-----Original Message-----
From: Al Cannistraro [mailto:al@...]
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 8:06 AM
To: The Happiness Group
Subject: Re: [happinessgroup] Revised Gates Happiness letter.

George and Everybody,

May I ask some fundamental questions, for purposes of discussion?

-- What are we trying to accomplish, and why? 

 

With the Gates Happiness Corporation project, we have duel goals; Firstly to promote the idea of happiness training corporations through word of mouth and through the media, and secondly to hopefully convince Bill Gates to found and run one.  Why?  Press coverage for happiness like the article in "o" is good, but without vehicles that people can use to increase their happiness, that coverage will have limited utility.  There are very few happiness coaches, and coaching is a far more expensive way for people to increase their happiness than classes.

 
-- Does it serve our goals to promote happiness classes, specifically?
If so, how and why?   Aren't there other ways to promote happiness --
both for-profit and not-for profit? 

 

Classes are probably the best way for several reasons.  Firstly one instructor can teach a class of twenty or thirty students, and this is far more efficient than one to one coaching.   Secondly, coaching will be too expensive for many people, and a happiness corporation could sell happiness to many more people by offering classes than by offering coaches.  Thirdly, since the potential market for happiness classes would be much larger than for happiness coaches, happiness corporations would be more likely to invest in advertising for these classes.  This advertising component is very important to our overall aim of helping as many people as possible to become as happy as possible.

 

Regarding other ways; Lionel is working on creating happiness clubs throughout the world, and Ray has created the first happiness self-help group, another vehicle that is likely to attract many people to the happiness increase movement.  

-- Is it reasonable to expect (or even to hope) that Bill Gates, or any
other philanthropist or entrepreneur who is inspired by this campaign,
would confrom and limit their business or organization to what we
promote? 

 

Considering that happiness is everyone's strongest desire, and business exists to sell people products aimed at fulfilling their desires, I think it is extremely reasonable to expect that not only Bill Gates, but many other entrepreneurs will realize that there is great potential in selling happiness as a product.  The kinds of entrepreneurs who would be most likely to start these companies will certainly continue with their other companies.  This is not a matter of them choosing between their existing companies and a happiness company, but an opportunity for them to expand their business.  Please don't think of what we're doing in terms of "what we promote."  We are offering a very good idea, and the stress should be on the idea and not on us.

 

   After all, it's their money!  They likely would have their own
objectives, and would pursue them with the help of their own experts and
other resources. 

 

Once they agree to found and run these businesses, our job is done.  The have both the resources and expertise to create a top notch team of researchers and marketers, and can create their business without any assistance from us.

 

 

   How likely is it that we would be satisfied with what
they ultimately would do? 

 

In one experiment subjects became about 25 percent happier in six weeks simply by discussing happiness relevant issues.  In another experiment subjects became about 25 percent happier in only two weeks simply by reciting positive self-statements for 10 minutes each morning.  Becoming happier through a structured program is so effective, that it would be very difficult for anyone to create a program that did not work very well.

 

Of course, if we think their programs can be improved, we can certainly promote these improvements through future initiatives.

 

 
-- What do we risk by going public with this campaign?  Is it reasonable
to assume that all publicity will be positive?  Are we prepared to deal
with negative publicity? 

 

If you're referring to people complaining that we're using Gates' name, I'm not at all worried about that prospect.  Any publicity for happiness and happiness increase can only be useful to one of our overall goals of focusing people on their happiness, or lack thereof. The Gates happiness corporation project does not need to be endorsed by our entire happiness group.  This is important because the only people that would be risking anything would be the people who actually send out the emails. 

 

Al Cannistraro  


On Tue, 9 Mar 2004 22:48:55 -0500, "George Ortega"
<georgeo57@...> said:
> Blank Hi Everyone,
>
> Here's a revised Gates happiness corporation letter (click Proposal
> Letters), and a draft for the website that explains our campaign:
> http://www.freewebs.com/gateshappiness/ .  I've chosen a more "catchy"
> title
> in order to attract greater media attention.  We would be wise to also
> send
> many press releases about our campaign since the media would certainly be
> able to promote the campaign far more widely than we could.
>
> The idea behind generating as much media attention as possible is to have
> our "happiness corporation" concept introduced to many other rich and
> generous philanthropists, any one of whom would also be in a position to
> create such a business.  The idea behind specifying Bill Gates is to
> create
> the media impression that we are very focused in our mission, and that we
> are thinking big.
>
> My plan for completing the website is to present some relevant happiness
> facts, select the best happiness increase studies to date (many of the
> ones
> listed on the website are too general to be convincing) and highlight
> several happiness benefit studies.  I would appreciate help in accessing,
> summarizing, and gleaning relevant facts from papers listed on the site
> (please email me first so that we don't duplicate efforts), as well as
> suggestions for what happiness facts to include.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> George
>
>
>
>
>
>
Al Cannistraro
al@...

George and Everybody,

May I ask some fundamental questions, for purposes of discussion?

-- What are we trying to accomplish, and why?

-- Does it serve our goals to promote happiness classes, specifically?
If so, how and why?   Aren't there other ways to promote happiness --
both for-profit and not-for profit?

