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The first person to join the Action for Happiness movement was the Dalai Lama.

How cool is that?  You start a club and the first guy to sign up is the Dalai Lama! Wow!

But hang on a second.  How did he know about the project?

I’m guessing one of the founders must have emailed him (if you’re wondering whether His Holiness has an email address, because you were thinking he lived in a little hut in the mountains, it’s time to get with the programme.  He has his own website).

What lessons can we take from this?

It shows that to make things work you have to connect with people, you have to share what you’re doing with others so they can help you, and if you believe in what you’re doing then people will want to get involved.

It’s the good kind of marketing, the kind that leads to a warm, fuzzy feeling rather than a cold, slimy one.

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
Dalai Lama

You have to get out there and do stuff.  Cut down on thinking, planning and waiting for the right moment.  There is no right moment.  Do something, and your actions will lead you to happiness and success.  Only make sure it’s your definition of success and not someone else’s.

My own definition is simple.  A steady stream of interesting and challenging work that brings in enough money to pay the bills and leaves me with plenty of time to have fun with my family and friends.

Oh, and there’s a small part of me that wants to come up with something I can peddle to the Dalai Lama, just to see if he’ll get involved.

Photograph by Serjao Carvalho