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Władziu Valentino Liberace had the right idea when he popularized/remixed the phrase, “laughing all the way to the bank” to address critics who berated his music and talent as a pianist and entertainer in the early-to-mid-1950s. In the collective human pursuit for improvement and innovation, there is, unfortunately, this pervasive notion that you must be perfect or damn near next to it to be not only critically-acclaimed (this might hold more truth thanks to elitism) but also commercially successful. The latter, in particular, could not be further from the truth. In fact, it is perfectionism and the pursuit of “perfection” that sees people jogging on the spot, marking time and floating in the ether called limbo, instead of making and seeing tangible progress. Quality comes as a result of quantity. You get better at something by doing it again and again and again. It’s the repetition of an act that creates a habit which ultimately leads to what we think of as perfection in something. The book, “Atomic Habits“, illustrates this point well. It’s not the smartest or most talented people who are most successful in life. You may feel this is unfair. That this truth is an injustice. Truth is–it doesn’t matter. Truth is, having the highest skill set or knowledge base or set of talents is not what’s most likely to make you highly successful in life. While there are several habits wildly successful people adopt and practice, there are, what I like to call, two pinnacle habits. The first is consistency, and if you’ve been reading the blog for any amount of time, this should come as no surprise to you. What’s the second? Simple. Being happy. Choosing to be happy. Actively practicing happiness. Intentionally. Not passively. Making it not just a life-long priority, but a life-long choice. A lifestyle. Matter of fact, being consistent is easier when you’re happy. Happiness begets consistency, and consistency, in turn, beget happiness. One hand washes the other. Happiness and consistency are the two pinnacles habits that will practically guarantee your success and that you win at life.

Yes, being happy is a choice and an intentional way of life. It may not always seem or feel that way, but a lot of your experiences and how you go through life largely depends on how you choose to react to your externalities. So much of how you feel and, therefore, act, is tied directly to your outlook on life, people, yourself, and your mindset at any given time. Knowing that happiness is a choice is actually good news. Seriously. It means that you have direct control over its attainment for yourself at any given time. It means that you do not have to rely on somebody else for your happiness. Even though that is another pervasive notion that has been fed to entire generations of us at this point, being happy is not someone else’s responsibility. You cannot and should not look to others to grant you happiness. That is not only unrealistic, but toxic. Each individual must be accountable for their own contentment, happiness, elation, and joy in life. This does not mean that you cannot glean happiness from others, but it does mean you cannot demand it.

The book, “The Happiness Advantage” will allow you to truly appreciate and internalize just how fundamental and necessary it is for you to be happy. You actually need to be happy to be successful. That might sound either odd or trivial, but it cannot be overstated. But it’s not enough to simply read it or even internalize its message. You must practice what you learn in order to implement and apply the lessons so that you see their impact in your life and in yourself. Get a gratitude journal asap and use it. Every. Single. Day. As already mentioned, practicing gratitude is one of the top 10 habits of wildly successful people. One of the most recommended books on the blog, “Atomic Habits“, also encourages practicing gratitude, either written or verbal, whichever is easier for you to be consistent with. Personally, I do summarized journals for the day and right after my entry, I verbally say one thing I’m grateful for that happened that day. I found that building the habit of practicing gratitude was easier for me if I did it verbally in the beginning. So, go with what’s easiest for you to do so that you stick with it and it becomes a habit.

Its’ exponentially easier to approach situations, people, desires, goals and life overall from a place and point of positivity and optimism which both beget confidence, assurance, and positive expectation which, in turn, beget motivation and the drive to stay the course and be consistent. Throughout this blog, this word will keep coming up. This is the winning word. Keep it on you at all times. Even in your beauty sleep.

So, if you want to bring in six, seven, eight, nine figures or build a multimillion/multibillion dollar business/enterprise, well…start laughing. Literally. I find that, the bigger your dreams and the higher your aims and targets, the happier and more consistently happy you need to be. Doing things that most people don’t do requires such a level of optimism which, unsurprisingly, most people do not intentionally practice (because they don’t know to or how). In order to stand out and do big things, you have to not only think differently, but do things differently. While building a seven or eight figure business sounds daunting and implausible to many people, being wildly successful does not actually require Herculean effort many of us assume it does. As “Atomic Habits” both illustrates and demonstrates, massive changes and gains can come from the powerful compounding of small, intentional choices and habits over time. And, as we say here on Youniqorn, “Shit doesn’t just add up. It compounds“. In building the habits of the person you want to become, it doesn’t mean you get rid of the person you currently are overnight. It does mean you make incremental changes which you can manage on a day-to-day, week-to-week and month-to-month. And one of those habits is intentional happiness. 

