“Dan Gilbert believes that, in our ardent, lifelong pursuit of happiness, most of us have the wrong map. In the same way that optical illusions fool our eyes — and fool everyone’s eyes in the same way — Gilbert argues that our brains systematically misjudge what will make us happy. And these quirks in our cognition make humans very poor predictors of our own bliss.”

Watch Dan Gilbert’s TED talk below:

An American businessman took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village on doctor’s orders. Unable to sleep after an urgent phone call from the office the first morning, he walked out to the pier to clear his head. A small boat with just one fisherman had docked, and inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of the fish.

“How long did it take you to catch them?” the American asked.
“Only a little while,” the Mexican replied in surprisingly good English.
“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American then asked.
“I have enough to support my family and give a few to friends,” the Mexican said as he unloaded them into a basket.
“But…What do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican looked up and smiled. “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Julia, and stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor.”

The American laughed and stood tall. “Sir, I’m a Harvard M.B.A. and can help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. In no time, you could buy several boats with the increased haul. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats.”

He continued, “Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village, of course, and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles, and eventually New York City, where you could run your expanding enterprise with proper management.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, señor, how long will all this take?”
To which the American replied, “15-20 years. 25 tops.”
“But what then, señor?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell you company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”

“Millions, senor? Then what?”

“Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village, where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…”

-Danny “Happy Man”

APAIT Health Center is proud to present its annual Transgender Advocacy Pageant on Saturday, December 15, 2012. The event begins at 7pm at the David Henry Hwang Theatre at East West Players, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles CA 90012.

It’s a special event honoring ten years of this ground breaking pageant, focusing on transgender advocacy. Quest will also honor it’s first winner Alexis Rivera who passed away earlier this year. Awards will be given to transgender advocate Karina Samala, former APAIT staffer, Quest founder Asia Vitale, and Van Ness Recovery House.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit: www.apaitonoline.org

Have you ever been so stressed out about a new idea, hobby, or project you were working on that you just needed to vent it out to the whole universe?

It’s normal really, happens at HIN all the time.  We’ll get so juiced up about a new dance routine or performance that we just want to unveil it to the world right away. We get stressed that something isn’t going quite smoothly, or that some co-worker is being annoying, and then it’s EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS.

What I’ve noticed, (from myself and  a whole bunch of other people), is that when we’re talking the most, we’re producing the least.

Why?   Chatting with friends about the beginning of a new project you’re working on is exciting…  Exhaling with co-workers about what (and who) is bugging us is therapeutic.  TALKING FEELS GOOD.

Making your new idea, hobby or project a reality…   DOES NOT FEEL GOOD (Ok, some of it does obviously or perhaps we’re in the wrong line of work)

Let’s face it people, the creative process is SCARY, filled with uncertainty, and it sure doesn’t make you feel good right away.  It’s rewards need to be earned, and ya do that by buckling down so you can get the work DONE.  And THAT’S where our energy needs to go…. Into the DOING.

Next time you’re compelled to talk, DON’T, and attempt instead to TAKE ACTION.  You’ll notice that it’s much easier to bear the parts of the creative process that are ugly and time-consuming.  You may also notice that the energy of DOING infects everyone around you.

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS??  WE FINISH OUR WORK EARLIER, OR ITS BETTER BETTER THAN WE EXPECTED, AND THEN WE CAN ALL GO HOME AND TAKE A NAP!

COMING SOON:  Step 4.  Have a conversation with the voice in your head.  “Excuse me, self…  Can you shut up, please?”

Eudaimonia. A word I learned just recently in my third year of college to mean happiness. The idea that it is natural to our human nature to look for happiness and the good in things. We as people on this earth and in this world want to be happy and content. Aristotle founded this question of eudaimonia by simply asking, “What does it mean to be happy?”.

To be happy is to be fulfilled, and to be fulfilled is to follow and pursue any dream that comes across our paths in life. I tend to dream big, with the impression that anything is possible through will, love, and trust in yourself. The larger than life desires become more attainable by simply reaching our arms out wide; accepting the world for what it has to offer us.

Happy is staying hungry. Personally, I think it is important to have a passion outside of one’s chosen profession. I want to be an event planner in the future, but for my entire life I’ve found joy in the love for dancing. I am a performer at heart and the Happiness is NOW (HIN) tour has allowed me to use that very passion to drive others to find theirs. I’ve been dancing with this group for almost a year now and each performance we do gets better every time.

I remember the very first show we did had us feeling a little embarrassed and discouraged afterward. Having endured over five minutes in front of a crowd of twelve and thirteen year olds staring at us like we were the most foolish clowns they had ever seen, we weren’t sure what our intentions were anymore. Not exactly what we expected… but the two assemblies after that only got better as our determination to inspire them grew. After a long first day of advocating to children why they should be happy, we sat back and reflected. Happiness is a simple thing, but it is an emotion that many children find themselves searching for as they grow up in various environments; especially atmospheres with negative influences. Showing them ways to find their happiness and follow their dreams can not be read in a book in school. The visual appeal of our performances is what has the ability to drive a child towards his or her passion.

When it comes to dancing, success is generally evaluated by how excited the audience appears to be by the end of the performance. What I, and I think most of the HIN group have learned, is that the audience feeds back the energy we release out to them. The equation is simple, if we are happy people out on that stage, then our audience will be too. In the end, it is in our human nature to want to be happy; send a smile out and you’re bound to get one back : )