Self-Help Happiness Blog

Imagine a public relations firm whose philosophy is “tell the truth at all costs”. Not possible? Not for Mark Demoss, founder of PR firm the Demoss Group. He created exactly that.

His book The Little Red Book of Wisdom contains boulders of practical guidance packaged in interesting, nugget-sized chapters. Half of the book specifically addresses the business world and the second half covers personal matters a refreshing change from the typical success-manual mode.

Like The Demoss Group itself, The Little Red Book of Wisdom is atypical on every level: unapologetic-ally Christian, Demoss manages to frame his philosophies biblically without preaching or moralizing. Instead, he illustrates his points with personal experiences and current events in a conversational style that’s easy reading for harried executives.

But this isn’t a sappy read: with chapters like “Do Something So Difficult, You’ll Never Want to Do It Again”, and “The Best Defense is a Good Defense”, Demoss challenges readers with time-tested philosophies that he personally practices. Not one concept is overwritten: if Demoss can cover it in a couple of sentences, he does.

The Little Red Book of Wisdom deserves a place on every leader’s desk, for short bursts of inspiration on the long road of service.

Meredith Healey is a single mom, so she needs all the self-improvement she can get. She blogs about her progress at http://sinthesinglemom.blogspot.com/

My family enjoys our happiest times when we are sharing mutual interests. Being the mother of two teenage sons, it is up to me to try to stay up-to-date with their interests, because they sure aren’t going to make the effort with mine. However, I have found that not only did I become closer to my sons by doing this, I also broadened my horizons and truly enjoyed many of their favorite things.

Here are some of the things you can do to better connect with your family:

1. Watch their favorite television shows
This is one of the best things you can do. Because television series are continuing, this can lead to ongoing conversations that can last for months or even years. You might also discover some great TV series that you never would have tried (My family used to talk for hours on end about Lost). (See 20 Best TV Shows for Parent / Teen Bonding).

2. In addition to watching your teenagers favorite films, introduce them to classic films that they would enjoy
There are so many great teen movies from the eighties that your teens would love and so many classic movies from throughout the years that they are ready to see now. Even if they prefer to watch them with their friends, you can still have great discussions with your teens about the movies the next day. (See 75 Classic Movies Teens Should See ).

3. Share music and video games with Guitar Hero or Rock Band
The Guitar Hero and Rock Band series of video games have been one of the best games to ever bring parents and teenagers together. Many teens first discovered classic rock through these games. Later versions began including new rock songs, which parents could then learn. An entire family can play at once as different band members.

4. Share Young Adult Books with your teens, adults love many of them also
I’ve become a big fan. I devoured the Harry Potter and Twilight series and just read and couldn’t put down The Hunger Games series, the hot new series that is coming out with its first movie next year.

5. Communicate with your teens through the type of technology they prefer
Most teens prefer text messages to phone calls. They will more happily respond to you if you contact them by the method of their choice. (See Text Messaging with Your Teens ).

Guest blogger Jennifer Wagner is the creator and writer of the blog, Connect with your Teens through Pop Culture and Technology,  where you can keep up-to-date of TV, books, movies, music, gadgets, the Internet, websites, education , and all things teenage.

Have you seen this Facebook app to support the positive psychology  exercise “Three Good Things”?  Participants in this exercise record  Three Good Things, and the reasons why they happen, every day. There  are some other versions of this exercise out there (including an  iPhone app and one on happier.com), but this is a way to make these exercises more effective using social interaction.

This app is at http://apps.facebook.com/threegoodthings/, but the page with  more info is at http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=119352832576&v=info
. It is free to use, but because it is research, they ask participants  to complete very brief surveys after 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6  months of use.

This could be a great way to spread your own happiness. 

Some songs have the power to motivate.  The lyrics can be as powerful as any motivational speech.  The music can get our hearts pumping.  The words and tune can play in our heads all day long.