-- Is it reasonable to expect (or even to hope) that Bill Gates, or any
other philanthropist or entrepreneur who is inspired by this campaign,
would confrom and limit their business or organization to what we
promote?  After all, it's their money!  They likely would have their own
objectives, and would pursue them with the help of their own experts and
other resources.  How likely is it that we would be satisfied with what
they ultimately would do?

-- What do we risk by going public with this campaign?  Is it reasonable
to assume that all publicity will be positive?  Are we prepared to deal
with negative publicity?

Al Cannistraro  


On Tue, 9 Mar 2004 22:48:55 -0500, "George Ortega"
<georgeo57@...> said:
> Blank Hi Everyone,
>
> Here's a revised Gates happiness corporation letter (click Proposal
> Letters), and a draft for the website that explains our campaign:
> http://www.freewebs.com/gateshappiness/ .  I've chosen a more "catchy"
> title
> in order to attract greater media attention.  We would be wise to also
> send
> many press releases about our campaign since the media would certainly be
> able to promote the campaign far more widely than we could.
>
> The idea behind generating as much media attention as possible is to have
> our "happiness corporation" concept introduced to many other rich and
> generous philanthropists, any one of whom would also be in a position to
> create such a business.  The idea behind specifying Bill Gates is to
> create
> the media impression that we are very focused in our mission, and that we
> are thinking big.
>
> My plan for completing the website is to present some relevant happiness
> facts, select the best happiness increase studies to date (many of the
> ones
> listed on the website are too general to be convincing) and highlight
> several happiness benefit studies.  I would appreciate help in accessing,
> summarizing, and gleaning relevant facts from papers listed on the site
> (please email me first so that we don't duplicate efforts), as well as
> suggestions for what happiness facts to include.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> George
>
>
>
>
>
>
Al Cannistraro
al@...

George and Everybody,

May I ask some fundamental questions, for purposes of discussion?

-- What are we trying to accomplish, and why?

-- Does it serve our goals to promote happiness classes, specifically?
If so, how and why?   Aren't there other ways to promote happiness --
both for-profit and not-for profit?

-- Is it reasonable to expect (or even to hope) that Bill Gates, or any
other philanthropist or entrepreneur who is inspired by this campaign,
would confrom and limit their business or organization to what we
promote?  After all, it's their money!  They likely would have their own
objectives, and would pursue them with the help of their own experts and
other resources.  How likely is it that we would be satisfied with what
they ultimately would do?

-- What do we risk by going public with this campaign?  Is it reasonable
to assume that all publicity will be positive?  Are we prepared to deal
with negative publicity?

Al Cannistraro


On Tue, 9 Mar 2004 22:48:55 -0500, "George Ortega"
<georgeo57@...> said:
> Blank Hi Everyone,
>
> Here's a revised Gates happiness corporation letter (click Proposal
> Letters), and a draft for the website that explains our campaign:
> http://www.freewebs.com/gateshappiness/ .  I've chosen a more "catchy"
> title
> in order to attract greater media attention.  We would be wise to also
> send
> many press releases about our campaign since the media would certainly be
> able to promote the campaign far more widely than we could.
>
> The idea behind generating as much media attention as possible is to have
> our "happiness corporation" concept introduced to many other rich and
> generous philanthropists, any one of whom would also be in a position to
> create such a business.  The idea behind specifying Bill Gates is to
> create
> the media impression that we are very focused in our mission, and that we
> are thinking big.
>
> My plan for completing the website is to present some relevant happiness
> facts, select the best happiness increase studies to date (many of the
> ones
> listed on the website are too general to be convincing) and highlight
> several happiness benefit studies.  I would appreciate help in accessing,
> summarizing, and gleaning relevant facts from papers listed on the site
> (please email me first so that we don't duplicate efforts), as well as
> suggestions for what happiness facts to include.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> George
>
>
>
>
>
>
Al Cannistraro
al@...

This article from NYTimes.com
has been sent to you by al@....



/-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\

Fox Searchlight Pictures is proud to present BROKEN LIZARD'S
CLUB DREAD now playing in theaters everywhere. No
crucifixions, no need to read subtitles, no need to avert
your eyes. Just have a drink, mellow out and laugh for two
hours with the creators of Super Troopers in CLUB DREAD.
Watch the trailer and join the blogging fun on the official
website at:

http://ads.nyt.com/fi.ad/mo-2004fox02/clubdread2/?_RM_REDIR_=http://www.clubdrea\
d.com

\----------------------------------------------------------/


Emotional Striptease, and Other Paths to Ethics

March 7, 2004
  By AMY WU





ON a crisp morning last September, Srikumar S. Rao leaned
upon a lectern, set his marble-shaped eyes on 35 Columbia
Business School students and simply stared.

Cellphones silenced and BlackBerries muted, these aspiring
executives stared back, then began eyeing one another more
anxiously with each mounting minute.

Finally, a young woman shattered the silence. "O.K.," she
started. Dr. Rao, mellow and fatherly, grinned back,
testing the patience of the typically type-A business
students.

In a school where most of the 200 or so classes are Wall
Street-centric, Dr. Rao's course, called Creativity and
Personal Mastery, is as unbusiness as business school gets.
To Dr. Rao, 52, who has been teaching the course at
Columbia since 1999 and first taught it at Long Island
University in 1994, it is a forum for self-exploration,
meant to help future business leaders define their personal
ethics and goals.

