More Happy Life with Andy Proctor

What story are you telling yourself about your past life? What about your future? What story are you telling yourself about your day today? In today's episode I interview Lori Lee, and expert on storytelling, with a masters degree in folklore. She talks about the power of the stories we tell and how they impact our daily life. We discuss personal narratives, how to overcome victim mentality, power...

Will you reach your full potential this year? Will you reach it in the next 5 years? 10 years? What will help you do this? In this episode I share the story of one of the greatest runners to walk this earth, Steve Prefontaine and how he died with unmet potential. I don't want that to happen to you. So here are six powerful tools to help you reach your full potential in life:   1. Satisfying W...

How often do you play? Do you feel like you need permission to play as an adult?  Do you need a breakthrough in your life? Play might just be the exact thing you need to make that happen. Jeff Harry and I discuss why this is the case in this amazing episode about the transformational power of play.   Jeff Harry has worked with Google, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, Adobe, the NFL, Amazon...

Businesses and brands have an amazing opportunity to create a positive experience for people who interact with them. Scott is on a mission to help businesses to create more happiness in the world through optimal customer experience. In today's episode, I speak with Scott Porter about how he has taken his passion for street tacos and combined it with his passion for fantastic customer experien...

If you help one person, it was worth the effort.  Do you ever feel discouraged when working on your dreams? Just remember the reason why you are doing what you are doing. This and many other amazing nuggets came from today's episode with Nadia Khristean.   Nadia's advice to have more happiness: Enjoy the journey. Don't wait for some future event to embrace the happiness in your life. Why...

Today I interviewed Seth Adam Smith, a dear friend and amazing human being (read more about him below). Seth is a suicide survivor who has turned his life into a message to inspire people who struggle to have a reason to live. In this episode Seth talks briefly about his suicide attempt and how the world inside his head was very different from the real world around him. This didn't become evident...

It seems like a sexy thing to just quit your job and go for your passion, but what if you CAN'T do that? What if quitting your job puts you into a really bad financial position where you wouldn't even be able to think about your passion? Today's episode features Sam Inch, who has kept her day job while pursuing her calling and found that her day job has slowly evolved into her passion so that she...

 How many destinations are on your bucket list? Do you get excited to travel around the world someday? You're not alone. One of the top regrets of the dying is that they didn't travel more. So what holds you back?! In today's episode (which is the 100th episode!!! WHAT?!) I interview a travel expert Kylie Chenn.  Kylie has traveled to 104 countries around the globe. She studied Business...

What do you do to really connect with people in a sea of social media and technology? Today I interview Bryce and Nellie Jurgensmeier (from the growing YouTube channel "The Jurgys") about their journey growing their social following to well over 200,000 followers and why they started this journey in the first place. We talk about the importance of having a life-affirming quest and taking time out...

How well do you know yourself? How deeply do you love yourself? In today's episode I interview the amazing Briana Johnson from The LifeBeats Project and we cover so many beautiful nuggets that injected me full of joy. You are good enough. You are not alone. Pain is a teacher. Failure is a teacher. Mourn what you lost or you can't accept what you have. The world needs more people who know who they...

Do you have big dreams? Do you believe it's possible to go after them? Tony Vic believes it! And that your thoughts are what will transform your future. If you need some motivation today, this is your episode. Tony Vic has an amazing gift for motivating and you'll feel it in this episode. He shares in this show how he went from being a 16 year old dad to overcoming and going after his dreams. Tony...

As an adult do you have less friends than you did as a kid? That can be very lonely. Loneliness costs a lot. In fact it costs almost $7 Billion per year just in the US alone. And chronic loneliness can be detrimental to your health, some studies show it's as bad as smoking 18 cigarettes per day.  In this episode I cover 6 ways to tackle loneliness by making new friends that I have tried and t...

