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3 Simple Actions That Make You Happy

Matthew — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:36:04 +0000

There are three actions that guarantee to your happiness. Happiness is a skill that anybody can learn. So most people believe that happiness is some kind of circumference that is outside of yourself. For example, “When I have the perfect, then I’ll be happier.” In other words, If this thing outside of myself happens, then I’ll be happy. A lot of people think happiness is formula. If I am watching the Super Bowl, having a cigar, drinking a drink with a hot girl on my side, then I’m happy.And those formulas certainly have their momentary hit, but long-term happiness is really just a skill. It’s really a shift in the way that you’re thinking about yourself and about your circumstances in life. Nothing needs to change to make you happy.

You Can Choose Happiness by Changing How You Take Action

1. Devotion. It’s a way of being. Do what you do in the moment to the very best of your ability. When your operating from that standpoint of really focusing in and doing your best, your mood elevates dramatically. Even if you aren’t doing it exactly right. Being intensely focused on doing your best feels good. If you’re doing the dishes, if you’re walking the dog, if you’re playing with the kids, if you are hanging out with your spouse, if you’re with your friends, do your best and you will get positive feelings. When you take the same actions you always take with devotion, the same action feels great!

2. Acts of Service. Helping others, contributing, making a difference, and supporting other people in a selfless way will make you happy. Anytime that you take your attention off of yourself, your happiness rises. When you get out of your head and be of service to others, you get a boost to your happiness. Consider this. Your unhappiness is just a self-centered focus. By focusing your attention on the service of others, you take your attention off of your problems and your happiness increases.

3. Appreciation. What do you like about people? What do you like about the situations you find yourself in? Looking for what you like about yourself. Active appreciation is anti-mind. The mind, The Drunk Monkey, all that talking in your head, it’s not focused on what’s right, what’s working, what you like, what you’re happy about. It’s focused on what’s wrong, what might be wrong, & what needs to be improved. It’s a survival mechanism, so its job is to look for what doesn’t work and then focus on those things, and, of course, that makes you unhappy.Devotion, service and appreciation, those three actions will get you happy. Try them today!

Let Go of Body Fascination and Be Happy!

Matthew — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:57:26 +0000

I’d like to invite you to release your body fascination, so that you can become a happier human being. Your body is a part of the earth. It’s doing whatever it’s doing. You can certainly manipulate it into different forms, that’s for sure. We’ve seen people become stunning bodybuilders. We’ve seen models sculpt their body and adjust it so that they can be more beautiful for the photographs or movies that they’re in. You can certainly do that.

But the majority of us do not have the patience, tenacity or the persistence it takes to make these huge changes. You know, it can take two, three, four hours a day sometimes to sculpt your body into the shape that you want it to be. And you know what? For most people it doesn’t actually even lead to happiness. Some of the most miserable people that I’ve coached are some of the most beautiful that I’ve ever met. And yet, they’re holding themselves accountable to standards that don’t exist.

I request that you release your body fascination, that you realize that your body is just a part of the earth, that your body is just an animal. It’s really your tool for experiencing this particular event that you call your life. Just take care of it!

Here’s what I wrote down. These are part of my intentions that I have for myself and my body. I wrote down, “I’ve befriended my body, and I enjoy it like a childhood pet. I accept my body’s efficiencies and deficiencies, and I allow it to play out my own genetics. I’ve befriended my body.” See, I treat this hunk of meat like it is a pet. You know, I walk it, I move it, I stretch it. I do all the things. I feed it correctly, because it’s my tool, it’s my apparatus for experiencing the world.

I wrote down, “I move, stretch, stress and stimulate my body every day in some way.” I’d like to invite you to do the same thing. “I honor my body’s impulses and signals and I let it guide me to what it needs.” See, so often I have tried to force my body into some regiment, and it was counter to what the impulses were that my body was sending me. And, ultimately, it led to unhappiness. I was unhappy with my body. I was unhappy with the reactions I was having. I was unhappy that I couldn’t discipline it. I wasn’t going with the flow of the body.

I wrote down, “I am totally free of body fascination and have let go of the need to have my body measure up to standards created by my mind’s fascination to survive and fit in.” See, ultimately, where do these standards come from that you’ve been holding yourself to? They don’t exist in the world. You don’t have to be anything. You get to be what you are, and the perfect aspect of you is exactly what you are. Your mind is judging, assessing and evaluating you based on standards that don’t exist.

