How to Be Happy at Work

By: Geoffrey James

If you're unhappy at work--or anywhere else, for that matter--it's because you've made yourself unhappy. There's an easy way to change that.

Let me start off with a little story.
I once knew a saleswoman–young, divorced–who got a diagnosis of breast cancer.  She had to work and raise two kids while fighting the cancer. Even so, she managed to be happy at work, noticeably happier than her co-workers.  In fact, she not only won her battle with cancer but subsequently became one of the top salespeople at Bristol Myers.

She was not, as it happens, naturally cheerful.  Quite the contrary.  When she started full-time work, she was frequently depressed.  But she turned it around, using the techniques I'm going to provide you in this column.
That saleswoman once told me: When you're unhappy, it's because you've decided to be unhappy.
Maybe it wasn't a conscious decision; maybe it crept up on you while you weren't looking–but it was a decision nonetheless.  And that's good news, because you can decide instead to be happy. You just need to understand how and why you make the decisions.

What Are Your Rules?
Happiness and unhappiness (in work and in life) result entirely from the rules in your head that you use to evaluate events.  Those rules determine what's worth focusing on, and how you react to what you focus on.
Many people have rules that make it very difficult for them to happy and very easy for them to be miserable.
I once worked with a sales guy who was always angry at the people he worked with. The moment anything didn't go the way he thought it should go, he'd be screaming in somebody's face.  He was making everyone around him miserable–but just as importantly, he was making himself miserable, because just about anything set him off.

For this guy, the everyday nonsense that goes on in every workplace was not just important, but crazy-making important.
I once asked him what made him happy.  His answer: "The only thing that makes this !$%$#! job worthwhile is when I win a $1 million account."  I asked him how often that happened.  His response: "About once a year."

In other words, this guy had internal rules that guaranteed he'd be miserable on a day-to-day basis, but only happy once a year.

One of the other sales guys at that firm had the exact opposite set of rules.  His philosophy was "every day above ground is a good day."  When he encountered setbacks, he shrugged them off–because, according to his internal rules, they just weren't that important.  When I asked him what made him miserable, his answer was: "Not much."  When I pressed him for a real answer, he said: "When somebody I love dies."
In other words, the second sales guy had rules that made it easy for him to be happy but difficult to be miserable.

I'd like to be able to write that Mr. Positivity regularly outsold Mr. Negativity, but in fact their sales results were similar.  Even so, I think Mr. Negativity was a loser, because he lived each day in a state of misery.  His colleague was always happy.  He was winning at life.  He was happy at work.
 
Make Yourself Happier: 3 Steps
The saleswoman who had breast cancer was happy, too, and this is the method she used to make herself happy:


1. Document Your Current Rules
Set aside a half-hour of alone time and, being as honest as you can, write down the answers to these two questions:

• What has to happen for me to be happy?
• What has to happen for me to be unhappy?

Now examine those rules.  Have you made it easier to miserable than to be happy?  If so, your plan is probably working.


2. Create a Better Set of Rules
Using your imagination, create and record a new set of rules that would make it easy for you to be happy and difficult to be miserable.  Examples:

• "I enjoy seeing the people I work with each day."
• "I really hate it when natural disasters destroy my home." 

Don't worry whether or not these new rules seem "realistic"–that's not the point.  All internal rules are arbitrary, anyway.  Just write rules that would make you happier if you really believed them.


3. Post the New Rules Where You'll See Them
When you've completed your set of "new" rules, print out them out and post copies in three places: your bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car, and the side of your computer screen.  Leave them up, even after you've memorized them.
Having those new rules visible when you're doing other things gradually re-programs your mind to believe the new rules.  You will be happy at work.  It's really that simple.
Oh, and by the way ... That saleswoman? She was my mother.

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How to Make Failure Impossible

No one likes failing. Use these four steps to make sure you're always a winner.

Today, I'm going to explain something so simple, and yet so useful, that it's amazing that so many people don't get it.
 It's a four-step process that literally makes failure an impossibility.  Pay particular attention to the final step, because it's the proverbial "doozy."

 
Here we go:

1. Set an achievable yet inspirational goal.
If you don't believe a goal is achievable, you won't take action to achieve it.  Therefore, any goal that you set must be within the realm of possibility and tied to actions that you can actually take.
A goal must also be inspirational enough to motivate you to take action. For example, "I will lose 10 pounds" is achievable but not particularly inspirational and thus not very motivating. "I will look and feel healthy, fit and sexy" is both achievable and motivating.


