MSI Press Blog

  Recently released - the audiobook edition of  How to Get Happy and Stay That Way  by Joanna Romer. Book description: A winningly simple yet comprehensive look at the source of happiness, based on interviews with twelve of the happiest people that the author knows, most of whom have had what others might consider difficult lives. Each "happy person" vignette includes an introspective mini-bio and advice for how readers can attain the same level of happiness. At the end of each chapter (interview), the author provides guidelines for achieving happiness in small steps that any reader can take with confidence. An excellent book for developing self-awareness and an attitude of gratitude, leading to peace and joy. Book Review by RLAManna (Amazon): What is the way to happiness and how does one stay on that path? How do we move beyond hardened views of the world, our place in it, and our often faulty perceptions? If it is true that peace and happiness abide within us, waiting to be

  Excerpt from  How to Get Happy and Stay That Way: Practice Techniques for Putting Joy into Your Life ebook: Anazon Kindle paperback:  MSI Press webstore  (code FF25 gives 25% discount) Don't Let Guilt Block Your Happiness It’s odd to think that guilt can get in the way of happiness, but I know it can because it’s happened to me. There have been times I’ve been so happy that tears come to my eyes—and then I realize something else has gotten into my head, too. That something else is guilt—guilt because I’m happy and other people aren’t. There is no way to get around this reality: not everyone is happy. In fact, there are those who say we should never declare ourselves happy while there are people in the world who are suffering. Some individuals—writers, philosophers—proclaim that to be happy in the world as we know it is a sign of insanity. I don’t agree with either of these concepts. To me, we are most apt to go out of our way to help those less fortunate than ourselves when we ar

  excerpt from How to Get Happy and Stay That Way (Romer) - How Can We Tell When True Happiness Is Ours? Knowing when we are happy may seem like a no-brainer, but actually it can be trickier than it sounds. What seems to be true happiness may be deceptive and turn out to be just a passing phase or, worse, the opposite of happiness. For example, have you ever spent hours, even days, planning an event, and it turns out to be something that sounded much better on paper than it actually was? In this case, it may be that whatever happiness was derived from the situation came from the planning process, and not the event itself. Now there’s nothing wrong with achieving satisfaction from producing an event—event planners will vouch for that! However, it’s important to know whether it’s the process or the result itself that makes us happy, so that we’re not disappointed. But how about simple, everyday happiness, not associated with major projects—how can we accurately tell when happiness is up

    excerpt from  How to Get Happy and Stay That Way  (Romer) - INTRODUCTION The “pursuit of happiness” is one of the rights promised in the Declaration of Independence, and most of us spend quite a bit of time engaged in this endeavor. Typically, we think it takes some big event---a wedding, job promotion, fantastic vacation—to bring happiness into our lives. But is this true? Could we, in fact, be happy simply by carrying out our daily activities? I say yes—if those activities are things we really like to do. The key to being happy is to engage on a daily basis in work or play that we love. And the key to turning this happiness into joy is gratitude. This is not an esoteric philosophy. It has nothing to do with reaching Nirvana or some other-worldly frame of mind. Yes, those states of consciousness can point the way—but for everyday happiness we need a practical set of techniques that will work year after year, despite obstacles. In addition to gratitude, these techniques include sel

  Excerpt from Clean Your Plate!  Be Nice to Your Friends [ILLUSTRATION 6, CHAPTER 6 WARNING GOES HERE] As anyone who has ever talked to a toddler can tell you, toddlers can be brutal. Like, soul-crushingly, life-ruiningly frank. There’s a lot of truth to the Internet meme that says “if a woman calls you ugly, she’s jealous; if a man calls you ugly, she’s flirting, but if a kid calls you ugly...you’re ugly.” Kids have absolutely no sense of social niceties. They also occasionally spaz out with small bursts of poorly-controlled demonic meanness of unknown origin. (No, it’s not just your kids. It’s all of them.) Why We Say It The fact that parents across the globe tell their kids to be nice to their friends is entirely unsurprising. We’re terrified our little monsters will alienate their peers and doom themselves to a life of social isolation and misery (sticking us with the therapy bills). However well-meaning this parental plea for our kids to exercise their still-developin