I just found out that today, Sunday, August 8th, is officially Happiness Happens Day. Sorry for the short notice. I know it doesn't give you much time to get your happy on, but, more good news, August is Happiness Happens Month!

Boredom breeds passion.  Really?  Apparently so, at least in Tony Hsieh's life.  

A bored, rich young man who recently sold his start-up to Microsoft for $243 million realized making more money was meaningless to him and he wanted a life of passion.  Oh, but what to be passionate about?  Sounds like a problem some of us would like to be faced with.

Being grateful ain't easy. Seriously! It takes discipline to view the world from a place of gratitude instead of complacency or complaint. Just like buying a treadmill won't make you fit, buying a gratOodle won't make you grateful - unless you use it. But the pay-offs! And it's a lot more fun than exercise. No exertion required - just plain old enjoyment.

I have not celebrated Father's Day with my dad in 23 years. He died on January 6, 1987. His death was sudden. One moment he was heading out with my mother for a day of exploring flea markets and a few hours later he had a massive heart attack and died.

I was 37 years old and yet the first word out of mouth when my sister called me with the news was, "Daddy." I had not called my dad, 'Daddy', since I was a child. Instantly and momentarily I reverted to that child.

If Neil Pasricha wasn't depressed he might not be famous right now. If he hadn't been in the midst of a failing marriage and bummed out by daily media-delivered bad news he might not have been inspired to start his blog, 1000 Awesome Things.

It takes a special person to write a blog about life's simple pleasures during a time he calls the worst year of his life. Lots of folks would choose to wallow around in it for awhile, to lick their wounds and perhaps feel unmotivated. Not Neil Pasricha.