Below is a list of some of the best motivational songs (mostly English, some French and Spanish).  It is far, far from being a complete list, so feel free to add your favorites to the list using the comments form at the bottom.

Man in Motion (from St. Elmo’s Fire)

Makin’ It (from the short-lived TV show of the same name)

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

The Greatest Love of All (the ultimate self-esteem song of all time)

Have a Happy (yes, Elvis)

Change of Habit (yes, also Elvis)

I Have Been Blessed (by Martina McBride)

Point of Light (the Randy Travers classic)

My Way (the ultimate classic motivational song by Paul Anka)

Et C’est Pas Fini (the theme song from Star Académie, 1996)

Peace of Mind (by Boston)

Standing Outside the Fire (by Garth Brooks)

Closer to the Heart (Canadian motivation )

Do You Know Where You’re Going to? (from the Mahogany)

There You Are (by Clink Black)

Une Promesse (by Cindy Daniel)

Lean on Me

Dream Never Dies (more Canadian Motivation)

Hold On (by Triumph…the song that helped me in my teen years)

Believe it or Not (from the Greatest American Hero TV show)

Una Cancion (RBD)

Living Out Loud (by Aaron Lines)

The Eye of the Tiger (from Rocky III, I believe)

All Fired Up (Pat Benetar)

Don’t Stop (another one that helped me during those roller coaster teenage years)

The Kid is Hot Tonight (by Loverboy)

If I rummaged through my MP3s, my CDs and my old record collection, I am sure I could find dozens of other motivational songs and possibly even some music that motivates without lyrics.  The one listed here are the ones that come to mind first for me.  But now, over to you.  What songs do you find most motivational?

TWEET this post.

…added January 20, 2009:

What a Feeling (from the movie Flashdance) 

I’m Alive (by ELO)

Hold on Tight (also by ELO)

Walk On (by Rea)

Swing on a Star (was that Bing Crosby)

On Top of the World (by the Carpenters)

I Will Survive (Gloria Gayner’s anthem)

Light in Your Eyes (by Leann Rimes)

We Are the Champions (by Queen)

Winning (by Santana)

Don’t Forget to Dance (by the Kinks)

We Shall Be Free (by Garth Brooks)

Free Will (by Rush)

The Rose (by Bette Midler)

I received an email from Jonathan Cunningham of Let’s Reflect, a social networking website for self help and personal growth.  I was intrigued by this, so I asked for more explanation.  I can’t tell it any better than he does, so here it is in his own words…

To try and sum everything up in as few words as possible….all members have their own blog and thread(forum) connected to their Profile page. The thread provides an area to communicate with your friends and guest. The blog is great for keeping the community updated on your progress…or whatever you want to talk about on your soap box.

(Both the blog and thread are located on the orange toolbar of your Profile page)

There is also a community forum for the website where members go to introduce themselves, talk about current events, or there is a “general” section where they can talk about anything.

My intent with the threads, blogs, and Profile page’s is to make great content sustainable.

Another cool thing is if you come across a great “Reflections” page, you can give it a “Thumbs UP” or “Favorite” it. This allows Users to gain status. When you favorite someone, their avatar is added to a frame on your Profile page titled “Favorite Reflectors”. Basically this section provides quick access to all your friends and other inspirational Reflectors that you want to follow.

(These are located on the orange toolbar of you profile page as well)

There is also a great search function built into the website. You have the option to search by…

1. Location

2. User Name

3. or Keywords

I really like the key words search. You can pin key words to your Profile page so that like minded Reflectors can find you. For instance, these are some of mine…parenting, leadership, success, marriage, sports, coaching…etc

Another cool thing is that you can completely customize/personalize your Profile page. You pick a cool avatar, set a great background image, and select whatever font color you want. It gives us a peak into your personality.

If you decide to join and participate, I would be interested in hearing about your experienced.  Feel free to bookmark this post and return in 3 – 6 – 9 or however many months you wish to report on if/how Let’s reflect has helped you.