Happy New Year to YOU.
The first Oprah show of 2009 is one I appear in. It is called How Happy Are You? Oprah Winfrey and I spend 60 entertaining and enlightening minutes uncovering the real secrets to happiness. The show begins with five members of the public including Lorrie, a mother of six, and David, a funeral director, who take a unique satisfaction test to assess how happy they are. The results are surprising and revealing, with David, the funeral director, top scoring! Afterwards, I coach each of them on how to enjoy greater happiness – starting from now. You can take the happiness test and read a full report on the show now by visiting www.Oprah.com.
In a fast-paced show, Oprah and I cover many key themes including the importance of defining happiness for yourself, and also overcoming common blocks to happiness such as chasing happiness, destination addiction, and leaving yourself out of your own life. The show was seen by millions of TV viewers, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. My book Happiness NOW! was the featured book for the show, and since the broadcast it has risen on the Amazon list to #1 for books on happiness, #2 for self-help books, and into the Top 30 for books overall. The Happiness NOW audio book and perpetual flip calendar are also selling well.
There are some big messages in this Oprah show that are particularly appropriate for the start of a new year. Perhaps the main one is that it is never too late to be happy. One of the key lessons I have learned in my inquiry into happiness is that ALL of the blocks to happiness exist in the past. Anybody who has ever had a past – and that includes you and me - has experienced disappointment, regret, fatigue, wounds, and some unhappiness. The key to enjoying greater happiness now is to learn from the past, but not to let yourself get stuck in the past. Each new present moment is an invitation to begin again and to remember the truth of who you are and what true happiness is.
With that thought in mind, here is an excerpt from my new book Be Happy which is published by Hay House in the US in April 2009.
It is never too late to really be here.
It is never too late to enjoy the moment.
It is never too late to love and be loved.
It is never too late to know the truth.
It is never too late to heal an old wound.
It is never too late to feel the oneness.
It is never too late to let yourself be helped.
It is never too late to be wholly grateful.
It is never too late to be innocent again.
It is never too late to be who you
really are.