Although not every student converts to what some
half-jokingly call Raoism, applications for the course have
grown steadily. Last fall, Dr. Rao accepted 35 of the more
than 90 students who applied. For the current semester,
which began in January, he took 80 because he had more than
140 applicants.

To some people in the business school, Dr. Rao's popularity
reflects a need for training in ethics and values that has
become all too obvious with the deceptions carried out by
executives in the last few years.

"We're talking about something very important, especially
in today's world," said Prof. Safwan Masri, vice dean of
the business school. "The Enrons and the Parmalats of the
world are making people think about these issues a little
more," Professor Masri said. "People are reflecting more
profoundly on what it means to be successful."

Some schools have added ethics courses in the wake of the
scandals. Harvard Business School made an ethics course
mandatory for students entering last fall, as did Columbia,
although it is not the one that Dr. Rao teaches.

Nevertheless, many of Dr. Rao's students say that his class
is one of a kind.

A few of them said other students have criticized them for
taking the unconventional class. Some critics have
described it as "Tuesdays With Morrie'' meets ''Oprah.''

"Some people at the school say, 'Oh, it's those weirdos,'
or, 'It's the New Age class,' " said Narayan Raghu, 29, a
former KPMG consultant who is taking the course. "Everyone
is sympathetic toward the underlying concept of the course,
but a lot of people are not ready to do it."

The telephone-book-thick syllabus for the course is packed
with parables and quotations from Ecclesiastes, Thoreau and
the Bhagavad-Gita, a sacred Hindu text, among other works.
Required readings include ''Flow: The Psychology of Optimal
Experience," "A Search in Secret India" and "The Art of
Possibility."

At a recent class, students performed emotional
stripteases, discussing topics including depression and
marital problems.

Dr. Rao offers his students what he calls "mental models,"
ways to think about situations that will confront them, and
ways to deal with them, like how to see a bad boss in the
best light. His sayings include, "When the flower blossoms,
the bee will come," and "Good thing, bad thing, who knows?"


Dr. Rao was born in Bangalore, India, majored in physics at
Delhi University, received an M.B.A. from the Indian
Institute of Management and earned a doctorate in marketing
from Columbia's business school. He worked in corporate
America for five years, including a stint as an assistant
to the president of Warner Communications, but said he
disliked his jobs.

He decided to head into academia and is now a marketing
professor at the C. W. Post campus of Long Island
University. He is an adjunct professor at Columbia.

Dr. Rao, a Hindu, says his teachings and the mental models
are inspired partly by his guru, Abhinava Vidya Teertha,
who was a disciple of the Shankara Charya, an
eighth-century Indian philosopher.

Like his guru, Dr. Rao uses stories to make points. One
tale was about someone who continued to give money to a
foul-mouthed panhandler because he did not want to stoop to
the panhandler's pettiness.

"There are terrible jerks, and there are an unusually large
concentration of them in the workplace," Dr. Rao lectured.
"And that means that you do have to make some changes in
your behavior, but there is absolutely no need for you to
give them power over your happiness."

The personal essays that students write to get into the
class reveal the conflicts that occur daily in business.

Charles Marcus, 32, who was in charge of sales and
marketing at an online business in San Francisco, and
worked at several start-ups before the dot-com crash, said
he was always forced to fire people and squeeze clients for
higher bill rates.

In his essay, Mr. Marcus, a Harvard graduate, wrote: "Woke
up one morning, late in the fall of 2000, and wondered
whose life this was that I was living. I had been sucked
into a greed machine."

Sara Gooch, an investment banker before entering business
school, wrote: "My biggest struggle is trying to find a
balance between wanting to emulate the life that my mother
has led, full-time wife and mother, living in a tranquil
suburb, with soccer games and P.T.A. to keep me busy," and
a career in finance.

Two months after writing that essay, Ms. Gooch said that
the course had not solved her problems, but that she had
learned some life lessons. "It's helped me realize that,
whatever I choose, I can be happy," she said. "I can be
happy in my 80-hour-a-week investment banking job. It's a
choice to be happy and to get out of it what's going to
fulfill you."

The students are assigned friends to force them to get to
know classmates better, and they are told to hold
conversations while blindfolded to become acquainted on
more than a superficial level. They are also told, over the
course of a week, to eat at least one meal a day alone and
in silence, to sharpen focusing skills.

Ms. Gooch said that the demand to focus on one thing was a
useful experience.

"It made me realize that I do spend an enormous amount of
my time multitasking and not really enjoying any of the
things I am doing," she said.

Other assignments focus on the evils of what Dr. Rao called
"mind chatter" - allowing needless thoughts to clog the
mind. During another week, students were told to
concentrate on one task at a time and to resist looking at
their hand-held computers.

The class includes a weekend retreat in which students talk
about a variety of topics, including sex and workplace
politics.

Dr. Rao requires students to contribute to the "community,"
his term for the class. So Mr. Raghu invited fellow
students to his wedding ceremonies in Mexico and India, and
other students offered to hold flamenco dancing lessons and
kayaking expeditions.

The unusual exercises and assignments give Dr. Rao's class
the feel of a Friendster forum.

