Harvesting Happiness Podcasts

Jenn Lim is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, a company she and Tony Hsieh ,CEO of Zappos, co-created to inspire happiness in work, community, and everyday life. She created the first Culture Book for Zappos - now on its 7th edition .The Culture Book has become a global symbol of how companies can successfully create cultures based on happiness and be profitable at the same time. Jenn also led the launch and management of Tony's first book, Delivering Happiness, which sold over 220,000 copies internationally and hit #1 on numerous bestsellers list (including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today). Today, she's dedicated to growing the social venture of Delivering Happiness to spread and inspire happiness, day by day.

As a Filmmaker Ash Adams has written, produced, directed, and co-starred in Once Fallen, After The Past, The Distance, and Peter's Hope, all of which won Adams awards. His newest short is In Mexico, about a returning combat vet suffering from PTSD.

Dr. Bill Cloke has over 30 years' experience as a licensed psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles. He has continued to branch out into cognitive behavioral, transpersonal, and self-psychology with specializations in anger management, self-esteem, sexual addiction, and relationship counseling. He has also continued to develop his curiosity and interest in what eases emotional pain, creates change, what affects our sense of self and how psychotherapy cures.

The sexual abuse she experienced as a child launched her on a journey - a quest to move beyond what was done to her. The surprising destination was a life altering encounter with God... surprising because she wanted nothing to do with him. Her abuser used God in order to use her. In her confusion, she held God responsible for her abuse. Sallie despised church, people, and God. In many ways, her spirit was as damaged as the rest of her. Sallie became dark and overwhelmed - so much so that she thought suicide was the only way to find relief.

The concept of Pay it Forward dates back to ancient Greece in 317 BC. The model was used as a key plot element of the play Dyskolos, (a title which can be translated as "The Grouch") by Menander. His work was lost in the Middle Ages and the theory was rediscovered by Benjamin Franklin and described in a letter below to Benjamin Webb dated April 25, 1784. “I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you [...] meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.” Charley Johnson is an entrepreneur and former Owner/Executive V.P. of a Manufacturing company with over 250 employees has a deep passion for Pay it Forward. Believing in Pay it Forward so much so he left hi

Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, Arun is the fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi. Growing up under the discriminatory apartheid laws of South Africa, he was beaten by “white” South Africans for being too black and “black” South Africans for being too white; so, Arun sought eye-for-an-eye justice. However, he learned from his parents and grandparents that justice does not mean revenge, it means transforming the opponent through love and suffering.

Chelo Alvarez-Stehle is a journalist, documentary and new media producer who has worked for over 14 years exposing stories of human trafficking through her creative and outreach work. A Spaniard, she worked in Japan in documentaries for NHK and became Tokyo’s and then Los Angeles’ correspondent for Spain’s El Mundo daily. Her writings on trafficking have been published worldwide. In 1997, Chelo's first published interview on this issue received the publishers’ award, enabling Anu Tamang, a Nepali survivor just rescued from in India, to attend school for the first time in her life. In 2002, the article was turned by Canal+ into TIN GIRLS, a feature documentary film on sex trafficking in the Himalayas, for which she was assistant director, interviewer and consultant. After production of TIN GIRLS, Chelo co-founded the Masala Project, an income-generating spice factory for trafficking survivors in Nepal. Then, in 2011, Tamang received the Hero to End Modern-Day Slavery Award by Hillary Clinton during the offici

Giving service to others is not only good for the recipient, but it is also heartwarming for the giver. When you feel like you are at your lowest point, nothing can lift you up like giving service to others. Our guest this week does just that. He is a regular fixture around Walter Reed and Bethesda hospitals. He is one of the first persons to see the wounded and give them the strength they need in the overwhelming situation they find themselves in. Some have had a limb amputated, while others are suffering from traumatic brain injuries. He is a welcome visitor of the soldiers and gives support to all in need.

Garcia made his directorial debut co-directing The Wayshower (2012) with John-Roger, filmed primarily in Utah, and with major scenes shot on location in Morocco, France, England, Peru and Spain. The Wayshower stars Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts, Peter Stormare and Academy Award nominee Sally Kirkland and Garcia also plays the leading role as 'Jesus'. Garcia worked closely with Academy Award winner Dane Davis (TheMatrix) on the sound design, and was mentored by Academy Award winning Director Stephen Soderbergh throughout the directing and editing process and the result is an independent film with strikingly high production value. The Wayshower won Best Ensemble Cast at the FirstGlance Film Festival in Hollywood, and continues to screen at film festivals in 2011.