2. Decide that you must achieve the goal. 
Never start out by saying, "I'll try."
You might as well not bother–because you're going to fail anyway. The reason people say "I'll try" (rather than "I must") is that they're giving themselves permission to fail, which means that they really aren't committed.
It's only through being 100% committed to achieving a goal that you'll find the mental and emotional resources to follow the next three steps.


3. Treat setbacks as signals.
A setback is something that blocks you from achieving a goal. Most people treat setbacks as "mini-failures," and often use them as an excuse to give up ... and therefore fail.
The correct way to view a setback is as a signal that you may need to change your approach to achieve the goal. If an action consistently results in a setback, you must therefore take a different action, repeating the change as necessary.


4. Define 'failure' as 'failing to take action.'
Chances are, if you follow the first three steps, you'll achieve your goal–if not immediately, then eventually.
However, the simple truth is that you don't have control over anything except your own behavior.  Redefining failure as "failing to take action" puts failure (and therefore success) within your personal control.  When the only failure is inactivity, you automatically take the actions required to achieve the goal.
Is it really that simple? Very much so.  Follow these four steps and, as long as you remain alive and kicking, you'll keep taking action–and thereby make failure impossible.

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Information is Power!

"Nothing is Secret Anymore!" -
The Confessions of a Millionaire Information Broker" 
By Matthew Lesko*********************************
Information is the currency of today's world. Those who control information are the most powerful people on the planet - and the ones with the most bulging bank accounts. 
The timely delivery of vital information is one of the most lucrative businesses you can have in this new millennium. I should know. I started one of the most successful information brokerage businesses in the country. I'm also perhaps the world's  most well known information broker, and I've made millions of  dollars from doing it, and I'm going to show you how to easily do  the same. 
 
Let me backtrack a little bit.
 
All my life I wanted to start my own business. I didn't care what it was - I just wanted to learn how to feed myself and not work for someone else. I even considered selling hot dogs on the mall near the Washington Monument. I just wanted to be my own boss. 
 
Sound familiar?
 
I had a string of failed businesses before I hit the big time.It was while working as a computer administrator of a travel company that I learned something that changed my whole life.
The hot shots that ran the company fascinated me. They were powerful individuals who discussed, negotiated and executed big deals all the time.  In order to get in on some of that wheeling and dealing, I'd hang around late at night when they had their meetings, and volunteer to get coffee and doughnuts, do the Xeroxing -- do anything to try to learn how to be like them.
 
One day, they came into my office and asked me - not to get coffee - but to get information on how good or bad the rental car business was.  It seems they were considering making a bid to acquire Avis Rent-A-Car, and needed some good market information to go along with the financial statements they were poring over. I, of course, said "Yes, yes, yes!"  I was their "yes man," even though I knew nothing about the rental car business and had no idea where I was going to get this information. 
 
Well, I wanted to do this so badly I could almost taste it. This was one giant step up from coffee and Xeroxing that lucky people are offered once in a lifetime, and I didn't want to blow it. I saw myself as a young turk on the way up the ladder of success. But I didn't have a clue where to go for the information. 
I sat in my little office wondering if I could make the grade. I sat there staring at my desk hoping something would pop into my head and give me the magic answer. I stared at the telephone
and then picked it up thinking: 
 
"Here I am in Washington D.C. needing to know about the rental car business. Who can I call?  Why not the government? I pass all those big buildings everyday on the way to work. Maybe someone there can help me." 
Well, it worked! By starting with the government information operator, I was able to work my way through a dozen more calls and referrals until I finally found an expert in the rental car business.  It turned out to be a man who used to be the president of Hertz and was now in Washington - and bored out of his mind with his government job.  He actually invited me to lunch so he could tell me everything he knew. 
I was shocked! I couldn't believe that in 45 minutes on the telephone, I could locate a real expert who was willing to tell me everything I needed to know about the rental car business. And, he even wanted to take me to lunch! 
Afterwards, I was so excited about the information I had just received that I burst into a meeting my boss was having with his hotshot merger and acquisition buddies. He was eager to hear
everything I learned from my lunch right then and there. They were blown away.  They couldn't believe that a young turk like me, who didn't know anyone, could get such information that we had all assumed was privileged and confidential. 

I got more excited about the information I dug up on the rental car business than with any program I ever wrote for the company. I knew then that information was power. I also knew then that there was immense value in delivering timely information on demand. I was hooked. I started a new business obtaining information for people on anything they needed. I became a consultant to people in the merger and acquisition business, and I got all the information they needed to make their business a success - information they were unable to find themselves. 
This time, success finally happened. The business grew from just me, a telephone, and a desk in my one-bedroom apartment to over 30 employees and a million and a half dollars in sales in a little more than 3 years.  Even after a string of failing businesses, I finally realized my first success, and I'll show how you can do it, too. 
 