James J. Lewellis, an international affairs student,
acknowledges that he took the class to meet people. "I
wanted to do it as much as a networking exercise as much as
possible," Mr. Lewellis said. "That's what a business
school is anyway."

But Dr. Rao emphasizes that despite its social aspects, his
is a serious business course, and that he is only teaching
marketing with a twist. His style of networking includes
suggesting that people help five people they admire without
any expectation of repayment.

Matt Kraft, a partner at the Kraft Group, a financial
services business in Montvale, N.J., that was started, but
no longer owned, by his family, took the course when he was
at Columbia in 1999. Mr. Kraft, 32, said that, as a
result,, he tries to steer his rich clients toward
philanthropy.

"I refer to it as Raoism, and I've said it before and I
mean it in the most positive sense," he said of the
professor.

JOSHUA KLENOFF, 28, went to Columbia after a successful
career as an entrepreneur.

"I went into the Internet because money was a key component
of it." he said. "I was not happy in any meaningful way. I
was not deeply fulfilled or invigorated by business." He
said he found his life's calling after stumbling upon Dr.
Rao's class. Since he graduated last May, Mr. Klenoff said,
he has focused his business instincts on helping others
find their life's calling.

Mr. Klenoff began a company with Dr. Rao called League4
Lifelong Leadership Inc., in which he travels to
universities to help students find suitable career paths.

Students who took Dr. Rao's class last fall said that it
had already affected them. Brandon Peele, 27, said he found
direction in the class after being disenchanted with his
life as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch.

"I wanted to make a lot of money, travel the world, sleep
with a lot of women,'' said Mr. Peele, who will graduate
from business school in May. "It's typical of a lot of my
colleagues. I came to realize that there is much more out
there than getting that big house. He just raised my
consciousness."

Mr. Peele says he plans to start a television channel
focusing on corporate responsibility and personal growth.
"You spend so much of your day working, you might as well
be enjoying yourself," he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/business/yourmoney/07ethics.html?ex=1079846820\
&ei=1&en=d5450ab9b628c5e1


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&Extern\
alMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters
or other creative advertising opportunities with The
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales@... or visit our online media
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to
help@....

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

-----Original Message-----
From: laffalot5@... [mailto:laffalot5@...]
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 7:21 PM
To: happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [happinessgroup] Conference Calls: dates and times

Hi George. I am not available untill 4:15 on March 18. Marilyn .thanks.

Hi George. I am not available untill 4:15 on March 18. Marilyn .thanks.

-----Original Message-----
From: Camille Patterson [mailto:c.patterson@...]
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2004 12:10 PM
To: happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [happinessgroup] Conference Calls: dates and times

 

Will the phone #s and access codes be the same for these as last time?

 

Camille Patterson, PhD
Research Coordinator
Tarrant Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
1701 W. Freeway, Ste 1.
Fort Worth,  TX  76102
(817) 332-6329 x252

 

Our Mission: To Reduce Drug and Alcohol Abuse in Our Community

 

"This message may contain confidential information and is intended only for
the individual(s) named.  If you are not the named addressee you should not
disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail.  Please notify the sender
immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete
this e-mail from your system."

----- Original Message -----

From: George Ortega

To: happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 5:56 PM

Subject: [happinessgroup] Conference Calls: dates and times

Hi Everyone,

 

Here is a schedule of times for our next conference calls.  If they don't work for you, please let me know as soon as possible so alternative days/times can be presented.

 

Happiness Coaching:  Wednesday, March 10 at 4:00pm EST

Drive for Gates Happiness Leadership:  Thursday, March 11 at 3:30pm EST

Happiness in Schools:  Tuesday, March 16 at 3:30 EST

Happiness Promotion Brainstorming: Thursday, March 18 at 3:30 EST

 

 

George

-----Original Message-----
From: Aymee Branch [mailto:positiveleadership@...]
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 6:12 PM
To: happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [happinessgroup] npr/next meetings

Hello everyone! 

 

1) I found this bit on NPR about the pusuit of happiness in case you are interested...

 

http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1319583

 

2) George- When are the next phone meetings for the repective groups?

 

 

The second California happiness club meeting was held in San Francisco last night and it went great!  I encourage all of you to get your friends and neighbors involved in this movement!  It is fun! 

 

Wishing you happiness today!

Aymee

----- Original Message -----

From: George Ortega

To: happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 5:56 PM

Subject: [happinessgroup] Conference Calls: dates and times

Hi Everyone,

 

Here is a schedule of times for our next conference calls.  If they don't work for you, please let me know as soon as possible so alternative days/times can be presented.

 

Happiness Coaching:  Wednesday, March 10 at 4:00pm EST

Drive for Gates Happiness Leadership:  Thursday, March 11 at 3:30pm EST

Happiness in Schools:  Tuesday, March 16 at 3:30 EST

Happiness Promotion Brainstorming: Thursday, March 18 at 3:30 EST

 

 

George

-----Original Message-----
From: Aymee Branch [mailto:positiveleadership@...]
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 6:12 PM
To: happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [happinessgroup] npr/next meetings

Hello everyone! 

 

1) I found this bit on NPR about the pusuit of happiness in case you are interested...

 

http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1319583

 

2) George- When are the next phone meetings for the repective groups?