Dr. Gettis spent two years as a Vietnam era army psychologist in the late 1960's. In the 1970's, he worked for seven years at a large mental health center as the Chief Psychologist. He is a clinical psychologist with graduate degrees from Central Michigan University, Utah State University, and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He has been in private practice since 1974.

We are born with gifts. We all possess our own unique qualities, talents, strengths, and weaknesses. Our greatest gift is the gift of knowing. Knowing how to hone in on ourselves and manifest the greatness of who we are and what gifts we were given at birth. It is our birthright to be happy and pursue our dreams and intentions. Our guests this week are two examples of knowing what they were born to do and are living their intentions.

The American Dream was founded on the belief that anyone dedicated to thrift and hard work could create opportunities and achieve a better life. Now that dream has been reduced to a hyper quantified desire for fancier clothes, sleeker cars, and larger homes. As our standard of living has climbed over the past forty years, our self-reported "happiness levels" have flat lined. We've somehow lost our way, but it's not too late to find it again.

Lisa Steadman is an internationally acclaimed best-selling author, sought after speaker, results coach, creative consultant, and CEO of Woohoo, Inc. A masterful mentor when it comes to Awakening your Woohoo WithinTM, Lisa loves showing woman how to step into their spotlight, stake their claim in the world, and create the life, relationships, and business of their dreams. Lisa is a frequent media contributor, having appeared on The Today Show, The Tyra Banks Show, iVillage Live, The Fran Drescher Show, Playboy Radio, and New Zealand's Good Morning. In 2012, she's leading a year long mission called The Year of You to help women celebrate themselves and stop playing small.

This week we explore the depth and width of resilience of the human condition. We will discover how to overcome adversity and stress, and live the happy life we were meant to. Tune in as we learn how deep an individual can reach into their soul and find happiness after a tragic accident or misfortune? Are there limitations of the human spirit and condition, and how far it can it be stretched to create the quality of life one longs for? Our guest this week discusses his journey from being on top of the skiing world, to a heart breaking accident, to arriving high above the world, once again.

Charley Johnson: An entrepreneur and former Owner/Executive V.P. of a Manufacturing company with over 250 employees has a deep passion for Pay it Forward. Believing in Pay it Forward so much so he left his company, career & millions behind to change the world and how people view humanity. He has been a Board member of the Pay it Forward Foundation for the past 4 years and will become President January 1st, 2012. He is the creator of the Pay it Forward Bracelet, a physical reminder to do good that has been sent to over 1 million people in 108 countries.

Kenneth Cloke is Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution and a mediator, arbitrator, attorney, coach, consultant, and trainer, specializing in communication, negotiation, and resolving complex multi-party conflicts, as well as designing preventative conflict resolution systems for organizations.

Rudy Wietfeldt has personally faced and overcome incredible tragedies: at 18 he was pallbearer for his father, who died suddenly in his 40s; at 25, Rudy had also served as pallbearer for his mother. By the age of 33, Rudy had buried three sons and a daughter. And Rudy has also suffered with what Wikipedia has called "the most painful condition known to medical science," the Cluster Headache. Through all the pain and suffering, the book "The Core of Happiness" was penned by Rudy in the hope that his surviving children and others would ultimately derive benefit from his philosophy of hope that has guided his life. "The Core of Happiness" is the first in a series of books with "a ‘novel' approach to self help." Rudy is currently co-authoring a chronic pain management book with Dr. Barry Mitchell; look for this to be released in 2012.

Drs. Ron and Mary Hulnick are founders of the University of Santa Monica, a small, private graduate school offering master's degree programs in Spiritual Psychology. Most recently, Ron and Mary have released their newest book, Loyalty to Your Soul - The Heart of Spiritual Psychology. Loyalty to your Soul means learning to live life from within the spiritual context of who you are. Which means the YOU that is the spiritual essence of your very being as opposed to who you think you are, which is really all about your ego or personality. The idea is that "We are not human beings who have a Soul, we are Souls having a human experience."

Chrissy Carew is a Hall-of-Fame Master Certified personal and business coach, mentor and trainer as well as the author of Insightful Player: Football Pros Lead a Bold Movement of Hope, published in October of 2011 by Morgan James Publishing.

Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks and gratitude. When we give thanks, we are expressing our love and happiness towards others. This week , as we usher in the Holiday Season, I give my thanks to you, through music. I am very grateful and thankful to the guest musicians this week as they share with us their expressions, creativity and talent, through their love of music.