Before Happiness

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “This fresh, uplifting book is filled with ideas for improving our organizations and our lives.”—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the podcast WorkLife “With his characteristic blend of academic rigor and twinkle in the eye, Shawn Achor will change your view of happiness, of reality—and of yourself.”—Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Quiet and Bittersweet Why are some people able to make positive change while others remain the same? In his international bestseller, The Happiness Advantage, Harvard-trained researcher Shawn Achor described why happiness is the precursor to greater success. Before Happiness is about what comes before both. Because before we can be happy or successful, we need to first develop the ability to see that positive change is possible. Only once we learn to see the world through a more positive lens can we summon all our motivation, emotion, and intelligence to achieve our personal and professional goals. In Before Happiness, Achor reveals five actionable, proven strategies for changing our lens to positive: • The Most Valuable Reality: See a broader range of ideas and solutions by changing the details on which your brain chooses to focus • Success Mapping: Set goals oriented around the things in life that matter to you most, whether career advancement or family or making a difference in the world • The X-spot: Use success accelerants to propel you more quickly towards those goals, whether finishing a marathon, reaching a sales target, learning a language, or losing ten pounds • Noise-Canceling: Boost the signal pointing you to opportunities and possibilities that others miss • Positive Inception: Transfer these skills to your team, your employees, and everyone around you By mastering these strategies, you’ll create a renewable source of positivity, motivation, and engagement that will allow you to reach your fullest potential in everything you do.