We’re on a happiness up-curve right now… if you’re NOT happy, you have only yourself to blame. Plenty of people are providing roadmaps—find one that resonates with you and follow it.

Here’s a place to start:

Phil Gerbyshak was kind enough to include my “3 Steps to Happiness” on his blog, along with links to four other awesome bloggers.

Check them all out, and get going…your happiness is just a few steps away.

We all want to be happy. To that end, we pursue all sorts of things: money, love, fame, fancy cars, sex, plasma-screen TVs. We use external forces as a barometer to our happiness. If we ONLY had a better job… we’d be happy. If we ONLY had more money… we’d be happy. If we ONLY lost 30 pounds… we’d be happy.

When we focus on external things to make us happy, we miss the most basic key to happiness there is: us.

We also confuse happiness with pleasure. We often have experiences that aren’t “pleasant”. No one would find pleasure in having cancer, for example. Or even in dealing with a flat tire during rush hour. Many things in life can be distinctly unpleasant—dental drills, for example.

But happiness is different. I see happiness as feeling joy or contentment when we reflect on our life, whether remembering the past, enjoying the present or planning the future. Happiness is about living our own lives, in our own way, with integrity and purpose, and being fully present and involved in the glorious uncertainty of wondering what’s coming next. Happy people know their life is perfect just the way it is. They’re living the life they were meant to live; that’s happiness.

Here are my top 3 rules about living in happiness.

1. Pay attention to what makes you happy. Whatever it is, do more of it. If playing golf makes you happy, do more of it. If walking your dog makes you happy, do more of that (your dog will love you for it). Whatever it is, spend more time doing things that make you happy and it’ll spill over into the rest of your life.

2. Embrace your happiness. Happiness isn’t something you’re going to get “someday”—it’s your life right now. Practice gratitude, be optimistic, and make laughter a regular part of your day. All those things will increase your happiness quotient.

3. Learn to be happy. Spend time in self-reflection and self-development. The more at ease you are with yourself, and the more comfortable you are in your own skin, the greater your level of happiness.

What are some things that you’ve learned about happiness?

It’s time again for the annual Bulwer-Lytton prize for the worst opening sentence—my favorite award!

This year’s winner is supremely awful:

“Theirs was a New York love, a checkered taxi ride burning rubber, and like the city their passion was open 24/7, steam rising from their bodies like slick streets exhaling warm, moist, white breath through manhole covers stamped “Forged by DeLaney Bros., Piscataway, N.J.”—Garrison Spik, Washington, D.C.

Read the rest of the entries here.

The following is an excerpt from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine. This was written for male supervisors of women in the work force during World War II. (Thanks to Tuck Self, The Rebel Belle, for discovering this).

Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees: There’s no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage.

Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject from Western Properties:

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they’re less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn’t be doing it, they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It’s always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. General experience indicates that “husky” girls – those who are just a little on the heavy side – are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination – one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

5. Stress at the outset the importance of time the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they’ll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can’t shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman – it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl’s husband or father may swear vociferously, she’ll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator’s uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can’t be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

I’m in awe at the sheer idiocy of some of these suggestions… and, yet, hidden among the condescension and patronizing tone are a few kernels of wisdom that would serve modern-day managers well. And they apply equally well to both men and women.

• Don’t ridicule. Be tactful when you have to tell someone about a problem with his or her work performance.


• Let your workers have adequate breaks. Everyone needs a few minutes several times a day to rest, regroup, and give their mind (or body) a rest.


• Watch your language. There really isn’t any need for vulgar or harsh language in the workplace.


• Encourage workers to cross-train on one another’s jobs, and change around during the day. A little variety keeps the work fresh and more enjoyable.

Women have come a long way since the original article was written. And we’ll keep forging on ahead!