That's exactly right . So , um the other thing is that happy people tend to be kinder and more charitable and they donate more money and more blood , but also by doing those things , you become happier . So I think what surprised me most was not only what happiness or what causes happiness , but also what happiness causes what it leads to the consequences of being happy .
And um yeah , and then when I told her about the book , she said , oh , I'd love to , I write the Ford and I thought my God , that's big , you know , so it wasn't , you know , the , the joke I have with myself about my life is that none of it has been scripted . It's like , you know , um all the best things have happened to me out of divine grace , out of thin air . And it's mostly happened when my heart has been in the right place and I've surrendered .
And he found , you know , through decades that that wasn't the case that you can remove kind of what's going wrong with people , but you won't get thriving individuals or couples or organizations , you'll just get flat lining ones , right ? So he was like , we've got to do a better job of studying what's right with people and study strengths and character virtues . And let's put a little bit more focus on , you know , subjective well being and happiness and let's talk about success and relationships and some of the things that , you know , are often overlooked , at least from a more positive perspective .
I was like , OK , they say keep a self love journal , keep an appreciation journal . Um , keep a moral log , whatever it was . And then I would do it and this track and say , is it working or not ?
Oh my goodness , great question . So in the beginning it was just like all I was really doing and I think some of the best , you know , at least the projects and books and films and TV , shows that I most enjoy often came from a place of pure selfishness , right ? And that was the case with the book .