Begin to catch what I call the drunk monkey in your head beating you up and holding you to standards that don’t exist. And when you do, you’re going to get much happier.

Jim Donovan Interview

Matthew — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:03:15 +0000

I’m bringing you another inspiring interview with someone that I think you should know! Jim Donovan is known as “The original feel good guy,” due to his ability to bring out the best in people. After facing his own “demons” and overcoming impossible odds, he is able to see the potential in others even when they themselves cannot. Jim delivers a message of hope and possibility to everyone he comes in contact with. As a highly respected speaker and author, he has spoken to businesses, trade groups, high schools, government employees, colleges and many others. Find Jim Donovan on his web site http://www.jimdonovan.com

Click the audio player below to listen to this truly inspiring interview!
[audio:http://matthewferry.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Jim-Donovan-Interview.mp3|titles=Jim Donovan Interview]

The Law of Attraction Can Work For You

Matthew — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:05:15 +0000

A lot of people tell me, “Matthew, the law of attraction doesn’t seem to work anymore for me.” I know that there are a lot of things happening that make people think it’s not working.

The first factor is the economy. A few years back, when the economy was absolutely on fire, and everything was easy and just flowing, you could easily make money. You could take on new projects, make things happen. I mean, the optimism was off the charts. The ability to make things happen was spectacular. That was also a perfect time for that movie, “The Secret,” to come out because it really gave the illusion that you could be anyone and produce results through your thinking.

Conversely, now we’re in a time where people are a lot more skeptical. There’s a lot more fear that is in our environment, and you need to take care of your inner world in order to produce the results that you want. Things don’t come as easily now. The law of attraction still works, absolutely.

You didn’t really need to have your other emotions perfectly in line when the economy was amazing, but now you do. You need to get yourself into a place of optimism, joy, and enthusiasm. You have to. And so, I request that you watch some of my videos, and read some of my other blog posts, and learn some of the techniques and tactics that I give you to get your emotions in the right place. Once you get your emotions into a place where you feel great, then good stuff happens, regardless of what’s going on in the economy.

The law of attraction absolutely can work for you. In a down economy, in an up economy, no matter what’s happening, but you must be able to control you emotional state, and stay in a positive and powerful place, or it’s not going to work.

Kathy Williamson Interview

Matthew — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:44:52 +0000

Meet Kathy Williamson, who I had the pleasure of interviewing recently. Kathy has been a non-professional crisis counselor on crisis hotlines for over 12 years and has written a book on overcoming addictions. She currently has two dreams; one is to reach one million of the 24 million addicts in the U.S. with the hope of overcoming their addiction and living their dreams and two, to be the best writer of website content and ebooks for personal development entrepreneurs. You can find Kathy Williamson on her web site, http://www.freelancewriterkathy.com/

Click the audio player below to listen to this fantastic interview! Thank you, Kathy!

[audio:http://matthewferry.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Kathy-Williamson.mp3|titles=Kathy Williamson]

You Are Not a Psychic

Matthew — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:37:52 +0000

If you want to be happy, then you need to stop pretending that you’re psychic. You need to quit pretending that you can look at the outside of people and see who they are. You can’t. You have no idea who people are. You look at someone and you think, “Oh, that’s what that person is.” And then, they do something different, it breaks your expectations.

When your expectations get broken, you feel anxiety, and stress, and you may even feel anger and hostility. It messes with your emotions. You need to quit pretending that you’re psychic. You’re not psychic. You can’t tell who people are. You also can’t tell what the future is.

And yet, so often, you are thinking, “Well, the future’s going to be like this.” And then, when it’s not like that, you’re depressed, disappointed, upset, and angry. You’re not psychic. You don’t know how the future is going to be. However the world turns out is how it turns out.

And your opinion about it isn’t going to change it. All your opinion will cause you is suffering. If you want to begin to experience more happiness, more joy, more peace in your life, consider giving up that you know how it’s all going to turn out. Consider giving up that you know how people are supposed to be. You don’t.

Interview With Trevor Emdon

Matthew — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:35:37 +0000

I had the pleasure of interviewing Trevor Emdon and I’m featuring this fantastic interview on my blog! Trevor’s web site is http://www.stopworryingandgrowrich.com/, and he has made a lifetime study of how to live from your heart and follow your dreams.