Practice happiness. In all its forms: Contentment. Peace of mind. Laughter. Fun. Silence. Satisfaction. Gratitude. Therapy. Sharing. Positive connections. Do it every single day. Practice with someone else to keep you accountable and consistent because that’s how you win. As we talked about in How to Be Extraordinary, being consistent is freaking hard, and so much harder when you try to do it by yourself. So don’t. Get a happiness/gratitude partner to hold you accountable and, in holding them accountable, in return, you’ll reinforce your happiness mindset.

In order to actively practice happiness, perform activities and develop skills and qualities that put you in a good mood, make you happy, boost your confidence and align with/support your happy mindset and lifestyle. Make it easy to be happy. Consuming content that makes you happy is a fantastic way to keep your spirits up and keep you in a positive headspace. Comedy and different types of humor (animations, skits, jokes, etc.) are sure-fire ways to make you laugh and keep you smiling.

Speaking of smiling, actually smile. Do it. Right now. The simple act of smiling, and smiling big send positive signals to your brain whether or not there is something to smile about. Smiling for no reason at all still creates a positive feedback loop to your brain and makes you feel good. This is why you tend to smile or laugh when other people do and why a lot of adults tend to smile and feel good when they see babies smile/laugh. Actually watch yourself smile in a mirror (carry one around with you so that you can make this practice consistent regardless of where you are) and smile as big and wide as you can and hold it for two minutes. You’ll find that this simple action will enhance your mood pretty much instantaneously and, when you fall into the habit of doing it all the time, you’ll find that even when you do get upset, you won’t stay that way for as long as you used to and you’ll tend to recover from dips in mood and emotion relatively quicker. Choosing to be happy does not mean that you won’t feel bad, angry, frustrated, or any other negative emotion. That wouldn’t be practical or normal. But it does mean that you will intentionally choose to focus on the positive emotions over the negative and be proactive instead of reactive so that you can take advantage of the good things they will bring to you and your life.

In addition to getting a happiness accountability partner, surround yourself with other happy, positive, and optimistic people and distance yourself from those who are generally pessimistic, negative, and moody. Emotional energy is very easily transferred and you do not want your efforts of practicing happiness to be thwarted by the toxic energies of men, women, and children whose vibrations will only dilute and take away yours. This is extremely important because the trajectory of our lives is highly influenced by who we are around and who has consistent access to us. This is especially true for those who have intimate access to us like boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, significant others, etc. This is why it’s so fundamental to choose who you want to marry extremely carefully because that will, in no small part, determine who you become and the course of your life. Sometimes, it’s your own biological family members who will be the most negative and pessimistic. As hard as it may be, you will have to come to a point where you have to either deal with them from a distance or simply cut them off altogether because they will surely hold you back and keep you from realizing your immeasurable potential. To be happy. To do better. To be better. And to become the best version of yourself at any given time.

Following this, find and/or design environments and spaces that support your happiness and offer you optimism and positivity. Design your home, in particular, for happiness. This is part of designing your systems, as talked about in “Atomic Habits“. Operating in a negative space and trying to get work done or be productive or build a business in a physical environment that makes you feel bad, upset, uneasy or otherwise uncomfortable will make it significantly harder for focus on the most important thing(s) and your energy will be split between trying to get your shit done and having to ward off negativity. This is one of the biggest wastes of energy and time (your most valuable asset) and you can never be efficient like this. For more detail on designing a happy home, read How to Turn Your Place into Your Palace and How to Have a Happy Home. Do the same for spaces outside your home/domain where you have less control. For instance, bring a small green potted plant to your office cubicle or use a cute mouse/mouse pad or colorful keyboard that boosts your mood as you use it to boost your productivity. Energizing colors (like yellow, blue, and green) and cute designs (smiley face illustrations and kawaii stickers) are simple but effective and easy little ways to design your environment for happiness and, therefore, productivity, efficiency, and success.

For more thorough reading, again the two books I recommend are “The Happiness Advantage” and “Atomic Habits“. In addition to the content on Youniqorn, implementing what you learn from these resources will ensure that you’ll be laughing your way to the bank in no time.

Share one way you actively practice happiness down below and how it’s helped boost you into becoming the person you want to become and your desired success.