How to Create Money Out of Thin Air 
 
What I learned early on is that you can literally take information that is free to obtain, but oftentimes hard for the average person to find - turn around and sell it for big bucks.  All it requires is a little resourcefulness, and the knowledge of where to find the information that is sellable.
 
There's nothing to it.  These are the only things you need: 
 
1)  Believe the notion that we live in an information society, and if you're willing to make a few necessary calls (or e-mails), you can gather information on almost anything - and make that information sellable. 
 
2)  You need to know where to look for the information. Although there are countless sources of information, if you do nothing else but tap into the world's largest source of free information, you can find virtually everything that you need. That source is the U.S. Government.  [I've spent 25 years of my life as an information broker, and I have yet to find a source of information more comprehensive than the U.S. Government.] 
 
Do you want to get an idea of just how vast the government's information reserve is?
If you took all the major commercial publishers in the United States, they collectively produce 50,000 new titles in all the libraries and bookstores around the country in a single year. In contrast, one single publisher in the government (the National Technical Information Service) publishes over 100,000 titles a year.  Multiply that by the number of government agencies that produce information, and the amount of information becomes absolutely staggering! 
 
The range of subjects on which you can find information is also mind-boggling: The government not only counts people, the number of jelly beans manufactured in the country, toilets installed, and how many potatoes grown; but also gives investment trends and opportunities likely to show up in the Wall Street Journal in weeks; it also answers any legal question better than the highest paid lawyer. There are 700,000 government experts in any field you can imagine, who will give you free information simply because you asked. 
How to Use the Information You Gather: 
 
1)  Find customers who need, and are willing to pay for, specialized information. Position yourself as someone who knows how to find information on practically everything, but do narrow down the types of information you can get for your customers' specific needs. That way, you zero in with the precision of a sharpshooter, instead of just firing a shotgun that goes in all directions.
 
As an information broker, always remember what Willy Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks. He said, "Because that's where the money is." You need to live by the same slogan if you want to stay in business. Choose the path of least resistance. Choose a customer base that consists of rich people or big companies that have money to spend on finding out how they can get richer -- and are willing and able to spend it.
 
2)  Gather specialized information that would be of great interest to a specific business sector (example: Internet marketers). Position yourself as an expert on a particular subject, then write in-depth special reports that feature the specialized information you found, package them in an e-book, and make them available to Internet marketers for a fee. As an alternative, you may also create a newsletter that regularly updates the specialized information - and make money on the paid subscriptions. More and more businesses are realizing the value of having good information for good decision-making. Whether big or small, a business can't succeed today unless it keeps up on the latest information. 
 
What kind of information do businesses need? They need information on their markets, their competition, technology, money sources and regulations, for starters. Develop a sensitivity to the needs of your prospects by asking them directly what they need.  From that, you can determine the kind of information that would best satisfy their needs. 
 
Here's a useful tip: You'd do well to develop a 'hook." A "hook" is a marketing term that makes it easier for people to purchase your services. It's taking the situation I mentioned earlier about "knowing how to find information about practically anything" and refining it down to a specialty. If you specialize is some interesting aspect of the information brokerage industry, it's easier to attract your prospects' attention. 
 
Define your niche by identifying the customer group that you specialize in helping: small businesses, or non-profit organizations.  Or, you can define it by the area of information you want to deal with, such as health information, company information, or international information. Another way you can describe your business is by the medium of the information you want to provide, such as: only database searches, only document retrieval, or only interviewing industry experts. 
 
I was fortunate enough to have started in Washington D.C., where I developed the hook of government information. It gave me an instant edge over my competitors, even though I had no more experience gathering information then they did.To make a long story short, the government information I've amassed over the years have earned me a coveted position of being a New York Times syndicated columnist, and I've even authored two New York Times best-sellers featuring information that I've obtained for free. I have also been privileged to be regularly featured as the nation's top expert on government information on TV programs such as Larry King, Oprah, David Letterman, Jay Leno, the Today Show and Good Morning America. 
The key to becoming a successful information broker is to be the first to find the information, and deliver it on a timely basis to those who want it.  Then sit back and watch the money appear out of thin air! 
 