 

 

The second California happiness club meeting was held in San Francisco last night and it went great!  I encourage all of you to get your friends and neighbors involved in this movement!  It is fun! 

 

Wishing you happiness today!

Aymee

-----Original Message-----
From: Al Cannistraro [mailto:al@...]
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 10:14 AM
To: The Happiness Group
Subject: Re: [happinessgroup] TED Prize

Thank YOU for passing along the NPR links.  I listened to both shows, and
I passed the second link along to some PP colleagues.  One of the
bookspromoted on that show, The Progress Paradox, is being *widely*
publicized at the moment.  The author spoke with us in Seligman's AHC
program.  PP and Happiess ARE out there being discussed and promoted.  In
my opinion, we ought to join the larger bandwagon in a cooperative and
synergystic fashion, not pretend that ours is the only, lonely, tiny
one.

Re taking up the TED idea, I'd say talk with the others.

Al C.

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 07:00:09 -0800 (PST), "Aymee Branch"
<positiveleadership@...> said:
> I think that is a great idea!  Should the happiness promotion group
> develop this more?  fyi, the deadline is in June.
> 
> Thanks Al!
> 
> Aymee
>
> Al Cannistraro <al@...> wrote:
> George suggested that I pass along this note regarding a group that
> plausibly could be interested in our mission of promoting happiness.
> Al Canistraro
> al@...
>
> From: "George Ortega" <Georgeo57@...>
> To: "Al Cannistraro" <al@...>
> Subject: RE: Ted Prize
> Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 9:10 AM
>
>
> Al,
>
> This seems promising.    Whether or not we win the prize, it may be a
> great
> avenue for promoting our projects.  You might want to share it with The
> Happiness Group.
>
> George
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Al Cannistraro [mailto:al@...]
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 7:05 AM
> > To: George Ortega
> > Subject:
> >
> >
> > George,
> > In checking out the story about the TED conference, I found this web site
> > about the TED prize.  It may be of interest to you.
> > http://www.ted.com/tedprize/index.cfm?flashEnabled=1
> > Al C.
> > Al Cannistraro
> > al@...
> >
> Al Cannistraro
> al@...
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>    To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happinessgroup/
>  
>    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> happinessgroup-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>  
>    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
Al Cannistraro
al@...

I totally agree!

Aymee

Thank YOU for passing along the NPR links.  I listened to both shows, and
I passed the second link along to some PP colleagues.  One of the
bookspromoted on that show, The Progress Paradox, is being *widely*
publicized at the moment.  The author spoke with us in Seligman's AHC
program.  PP and Happiess ARE out there being discussed and promoted.  In
my opinion, we ought to join the larger bandwagon in a cooperative and
synergystic fashion, not pretend that ours is the only, lonely, tiny
one.

Re taking up the TED idea, I'd say talk with the others.

Al C.

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 07:00:09 -0800 (PST), "Aymee Branch"
<positiveleadership@...> said:
> I think that is a great idea!  Should the happiness promotion group
> develop this more?  fyi, the deadline is in June.
> 
> Thanks Al!
> 
> Aymee
>
> Al Cannistraro <al@...> wrote:
> George suggested that I pass along this note regarding a group that
> plausibly could be interested in our mission of promoting happiness.
> Al Canistraro
> al@...
>
> From: "George Ortega" <Georgeo57@...>
> To: "Al Cannistraro" <al@...>
> Subject: RE: Ted Prize
> Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 9:10 AM
>
>
> Al,
>
> This seems promising.    Whether or not we win the prize, it may be a
> great
> avenue for promoting our projects.  You might want to share it with The
> Happiness Group.
>
> George
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Al Cannistraro [mailto:al@...]
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 7:05 AM
> > To: George Ortega
> > Subject:
> >
> >
> > George,
> > In checking out the story about the TED conference, I found this web site
> > about the TED prize.  It may be of interest to you.
> > http://www.ted.com/tedprize/index.cfm?flashEnabled=1
> > Al C.
> > Al Cannistraro
> > al@...
> >
> Al Cannistraro
> al@...
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>    To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happinessgroup/
>  
>    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> happinessgroup-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>  
>    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
Al Cannistraro
al@...

Thank YOU for passing along the NPR links.  I listened to both shows, and
I passed the second link along to some PP colleagues.  One of the
bookspromoted on that show, The Progress Paradox, is being *widely*
publicized at the moment.  The author spoke with us in Seligman's AHC
program.  PP and Happiess ARE out there being discussed and promoted.  In
my opinion, we ought to join the larger bandwagon in a cooperative and
synergystic fashion, not pretend that ours is the only, lonely, tiny
one.

Re taking up the TED idea, I'd say talk with the others.

Al C.

