Author photo by Carlo Pieroni
“Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”—Paul Brandt
It’s not accidental that some people are happier and more successful than others. What are they doing that separates them from the pack? They make resilience and well-being top priorities.
After a bout with cocaine and a panic attack on live TV, ABC news anchor Dan Harris had to make some changes. And he did. I sat down with Harris, and he recounted the trajectory that altered his life for the better. From trouble-minded, fidgety skeptic, to serious-minded meditator and New York Times bestselling author of 10% Happier, to business-minded entrepreneur of the Ten Percent Happier app, Harris transformed his life and has inspired others to make positive changes in their own lives.
If you don’t recognize the name, Erin Brockovich, her acclaim might have preceded your birth. In 1993, she used her pit-bull determination to help residents of Hinkley, California win a massive arbitration against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The company was found liable for dumping chromium-6—a carcinogen used to suppress rust formation at the Hinkley gas compressor station—into an unlined pond in the 1950s and 1960s. The chemical seeped into the town’s groundwater. The company hid the problem and misled the community on the effects of that specific type of chromium and its link to local health problems.
You might not know it but you could carry a Neanderthal gene that affects you on a daily basis. Neanderthals (scientific name, Homo neanderthalensis), an extinct species of humans, are our closest evolutionary relatives.
The marvelous India.Arie is an American singer/songwriter who has sold over 3.3 million records in the United States and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards for her 23 nominations, including Best R & B album. She made a masterpiece film “Welcome Home” to help calm the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are an interdependent species, Arie told me. “We were brought up to believe wellness is an individual pursuit, but we must expand our vision from ME to WE.”
As our mother lay dying, my sister and I sat on either side of her, holding her hand and whispering words of comfort until the hospital machine showed a flat line. Having heard that physicians often witness positive reactions in patients when loved ones speak to them in their final moments, we intuitively thought that perhaps she could hear us. No one knows for sure what happens as we die, but recent information from neuroscientists shows that our intuitions could be right.
Did you know that groundbreaking research reports that neuroscientists can identify each of us by our unique brain signature much like a neural thumbprint? They have discovered that you and I display our own distinct brain signature when we’re processing information similar to our unique fingerprints that distinguish us from everyone else on the planet.
Health-related job stress has become a worldwide problem. A Gallup Poll reported that 80% of American workers suffer some type of stress on the job. And half say they need help learning how to manage it. According to research, chronic work stress can be just as bad for your mental and physical well-being as smoking cigarettes and can lead to premature death. Here are some bad work habits that can contribute to poor health, low job performance and early demise.
If you don’t know who Arianna Huffington is, I’m not sure what rock you’ve been living under. She founded The Huffington Post, where she served as editor-in-chief until August 2016 when she stepped down from the news outlet to devote her full attention to Thrive Global, the American company she founded in November 2016 and currently serves as CEO.
There was a time when people who talked to themselves were considered “crazy.” Now, experts consider self-talk to be one of the most effective therapeutic tools available.