tonic. “Most people don’t get me,” she says. “They ask me questions like, ‘What’s your problem?’ or ‘Were you mistreated as a child?’ But I never respond. Because I don’t feel like explaining myself. And I don’t think they really care anyway.”

The music is getting loud and I can see that she needs to talk. I ask, “Want to get some fresh air?”

In the chilly night air, she tells me her story. [Read more…]