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 07:00:09 -0800 (PST), "Aymee Branch"
<positiveleadership@...> said:
> I think that is a great idea!  Should the happiness promotion group
> develop this more?  fyi, the deadline is in June.
>
> Thanks Al!
>
> Aymee
>
> Al Cannistraro <al@...> wrote:
> George suggested that I pass along this note regarding a group that
> plausibly could be interested in our mission of promoting happiness.
> Al Canistraro
> al@...
>
> From: "George Ortega" <Georgeo57@...>
> To: "Al Cannistraro" <al@...>
> Subject: RE: Ted Prize
> Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 9:10 AM
>
>
> Al,
>
> This seems promising.    Whether or not we win the prize, it may be a
> great
> avenue for promoting our projects.  You might want to share it with The
> Happiness Group.
>
> George
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Al Cannistraro [mailto:al@...]
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 7:05 AM
> > To: George Ortega
> > Subject:
> >
> >
> > George,
> > In checking out the story about the TED conference, I found this web site
> > about the TED prize.  It may be of interest to you.
> > http://www.ted.com/tedprize/index.cfm?flashEnabled=1
> > Al C.
> > Al Cannistraro
> > al@...
> >
> Al Cannistraro
> al@...
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>    To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happinessgroup/
>
>    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> happinessgroup-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
Al Cannistraro
al@...

George suggested that I pass along this note regarding a group that
plausibly could be interested in our mission of promoting happiness.
Al Canistraro
al@...

From: "George Ortega" <Georgeo57@...>
To: "Al Cannistraro" <al@...>
Subject: RE: Ted Prize
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 9:10 AM


Al,

This seems promising.    Whether or not we win the prize, it may be a
great
avenue for promoting our projects.  You might want to share it with The
Happiness Group.

George


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Al Cannistraro [mailto:al@...]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 7:05 AM
> To: George Ortega
> Subject:
>
>
> George,
> In checking out the story about the TED conference, I found this web site
> about the TED prize.  It may be of interest to you.
> http://www.ted.com/tedprize/index.cfm?flashEnabled=1
> Al C.
> Al Cannistraro
> al@...
>
Al Cannistraro
al@...

George suggested that I pass along this note regarding a group that
plausibly could be interested in our mission of promoting happiness.
Al Canistraro
al@...

From: "George Ortega" <Georgeo57@...>
To: "Al Cannistraro" <al@...>
Subject: RE: Ted Prize
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 9:10 AM


Al,

This seems promising.    Whether or not we win the prize, it may be a
great
avenue for promoting our projects.  You might want to share it with The
Happiness Group.

George


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Al Cannistraro [mailto:al@...]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 7:05 AM
> To: George Ortega
> Subject:
>
>
> George,
> In checking out the story about the TED conference, I found this web site
> about the TED prize.  It may be of interest to you.
> http://www.ted.com/tedprize/index.cfm?flashEnabled=1
> Al C.
> Al Cannistraro
> al@...
>
Al Cannistraro
al@...

I thought the following article would be of interest, as well as the
existence of the annual TED conference.

The article mentions Martin Seligman, who spoke at the event.
Ironically, Goldie Hawn also participated.  That's ironic because
Seligman has used Hawn as an icon of the shallow ebullience that often is
mischaracterized as happiness.

Seligman's remarks also may be of interest.

Al Cannistraro
al@...


Eclectic conference ponders bliss. 01/03/2004. ABC News Online

[This is the print version of story
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1056130.htm]


Last Update: Monday, March 1, 2004. 12:05pm (AEDT)
Eclectic conference ponders bliss
When it comes to the pursuit of happiness, everyone, it turns out, has an
opinion.

Everyone, as it turns out, just happens to include architects,
scientists, explorers, Buddhist monks, comedians, primate researchers,
dietitians, deep sea divers, illusionists and Internet billionaires.

That was only a partial list of the lineup of speakers and participants
at at a free-wheeling technology and design conference in the United
States, that also attracted corporate executives and famed Hollywood
actress Goldie Hawn.

The eclectic group gathered on California's central coast to ponder the
pursuit of happiness and the shape of the future at the annual TED
conference.

TED, an acronym for technology, entertainment and design, brought
together an unlikely group of thinkers to swap ideas and garner
inspiration from Wednesday through Saturday.

In a measure of the conference's enthusiastic embrace of diversity, the
Monterey event ran the gamut from a presentation on how mantis shrimp
break open snails to a standing ovation for a piano recital by
14-year-old prodigy Jennifer Lin.

Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn joined in a meditation session guided by a
Buddhist monk.

Genomics pioneer Craig Ventner discussed his globe-trotting plans for
mapping the genome of the planet's population.

Chris Anderson, the curator of the conference, told Reuters the gathering
provides a four-day immersion in ideas, invention and fun at a time when
many of its high-powered participants are reevaluating life's big-picture
questions.

"A lot of people who have been incredibly successful over the years have
been compelled to write a different agenda because of a combination of
economic issues and 9/11," he said.

Mr Anderson, in his second year as the conference curator, announced the
launch of the TED prize, an award that will give $US100,000 apiece to
three people judged to be remarkable.

The invited guests to this year's conference included the founders of
such Internet luminaries as Amazon, AOL, Ask Jeeves, eBay, Google,
Intuit, Paypal and Priceline.

William Taubman, a real estate developer, who has attended TED since it
started over a decade ago, described it as a kind of vacation for the
mind.

In a presentation entitled "Humour, Joy and Surprise in Design," Al
Seckel, a neuroscientist from the California Institute of Technology,
described illusions as "expectations that have been violated in some
unexpected, pleasing way".

That was close to what many people felt upon seeing the billionaire
founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, circling the stage on a
Segway scooter.

The same audience had earlier watched bonobos, a species of ape from
central Africa, learn to draw pictures, drive golf carts and play
computer games.