Today's episode features William Pullen, the founder of Dynamic Running Therapy (DRT) who talks about how movement is like a medicine for our minds. William is a psychotherapist in the UK who is passionate about spreading the message that moving your body can help improve your mood. In this episode he covers some of the basics from his book and TEDx talk about how running, walking and movement can...

Some days you wake up and you feel amazing. Some days you wake up and you don't feel amazing at all. That's life right? But studies show that your routines make a huge difference in the energy you have throughout the day. These 7 writing prompts can help your day go much better. These are a part of my morning routine that is designed to boost positive emotion.  Join the More Happy Life school...

How did you measure your success last year? Was it accomplishments? Was it steps taken? Was it by money earned? Whatever it was, here is a way to measure your year to come that will help you skew it toward a more happy year. The FJP index. How much fun, joy and play will you engage in this year? Try measuring your year this year by these things instead. Or at least add that to your measurements.&n...

I LOVED reading all the positive news over the last few days about how this world is getting better. I hope you also enjoy and are inspired by these stories that prove that the world is not spiraling out of control, but is actually improving in countless ways.  Don't just believe the news that is biased toward tragedy and trauma. Remember the positive news and that research shows there are mo...

Do you have debt in your life? Does it weigh you down? If you do and have a desire to find more financial freedom, listen to the story of Mike and Carly Walton (from "The Walton Adventure") who share their story of having over $100,000 in student loan debt and who buckled down and paid it off in just a few years. Paying off debt doesn't have to be miserable. The years while they were paying off de...

Just because can CAN change, doesn't mean we're good at it. It's that time of year again when we all start thinking about the goals we want to accomplish next year. Are there changes you want to make happen in 2019? Did you make major life changes last year after setting new years resolutions? If your answer was no, you are not alone. 92% of people who set NYR goals, don't actually stick to them....

Today I wanted to share what I have been learning about breathing. What an essential topic! We breathe about 22,000 times a day, but we may not be aware of it. However, our breathing patterns are correlated with our subconscious mind and we can use our breath to help push our mind from anxious and tense places back to focused and calm places. I hope you find this episode helpful to get you thinkin...

Have you ever eaten something that didn't sit well and then had a really emotionally hard day? Have you ever wondered if what you eat affects how you feel? In today's episode, I interview Aubrey Phelps, a registered dietitian and nutritionist (who appeared on the show a few months ago in episode 79). She and I discuss how what we eat affects our mood and overall happiness. So enjoy this episode an...

Have you ever gone off technology for a week? Well, I did it once and it changed my life (check out episode 73 for details). Who inspired me to do this? Kimberly Christensen from Talk Wordy To Me. In today's episode I get to talk with Kim about why being mindful about our use of social media and technology is so important. Why would someone want to try a social media fast? Why is mindfulness so im...

Today's episode covers a crucial topic: how can you be happier at work? Do you struggle to be happy at work? Do you dread going to work every day? Well, this episode talks about some real life skills for finding more happiness in the work you do. - How to make friends at work - How to deal with negative people - How to be the kind of leader people want to follow - How to communicate better All the...

How do you overcome the fears that come when you set BIG goals? Today's guest Samery Moras talks about how she has overcome huge obstacles and fears as she has won title after title in her Taekwondo competitions. Samery started walking with a sparring helmet. Her parents ran a martial arts studio and it has been in her life forever. However, she wasn't always a champion. "When I was younger, I was...

"We all start somewhere." When Megan Fairchild started dancing at 4 years old, she didn't know she would become a principal dancer on the world-renown New York City Ballet. I had the pleasure of talking with Megan Fairchild today about her take on some of the key factors that affect human happiness. We talked about positive emotions like inspiration and hope, we discussed resilience and diversifyi...

We all have a little voice inside our head that is telling us a story. Most of just let that voice chatter uncontrollably. The problem is that the voice tends to get more and more negative over the years until we begin to live according to a story that is not even true. We literally begin to live a lie. Today I interviewed Kim Fiske, best-selling author of The Monster Under The Bed: Uncovering the...