Finding AWE in Ordinary Life | A Conversation with Happiness Expert, Shawn Achor

Happy Strawberry Moon, everyone! As we ease into summer and the hydrangeas and garden roses begin blooming here in Toronto, I find myself struck by the awe and beauty that quietly surrounds us each day. There's so much science behind how we experience the world. My guest on this moon's chapter of 3 Books has spent his career proving just that. Join me in welcoming one of the world's leading experts on happiness and human potential, a Harvard-trained positive psychologist and researcher whose TED Talk has been watched over 30 million (!) times, and a genuinely warm human I am proud to call a friend ... Mr. Shawn Achor! (pronounced like "acorn" without the n, btw!) I first met Shawn in Abu Dhabi, years ago, when we were both invited to speak to the Royal Family of the United Arab Emirates. I arrived a few days early, for dress rehearsals, long dinners, and meet-and-greets with various extended family members, and then Shawn showed up. He flew in, crushed it onstage, dropped research studies like he'd memorized all of Google Scholar, and immediately flew out. I was left thinking: Who was that masked man? Well, over the years we became friends, and he was kind enough to blurb ‘The Happiness Equation’ after selling a million copies of his own wonderful book, ‘The Happiness Advantage’. And then ... where did he go? Shawn just sort of ... disappeared. I found out why in his new book, ‘The Power of Beliefs’. After his daughter Zoë was born three months early, spending 50 days in the NICU, Shawn decided to take a break—six years of no media, no international talks, no new books. Six years! But Shawn is still Shawn. An amiable son of an English teacher and a neuroscience professor, with multiple Harvard degrees, and a witty, research-centric writing style that is precise and uniquely compassionate. Tune in as we discuss Shawn’s new book, his seven core beliefs (and their seven scars), the power of the placebo effect, what six years of "disappearing" taught him about parenting and living a more meaningful life, the psychology of awe, the cost of measuring your worth through comparison, and of course ... the brilliant Shawn Achor's 3 most formative books. Let's flip the page to Chapter 162 now... - 0:00:00 - Welcome to Chapter 162 of 3 Books 01:20 – Who is Shawn Achor? 03:34 – On Shawn’s new book, ‘The Power of Beliefs’ 15:49 – Shawn’s seven core beliefs (and their seven scars) 25:49 – Book One: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis 28:47 – On the importance of creating magic for kids 30:55 – Blending theology and psychology 37:22 – On comparing yourself to other people 42:04 – How do our beliefs change? 45:24 – Book Two: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson 51:24 – How can we add more awe into our lives? 54:26 – Book Three: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss 59:41 – Shawn’s closing thoughts on happiness 1:02:04 - Final Reflections - SUBSCRIBE: https://bit.ly/2HHWPYg Hey there, I'm Neil and I spend a ton of time thinking, writing, podcasting, and speaking about living intentionally. I'm the New York Times bestselling author of six books including The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation. I've been lucky to speak at places like TED, SXSW, and Google. And I host a huge passion project called the 3 Books podcast. Want more 3 Books? Check out my top interviews with: Brené Brown    • Brené Brown - Interview - 3 Books podcast ...   Quentin Tarantino    • Quentin Tarantino - 90-min longform Interv...   David Sedaris    • Chapter 18: David Sedaris on holding happi...   Want to read more of my stuff? https://www.neil.blog/archive/ Want to check out my podcast? http://www.3books.co Want to learn about my live events? https://www.globalhappiness.org/speaking Want my monthly book recos? http://1000awesomethings.com/reading-... Want my articles on intentional living? https://www.neil.blog/newsletter/ I am also on the following drugs: Facebook:   / neilpasricha   Twitter:   / neilpasricha   Instagram:   / neilpasricha   Lastly, thanks so much for watching this vid. 👊, Neil [email protected]