On the whole, TED participants were wildly optimistic about the future,
with predictions that scientists in the years just ahead would solve the
problem of aging, understand the nature of gravity and find another
planet like Earth.

Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of
Pennsylvania, ended the conference by saying that America should look to
15th century Florence for inspiration.

"Florence in the 15th century could have become the greatest military
power in Europe with all its wealth and genius, but instead it chose to
invest it in beauty," Mr Seligman said.

"This is your Florentine moment and it only comes once in a millennium,"
he said.

"The question we all have to ask ourselves is how are we going to use
technology, entertainment and design to increase the tonnage of human
happiness on the planet."

With that the conference drew to a close on a rousing coda that included
singing and dancing led by the Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard.

It was an attempt to find the "flow" of the moment, described earlier by
Nancy Etkoff, an evolutionary psychologist at Harvard University.

"People feel happiest when they are in the flow, absorbed, and not
figuring out the self," she said.

-- Reuters




© 2003 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm
Privacy information: http://abc.net.au/privacy.htm

George,

The letter looks fine. Good luck with it.

Regards,

Hank


On Mar 2, 2004, at 2:03 AM, George Ortega wrote:

> Hi Happiness Group,
>   
> Below is an email that we can begin sending to associates of Bill
> Gates as soon as some necessary information is up on a web site I've
> been creating for this project.  I would really appreciate suggestions
> on how the letter can be improved.
>  
> Thanks.
>  
> <image.tiff>George
>   
>  
>
> Dear;
>
>  
>
> It is my understanding that you are an associate of Microsoft CEO,
> Bill Gates.  I am writing you on behalf of The Happiness Group, a
> non-financial (we do not require or seek funds) organization dedicated
> to encouraging the achievement of an increase in global happiness from
> our present day level of under 65 percent to a more acceptable level
> of at least 85 percent.  Based on our research, we are confident that
> this increase can be ultimately achieved by initially establishing a
> global network of happiness centers that train customers to become
> substantially happier for a fee.
>
>  
>
> As the richest and most generous philanthropist in the world, Bill
> Gates is committed to helping better our world, and we are confident
> that by his founding an international happiness-training corporation,
> Mr. Gates would do more for our global population than by any other
> means.   We conclude this based on extensive research documenting that
> as individuals become happier, they become physically and emotionally
> healthier, more economically productive, more pro-social, and very
> importantly, more charitable.   We are confident that by his creating
> a much happier world, Mr. Gates will be creating a much more ethical
> and compassionate world.
>
>  
>
> Happiness has been shown to be virtually everyone’s basic goal,
> however many of us achieve it only marginally because we seek it in
> ways that have little or no impact.   Although the principles of
> happiness-increase have been understood for over twenty years, no
> cultural institution or major business is currently disseminating this
> knowledge.   There is a popular expression that comes to mind
> regarding the creation of a network of happiness training centers:
> “Build it and they will come.”  Bill Gates is the person on our planet
> most capable of creating these happiness-training centers, and thereby
> pioneering the creation of an international happiness training
> industry. 
>
>   
>
> The Happiness Group has recently launched a campaign aimed at
> encouraging Mr. Gates to assume leadership of a global
> happiness-increase initiative that would begin by his creating an
> international happiness-training corporation.  Our strategy is to ask
> as many of Bill Gates’ associates as we can to personally refer this
> pioneering philanthropic/business venture to Mr. Gates.  We are
> confident that one of his associates will ultimately succeed at
> persuading Mr. Gates to establish this corporation.  If you share our
> vision of a much happier, better world, and our conclusion that Mr.
> Gates is the perfect person to lead this epochal venture, we would
> very much appreciate your referring our idea to him. 
>
>   
>
> To assist you in deciding whether the vision we present is worthy of
> Mr. Gates’ attention, we have created a web site called Shared
> Happiness Research (presently under construction).  On a single web
> page we present facts about happiness, happiness-increase, and the
> benefits of happiness in a well- organized, user-friendly format that
> provides very quick access to relevant information.  Please take a
> moment to visit our site.
>
>   
>
> Thank you for considering our proposal.  We hope you will decide to
> convey to Mr. Gates the vision of a much happier, healthier, and
> better world, made real by the leadership and enterprise of the
> richest and most generous individual on the planet; Bill Gates.
>
>
>
>  Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
> ADVERTISEMENT
>
>
> <l.gif>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>  •  To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happinessgroup/
>  
>  • 	 To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> happinessgroup-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>  
>  • 	 Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
> Service.
>
>

-----Original Message-----
From: Aymee Branch [mailto:positiveleadership@...]
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 6:12 PM
To: happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [happinessgroup] npr/next meetings

Hello everyone! 

 

1) I found this bit on NPR about the pusuit of happiness in case you are interested...

 

http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1319583

 

2) George- When are the next phone meetings for the repective groups?

 

 

The second California happiness club meeting was held in San Francisco last night and it went great!  I encourage all of you to get your friends and neighbors involved in this movement!  It is fun! 

 

Wishing you happiness today!