=========================================   Matthew Lesko is a New York times syndicated columnist, and author of 2 New York Times best-sellers.  He is regularly featured as the nation's top expert on government information on TV programs such as Larry King, Oprah, David Letterman, Jay Leno, the Today Show and Good Morning America.  His latest book, "Free Money for Entrepreneurs on the Internet" identifies hundreds of little-known sources of free government money for "net-repreneurs" and reveals the secret formula for easily obtaining the money for your business.

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How to Deal With Pressure and Stress Problems

Dealing with pressure and stress can be complicated in our lives. Everyone has it, and at times it can get the best of us. Knowing how to handle pressure can help us eliminate stress in our lives. The stress symptoms can be forms of anxiety, along with depression as well. Stress at work, and feeling the pressure from your boss can be difficult examples. Sometimes we put too many expectations on ourselves and we make things more difficult than they need to be. Being able to recollect ourselves can help us manage problems around us better.

Being constantly under pressure to do well can be a burden. You have responsibilities in your life that must be taken can of. You need to change your approach and develop new routines in your life. Also provide different approaches to help solve different solutions. You need to provide less tension in your life, and bring more joy into it. You can do these things, you just have to learn to take charge in your life. When you take charge of things and situations change. You can never expect things to change by themselves. 

Instructions

1          Take a break to recollect your thoughts. Take a timeout and recollect yourself. Whatever it is, you need a vacation from it. Whether that vacation is five minutes, a day, or weeks. Take a vacation and find something peaceful. Keep your mind of things for awhile. Find something relaxing that you can enjoy. That can be a song, a cold beer, or a walk on the beach. Whatever you need, find something that can help you regain control of your mind. A peace of mind can change a lot of what you can do. You can't expect to solve problems when your mind is not at ease. So ease your mind first.

2          Try to simplify the problem. To simplify something and help eliminate the stress, evaluate the situation. Look at how you can benefit from the situation at hand by making things easier. Break things into steps and work through the problems slowly. Take a methodical approach and view things at all angles. Sometimes it might take time to let the answers to come to. Sometimes the answers can be staring you right in the face. If it's a person problem, then put yourself in their position and imagine how they'd want you to react.

3          Develop a swagger. Establish your confidence to get things done. Give yourself props for the things you've accomplished. Allow personal accomplishment motivate you. Allow failure to do that as well. Consider the pros and let that influence you as well. Peace of find, financial gain, whatever that is there to help you establish the confidence needed. Use the benefits to help motivate you and give you the confidence needed to overcome adversity. Sometimes to establish your swagger you'll need to learn to have fun again. Don't take everything so seriously, you'll learn to relax and get things done more efficiently. Learn to laugh at problems and not let them consume you.

4          Take charge of a situation, don't let a situation take charge of you. Be aggressive and have that attack demeanor in you. Someone that stands up and takes charge of what is happening can control a lot. If you lets problem come to you, rather than stepping up, it can sometimes expand into bigger ones. Then this adds more stress and pressure into your life. Be a go getter and have that mentality. Don't avoid things, take charge before situations become stressful problems.

5          Focus on your strengths and forget your weaknesses. Sometimes when you're consumed in what you can't do, it takes away a lot of you. Everyone has weaknesses, so just forget them. Focus on your strengths and the things you do well. Use your strengths and apply them into your daily life. You'll discover it becomes a lot easier when you use this strategy. It helps deal with your problems easier and more effectively. Apply your people skills when dealing with people. Apple your talents into your strategies.

6          Manage your time better. Don't become so consumed into your problems, otherwise you're going to feel trapped. Sometimes you need to take a step back, and learn to let things play out as well. You don't have do everything constantly, it's not healthy actually. You need breaks along with time to just sit back enjoy the things in your life. You can't have a obsessive mindset of feeling like everything needs fixed. Your mind will be sharper if you're not handling too many problems at a time. It will help you deal with situations much better if you learn to take a slower approach, along with a patient one. More importantly your time shouldn't be consumed into just your problems.

You should not make a habit of creating problems when there aren't any. A bad habit a lot of people have, when dealing with enough stress in their lives. You'll learn to overcome pressure effectively and when you apply more happiness in your life. Things that give you passion and love should be applied into your daily life. Sometimes you need to take a break from problems, to have a better attack when dealing with them. Don't be consumed in things, otherwise you'll provide yourself with more pressure and stress.

7          Ask for help. You don't have to deal with things all alone. Help is a good thing, a great thing to have. Two minds are better than one anyways. Lean on others when needed and it will help you out in variety of different situations. Whether that is a advice, favors, or just a helpful hand.

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