To listen to this awesome interview, click on the link below and enjoy!

[audio:http://matthewferry.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Trevor-Emdon-Interview.mp3|titles=Trevor Emdon Interview]

By the way, I’ll be posting more interesting interviews a few times a week. Stay tuned!

Make Next Year Your Best Year – Here’s How

Matthew — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:54:11 +0000

Let me guide you week by week through the most powerful life coaching techniques available.

Check out my Inspired Action Weekly Program here

If you have ever felt like you are spinning your wheels, then this is perfect for you.

How to Pick a Life Coach

Matthew — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:18:12 +0000

How do you pick a life coach? I think that the main thing you need to do is decide what exactly you want to get out of the life coach process. For example, my specialty in the process is happiness and peace, and then utilizing that to be an action. But that’s not everybody’s specialty. I have a friend’s whose specialty is post divorce. I have other people whose specialty is career advancement. So, it just depends on what it is that you’re trying to accomplish.

When you’re getting ready to choose someone as your life coach, I highly recommend that you spend some time talking to them and discovering what they have actually done. What have they achieved or accomplished in the realm that you are trying to improve upon?

So, for example, I have spent my life, a hundred percent focused on how to get happy. I don’t want to wait until I achieve to be happy. I don’t want to wait for my kids to grow up before I’m happy. I don’t want to wait to get thin before I’m happy with my body. I don’t want to wait until my spouse gets out of the funk that she’s in before I’m happy. I don’t want to wait. I want to be happy now. I’ve spent my life discovering what it takes to be happy. How do I do that and simultaneously be incredibly successful at the same time?

So, that’s my specialty, being happy and successful at the exact same time. So, when you’re looking for a life coach you want to ask a lot of questions. Ask him/her, “how do you do what you do?” Ask him/her what kind of credentials he/she has, what’s his/her background and what makes him/her an expert? Ask him/her all about the process.

You know, one of the things that I think gets in the way of people having a great life coaching experience – and believe me, I’ve had some bad ones – is that the coach doesn’t actually follow a particular system. Following a system produces a result. If you look at any business – and life coaching is just a business – any business that is successful is a business that’s following a particular system. And then they’re doing that system over and over because the system predictably creates the results that people are paying for.

Life coaching is the same thing. Make sure that the life coach you pick is following a system. You want to make sure there is evidence that it works. You want to talk to other people that have done it and make sure that you actually can get the results that you want. You know, there’s a lot of new people who are in the life coaching industry that are just getting into it, and they are people generally who get in it because they have felt an incredible desire and get a kick out of helping people. And they have the thought, “Well, you know, I want to make this my business, my life.”

I understand. I did the same thing. And I would recommend that you go with someone who’s been doing it for a long time. I’ve been coaching people since 1993. I’ve coached more than 8,000 people. So, you want to find someone who has credentials. Right now, I’m coaching 120 people. I’ve got a great depth of experience. I know exactly what it’s going to take to get you unstuck and into a state of happiness.

When you’re talking to the people out there in the world, because I might not be the right coach for you, make sure you really dig in and get them to explain why they are good for you. Good luck to you.

Don’t Wait, Be Happy Now

Matthew — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:49:24 +0000

So many times my clients say to me, “Well, Matthew, you know, this is just a means to an end. I’m doing this business. I’m doing this project because where it’s going to get me is where I want to go.” You know what I say to that? Means to an end equals suffering. It means suffering today. And you don’t have to do that. You don’t have to get involved in a project or do an activity today because hopefully, someday, it will turn out better so that you can be happy.

I would not recommend operating that way at all. In fact, my goal is that you are inspired and in action. Inspired. What is that? Filled with the spirit to do something. Lit up. Energized. Engaged. How do you do that? Well, you either have to accept that the situation that you’re in – the project that you’ve said, “I’ll do,” or the job that you’ve said, “I’ll do,” is the perfect thing for you now. You either have to work to accept that, or you need to give it up and go and do the thing that will truly make you happy.

Now, either one is an option. But here’s the deal. Don’t wait until someday to be happy. Get happy now. Take on the energy of happiness, and joy, and peace, and excitement, and enthusiasm now and apply that I want you to take that happiness, that peace, that joy, that energy, that excitement, that enthusiasm, and I want you to apply it to what you are involved in now, today. And watch how much better your life gets. Don’t put off happiness. It doesn’t work. It never comes.