Personal Development - How to be Happy - 100%
I’m an entertainer and a motivational speaker. One day I was getting ready to do a gig for some people who had also hired me the year before. When they were getting my introduction information from me, they asked if they could also introduce me as the “Happiest Man in the World.” I had to let that sink in.
“Am I really the happiest man in the world?” I asked myself. Apparently, these people thought I was. I thought about it…I didn’t want to lie (that’s part of being 100% happy) do I know anybody who is happier than me? No. Not personally or worldwide. Is there any body else who has claimed to be the happiest person in the world? Not that I know of. Do I know what it takes to be the happiest person in the world? Do I live and strive to be the happiest I can be? And do I do everything in my power to teach others how to be happy?……..…yes……………………….Yes…………………….YES!! I guess I am the happiest man in the world!! I loved getting this new title. I’m proud of it and I want to share my “secrets” with you so you can be 100% happy.
Here’s the thing…they aren’t really secrets. It’s common sense put to good use. It’s a perfect blend and balance of traits and characteristics. It’s the 4 “L’s” in action!!
The 4 “L’s” are this: Love, Life, Light, and Laughter.
My dad is a retired construction engineer…he has forgotten more about the construction industry than most people will ever know. One day I asked him about how concrete is made, expecting a simple “they mix some things together and you’ve got concrete.” But he actually expounded on the subject…”you’ve got to have a perfect blend of cement powder, water, sand and gravel. If you have too much cement powder, the final product will be brittle, if you have too much water…” etc., etc., etc.
I realized that being 100% happy is the same thing. You have to have the perfect mix of ingredients…in this case Love, Life, Light, and Laughter.
When you are mixing concrete, the main ingredient is cement powder, the next, water, then sand, and finally gravel. It seems to me that the 4 L’s need the same kind of mixture. First and foremost, love, the next, life, then light, and finally laughter.
If you tried to have more light than love, you couldn’t be 100% happy…if you put a lot of life into the mix, but little laughter, you couldn’t be 100% happy. If you had tons of laughter in your life, but no love, you couldn’t be 100% happy!!
If you want your happiness to be SOLID, you need to perfect blend of all four ingredients. That’s why I’m here…to tell you how to do that.
I am not going to write a 10,000 word article about the 4 L’s (that would nearly be a book…which, by the way, I’m working on) so in this article I’ll be covering the basics. The depths and intricacies of the 4 L’s are going to be future articles and postings, addressing each “L” separately. For today, however, as I said: the basics.
LOVE
YOURSELF
Whether or not you’re a Christian, you’ve probably heard the saying, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” People hear this and immediately jump into the service of their fellowman…they’ve only heard the first half of the quote. Oftentimes people forget to love themselves so the “service to others” doesn’t make a bit of difference. “…as thyself” means that you are good with who you are, that you like who you are, and that you love who you are (like and love are two separate animals. You have to like yourself before you can love yourself…they don’t just go hand in hand). In future posts, I’ll elaborate on the “how and why” to love yourself!!
OTHERS
Only after you love yourself can you go off and love others. There are 3 categories of “others”:
Your Neighbors
Your Enemies
Your Significant Other
Your Neighbors
This could mean the people who live next door to you, but it also means the people who live on the other side of the world. It has no boundaries. You should be able to meet someone and say in your heart, “I love this person.” I know it’s easier with some people than it is with others, but if you want to be 100% happy, you need to love everybody…you can’t be selective.
Your Enemies
For now, I’ll just say, I know it’s a complicated thing to love your enemies, but if you put it into this context, it might be easier for you: You can love your enemies, but you don’t have to love what they do. I admire the people that I see, or hear about, who have had their loved ones taken from them by a senseless murder or a drunk driver, and they still forgive the malefactor. Forgiveness is a big part of love (a future article all by itself). It isn’t easy, but it can be done…and it should be done if you want to be happy.
Your Significant Other
This is a whole new and different kind of love (although you should still be loving your significant other with the same kind of love as you love your neighbors and enemies with). There are many future articles about loving the one you’re with.
LIFE
Life depends on 4 aspects of living
1. Be Healthy
2. Be High On Life
3. Find Out Who You Are
4. Facing Your Fears (Getting out of your comfort zone)
Be Healthy
You can’t be anything worth anything to yourself or to anyone else if you’re not healthy. Take care of yourself…it’s a part of the happiness factor.
Be High On Life
What thrills you in your life? I mean naturally. Roller coasters? Hang Gliding? Cooking? What gets your blood pumping? Scary movies? Rock climbing? Sports?
Whatever it is, go do it…it’s essential!!
Find Out Who You Are
I was at a seminar once where we were to sit down with 2 people that we didn’t know, and get to know each other (2 minutes apiece). After we were done, the moderator asked us to describe the other 2 people we had just interviewed in just one word. I’ve actually been through this process a number of times and usually the word that they use to describe me is “Hilarious!!” (And to me, that’s a compliment). If people were to describe YOU in one word, what would that word be? Does that make you happy?
Facing Your Fears (Getting out of your comfort zone)
This can go hand in hand with being high on life because when you face your fears, there is definitely a rush! Getting out of your comfort zone will create miracles in your life that you never could have expected.
LIGHT
Light has many levels:
Education: It has been said that someone could take away your house, your family, your belongings, but the thing they can’t take away is your education.
One of the Rockefellers had to go bankrupt once…within a year he was a millionaire again. How? His knowledge and know-how!!
A Higher Power: I have a friend who taught me this saying, “Be realistic, expect a miracle.” Are you open to miracles? Are miracles random or is there a higher power at work? I happen to know that it’s the latter. I’ve experienced too many miracles in my life to doubt it!!
Doing Your Purpose: I coach people to write a mission statement for their life. Mine is “To bring the 4 L’s into the lives of everybody I come in contact with!!” What’s your mission and purpose…if you find it, live it, and share it, you will increase your happiness!!
TIP (Trust, Integrity, Peace): Do you make promises to yourself as well as to others? If you do, do you keep the promises that you make to yourself and others? Integrity is a huge part of being happy. If you don’t have your honor, how on earth could you be happy?
LAUGHTER
Laughter is the best medicine…people have been cured of cancer through laughter. When we laugh (and I’m talking about the kind of hearty laugh that brings tears to your eyes), we take in more oxygen than normal…that is very healthy…especially in this world of shallow breathers. Laughter relieves stress, too, which is a downfall in many areas of health!!
Laughter can also be associated with pure joy, delight, and spontaneity. You can find humor in almost anything…when you do, don’t hold it in (unless you’re in church or at a funeral) you should express yourself. I pity teenagers who fall into the trappings of “peer pressure”…it isn’t cool to laugh…you’re a moron ‘cause you thought that was funny…you laugh weird…(I was told all these things when I was growing up, but I didn’t care, I love to laugh).
Most people who don’t laugh look like they’re frowning all the time…as they get older, it just looks like they’re mean. Their faces are freezing like that…did you know that it takes more muscles in your face to frown than to smile and laugh…so let loose and be happy!!
Speaking of letting loose and being happy. I’m going to let you loose now with this basic information on being happy. In future posts, I will go into a lot more detail about each faction of the 4 L’s.
Until then, keep it in mind…to be 100% happy, just follow the 4 L’s, Love, Life, Light, and Laughter!!
I love you!!
Bye!!
