Margaret’s Persuasion Coach Blog

Just in case anyone needs further motivation to cultivate happiness, Elizabeth Gilbert reports an amazing true story.[1] You may recall that, in the 1986, a nuclear reactor near the Village of Chernobyl, Russia exploded, leaving the surrounding area highly toxic with radiation.

Recently, I thought I had to run up the white flag and go grocery shopping because I’d just put the last roll of TP on the spindle in my bathroom. Then I realized I could steal the one in the guest bath and hold out for one more day. I procrastinate. After a trip, I...

No need to worry that people with whom you negotiate, try to persuade, or build consensus know the same interest-driven skills you do. Rather, you'll benefit even more if your counterparts know and use these skills. In Bridges to Consensus, I illustrated this with an...

Like announcers who break into your favorite TV show, I interrupt my series on Ethics to bring you an important message, a message about Facebook scams. What does this have to do with my area of expertise? Call it Defense against the Dark Arts of Persuasion. Signs of...

Many people believe that upbringing establishes our ethical values, which are pretty much fixed by a certain age. But some experts say we can train ourselves to be more ethical.[1] This was a pleasant surprise to me, a happy and hopeful thought. I was even more...

We attract what we focus on—good or bad.[1] But it’s hard to focus on what we want when the media and internet flood us with what we don’t want, as in negative campaign ads and posts. Yoda got it right, “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to...

My last post in this Happiness series showed how we can direct our thoughts to attract things that make us happy. Feeling happy, in turn, enables the power of thought. We can create an upward feedback spiral. But as quoted in The Secret, John Assaraf says, “You…...

For millennia, wise people have recognized the power of thought. In 1889, Prentice Mulford published a book entitled Thoughts Are Things that is still studied and quoted today. In 2006, Rhonda Byrne compiled quotations (and a few misquotes) supporting the idea that,...

You can increase your happiness in ways that are both easy and enjoyable. First, laugh daily. You not only enjoy laughter in the moment, but the mood begins to last longer, leading to an optimistic outlook.[1] Laughter has also been shown to improve one’s health....

Welcome to the first in a series of short posts on happiness. Happiness expert Sonja Lyubomirsky tells us, “[H]appiness is…about engagement and meaning and progressing toward your goals… People who are happy accrue a lot of positive outcomes. They’re healthier, more...