Aymee

-----Original Message-----
From: Hank Kearns [mailto:hkearns4@...]
Sent: Sunday, February 29, 2004 8:48 AM
To: happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [happinessgroup] Fordyce's Happiness Training Videos

On Feb 29, 2004, at 12:33 AM, George Ortega wrote:

Hank,
 
During our Thursday conference call you mentioned that the "Happiness Show" episodes I sent you recently were more promotional than instructional.  Recently I found this offer by Dr. Michael Fordyce for a set of his instructional videos on happiness:
 
http://www.gethappy.net/books.htm
 
Last week I spoke to Dr. Fordyce about presenting the actual happiness instruction videos he used for his 1977 and 1983 happiness increase experiments on a new happiness program I would begin producing in the Spring.  Although the masters are in 3/4 inch format, my studio may be able to transfer them to VHS.  If that succeeds, I can then make copies and send them to you for viewing by your health classes.  While I offer varied and useful happiness-increase advice on my instruction theme episodes, I doubt they would compare in organization and quality to Dr. Fordyce's presentations, and it would probably be best to use his videos for your classes.  I'll let you know more after I speak with Dr. Fordyce again next week.
 

George,

Thank you for doing all of this leg work. I have submitted a request to our principal to purchase Dr. Fordyce's tapes. It looks like I will get them. Please keep the channels open between you and I. I welcome any of assistance and help. I have much to learn.

George, in reading your posts on Friends of PP and listening to you speak, there is no doubt about your knowledge, intelligence, ethics, motivation, purpose, etc. In short you are a whiz bang happiness doyen. In spite of all of your outstanding qualities, I have to suggest that you might want to cool it just a little with the Gates issue. Can I suggest that you take sometime to listen. You may still find that your original idea is the most effective and correct way to go, but there are people who subscribe to the Friends of PP listserv that might be able to help you and the cause. My sense is that people are getting "turned-off" to a basically good idea, getting wealthy individuals to give back to their culture.

Respectfully,

Hank

On Feb 29, 2004, at 12:33 AM, George Ortega wrote:

> Hank,
>  
> During our Thursday conference call you mentioned that the "Happiness
> Show" episodes I sent you recently were more promotional than
> instructional.  Recently I found this offer by Dr. Michael Fordyce for
> a set of his instructional videos on happiness:
>  
> http://www.gethappy.net/books.htm
>  
> Last week I spoke to Dr. Fordyce about presenting the actual happiness
> instruction videos he used for his 1977 and 1983 happiness increase
> experiments on a new happiness program I would begin producing in the
> Spring.  Although the masters are in 3/4 inch format, my studio may be
> able to transfer them to VHS.  If that succeeds, I can then make
> copies and send them to you for viewing by your health classes.  While
> I offer varied and useful happiness-increase advice on my instruction
> theme episodes, I doubt they would compare in organization and quality
> to Dr. Fordyce's presentations, and it would probably be best to use
> his videos for your classes.  I'll let you know more after I speak
> with Dr. Fordyce again next week.
>  
>

George,

Thank you for doing all of this leg work. I have submitted a request to
our principal to purchase Dr. Fordyce's tapes. It looks like I will get
them. Please keep the channels open between you and I. I welcome any of
assistance and help. I have much to learn.

George, in reading your posts on Friends of PP and listening to you
speak, there is no doubt about your knowledge, intelligence, ethics,
motivation, purpose, etc.  In short you are a whiz bang happiness
doyen. In spite of all of your outstanding qualities, I have to suggest
that you might want to cool it just a little with the Gates issue. Can
I suggest that you take sometime to listen. You may still find that
your original idea is the most effective and correct way to go, but
there are people who subscribe to the Friends of PP listserv that might
be able to help you and the cause. My sense is that people are getting
"turned-off" to a basically good idea, getting wealthy individuals to
give back to their culture.

Respectfully,

Hank

George suggested that I post this message, which I'd previously
sent to him alone:

1.  If Oprah is a rich do-gooder, and if she is featuring the benefits of
happiness and practical tips on getting happier in her magazine, then why
not start there re philanthropy?  Strike while the iron is hot.

2.  Seligman, his AHC course, the about-to-be-published un-DSM  are what
lead to the media spotlight being put on pp at this time, in my opinion.
It was entirely predictable.  In fact, my confidence that it would happen
shortly after I graduated from the AHC class was the main way that I
justified the expense of taking the AHC course.  Rather than setting off
as if we are a small band on our own in the darkness, I think it would be
smart to acknowledge and join any bandwagons that are already in motion
  -- in a cooperative fashion.  Happiness IS hot right now.
Al Cannistraro
al@...

Following the selection of the Gratitude Visit as an "idea of the
year" by the Sunday New York Times magazine (and other media
attention on Marty and Positive Psychology), Marty Seligman informed
members of his Authentic Happiness Coaching program that he'd been
approached by ten TV and radio producers with various project
ideas.  Among them was a reality TV show.  That's all I know.
Al Cannistraro

--- In happinessgroup@yahoogroups.com, Aymee Branch
<positiveleadership@y...> wrote:
> Hello Everyone!
> It was great to connect with all of you!  This project is fun and
exciting, it has attracted some really amazing individuals, (like
yourselves!)  I am happy to be a part, :-)
>
> I believe that during the call someone mentioned Seligman and a
reality tv show.  I don't remember who said that but I am interested
in finding out more information.
> Can you help?
>
> Thanks!
> Wishing all of you happiness today!!!!
>
> Aymee

Just checking to see if this is working.

Hank