Articles + Blog

This page is divided into two somewhat lengthy sections: Articles, then Blog. You can use the search function (the magnifying glass icon at right in the nav bar) to search for articles and blog posts on specific topics of your own interest.


Articles:

I welcome you to use these articles individually and/or reprint them in your own publication. Feel free to edit the articles to best fit the needs of your readers, but be sure to follow these guidelines for reprinting procedures:

  1. When you download the article, please email [email protected] with your intent to use.
  2. Include Jim’s bio just as it appears at the end of each article.
  3. Send Jim one copy of the e-zine or item it is published in.

Everyday Happiness

5 Prescriptions for Happiness (downloadable PDF)


Strategies for Personal Change


Leadership and Workplace


Happiness Principles


Annual Planning Kits


Blog posts:

Rapid Communication is the Most Powerful tool

When I was a young supervisor fresh from college I was thrown into a turbulent division experiencing 400% growth. The lead underwriter took me under her wing and taught me valuable lessons for dealing with that kind of chaos. “Never leave a problem file sitting on your desk over a weekend,” Jackie taught me. “Problems … Read more
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Get to Know People's Stories

Just as you hold a story about yourself, you hold assessments about others. This is a human thing – to create assessments about others as a shortcut to interaction. Notice that when you are in a leadership role, your assessments matter a great deal more than if you are merely a coworker. The theory of … Read more
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Every Story Can Have a Happy Ending – Even Yours!

The root of human suffering lies in our inability to know the difference between an assessment and an assertion. ~Byron Katie, Loving What Is If you’ve ever taken a personality assessment (like MBTI, DiSC, or a host of others) you know that for all the uniqueness of the 6 Billion people on earth, we all … Read more
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What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Smarter

I practice yoga, and over the winter I attended a workshop on Inversions (all the “upside down” and hand balancing poses). For the past two years I have worked my practice daily, and achieved a Headstand last year (imagine, at age 55, learning to stand on my head!). The next level of challenge for me … Read more
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Play that Happy Music!

One of my mantras is that you — and you alone — are responsible for your own happiness, that it is your decision.  And if no one else can “make” you happy, it stands to reason that you cannot make other people happy either.  Right?   Well, sort of.  Just because you can’t make someone … Read more
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Happiness is Hard Work

This video animation offers a great primer on the difference between traditional psychology and Positive Psych.  In many ways, it’s taken directly from many of my talks — of course the reality is that I studied with Martin Seligman and Mihaly Czikszentmihaly and apparently learned this explanation directly from the source.  The core message:  Creating … Read more
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A Recipe for Happiness

How do you feed your soul?  Do you grab pre-packaged Pleasure from the freezer, microwave it, and eat on the run; or do you cook up your Joy from scratch using organic, locally-sourced ingredients?  Perhaps you have a saucepan of Gratitude constantly simmering on a back burner?  Or do you wait for others to invite you … Read more
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7 Great Questions to Use Everyday

Inquiry and curiosity are powerful tools for personal and professional growth. Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, leader, or follower, questions serve as a tool to help you advance yourself and those around you. Here are seven powerful questions that can serve you every day. They never expire and always have an answer in … Read more
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Leadership Made Simple

When you are in charge (and whether you like it or not) everyone looks to you for a “mood reading” every day. What you bring into work flows down to everyone in your reporting stream. If you’re having a toxic day, that affects your team – the same is true when you’re having a good … Read more
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Nine Simple Strategies for Happiness

If you are totally organized and always know what you need to do next, always have control of your tasks, and always correctly forecast how long something will take… I am insanely jealous of your skillset. Starting last October, even as I started to declare 2013 as my Year of Happiness (my 15th anniversary in … Read more
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