Even entrepreneurs have right to pursue happiness

Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - We convince ourselves that life will improve after we get a better job, make more money, get married, have a baby, buy a bigger house and so on. Yet the accomplishment of any of those events may not make a single difference.

There is no magic secret to happiness. It may, quite literally, be all in your head.

It has been scientifically proven that our minds have great influence over our health. For example, excess stress can over-stimulate hormone production, making it more difficult for us to cope. Happiness and laughter do just the opposite. Laughter triggers nerves in the brain, which begin a chain reaction: the body secretes natural painkillers and tranquilizers, while other substances aid in digestion, and relaxed arteries improve blood flow. The end result is that your mind and body are better able to handle life's slings and arrows.

In other words, you can have a change of heart without the transplant surgery. Be your own cardiologist.

Happiness is the American way. After all, the Declaration of Independence says we are endowed "with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' We have a right to be happy!

But rights come with responsibilities and I would take the right to be happy and make it a responsibility. You are responsible for your own happiness.

And how, you may ask, does this relate to my work life?

Most Americans spend roughly one-third of the week working and commuting. If you are not happy at work, you are wasting a tremendous amount of time and energy being unhappy. When people are not happy doing what they do, they do not do it as well as when they are happy.

A happy work force is one that enjoys their ability to use their skills and talents. Finding good people and paying them well is no guarantee of productivity or job satisfaction. As Josh Billings said, "Money will buy a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail.' With that in mind:

If you are the boss, make sure your employees are doing what they do best.

If you are the employee, find a job that will showcase your abilities. It does not matter if it is a glamorous job with a fancy title. Maybe it is what you accomplish on that job that determines how happy you can be.

A man saw two workers breaking granite and stopped to chat. He asked one of the workers what he was doing. "I'm trying to break this granite,' he replied through gritted teeth. He asked the other the same question. "I'm with a team of people working to build a cathedral,' he said.

Hugh Downs [!?!] put it very well: "A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.'

And it is that certain set of attitudes that has helped many entrepreneurs see a way to turn big failures into even bigger successes.

Before the Civil War, Edmund McIlhenny operated a sugar plantation and a saltworks in Louisiana. He and his family fled the area when Yankee troops invaded in 1863. According to family tradition, at some point before the self-imposed exile, McIlhenny bought and planted some hot pepper seeds from a traveler who had recently arrived in Louisiana from Central America.

Upon his family's return to their home several years later, McIlhenny found everything in ruins, except for some of the hot Mexican peppers that continued to grow in the kitchen garden. With little income and nothing to lose, he decided to experiment with them, to develop a sauce that would spice up his family's diet.

We've all heard that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. Well, when life gave McIlhenny peppers, he developed Tabasco sauce. You probably have a bottle in your refrigerator now, which, incidentally, is still owned and operated by direct descendants of Edmund McIlhenny.

So what are you waiting for? The truth is there is no better time to be happy than right now. Life will always be filled with challenges and opportunities. Both are best faced with a positive attitude and sincere effort to turn the challenges into opportunities and the opportunities into successes.

Then, my friends, you should be happy!

Mackay's Moral: Make it your business to be happy and your business will be happy.

Harvey Mackay is author of the New York Times best seller "Pushing the Envelope' (Ballantine Books). He can be reached through his Web site: www.mackay.com ; or Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.

Copyright © 2004 San Gabriel Valley Tribune

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