The Story Behind Joy

I’m going to show you how to practically build a joy habit. But first, let me tell you the story behind my study.

In 2017, I reached all of the goals I set out for myself. I tripled the growth of my business, was making more than imagined, and finally achieved the freedom and wealth I was so desperate to find.

And yet, I was unhappy.

That’s when I found Steve, a counselor in the area. Steve changed my life.

Our first five minutes went like this…

“Okay Steve, I’ve achieved all my goals this year, tripled my income, and made more money than I ever thought imaginable in my business… so tell me — why am I not happy?”

Then he proceeded to ask me questions about my childhood, family, and blah blah blah.

At first, I was skeptical. I didn’t want to talk about my past. I needed to find a way to move forward.

But Steve showed me I couldn’t move forward until I faced the unhelpful narratives of my past.

After months of intense counseling, I finally discovered what was holding me back from happiness. But I knew there was still more work to be done. Like a builder whose foundation had just crumbled, I had to pick up my tools and start from scratch.

One of my core values in life is joy. But when I was in counseling, I couldn’t help but notice how far I had drifted from this value. Nothing about my outlook on life resembled joy.

• At the time, we had over $200,000 in debt, and we were barely making progress on it.
• I was afraid to take vacations, worried that I would lose all the momentum I had built in my business.
• I was terrified to become a parent, fearing my children would somehow be disappointed in me if I didn’t provide for their needs in abundance.
• I compared myself to every other person around me, assuming they had it figured out while I was just stuck in place.
• I would spend at least 1 out of every 7 days throwing a pity party while numbing out on the couch because I was so overwhelmed.

I didn’t have joy in anything. And when I decided to rebuild my life, I discovered I knew nothing about joy.

This revelation led me to spend almost two years researching joy. I poured into studies, explored the world of emotions, and found groundbreaking research that helped me grasp joy. Some of the questions I asked were:

• What is joy?
• How could we practically develop it?
• What gets in the way of joy?

The more I studied joy, the more my life began to change. In the almost two years I’ve studied joy…

• My wife and I were able to pay off a significant debt, and are well on our way to paying off more.
• We were able to take several unplugged vacations.
• I don’t hear the shame messages surrounding parenthood anymore.
• My comparison habit is virtually non-existent. Instead of comparing, I connect with people.
• And now, I spend every day of the week fully-engaged and living out my purpose.

I have joy because I worked at it. Turns out, joy is a discipline.

In that time, I discovered joy is a necessary discipline for everyone, especially for anyone who wants to have lasting success.

In this guide, I’m going to reveal why, what, and how behind building a joy habit. It’s a practical guide that gives you a main overview of the process to build joy, with several opportunities to dive deeper and transform your life and business.

Most leaders, entrepreneurs, dreamers, visionaries, and high-achievers talk about mindset being critically important to success. I both agree and disagree. Mindset is important, but only when it prioritizes joy in the present moment. This guide will reveal why I believe a pursuit of joy is the best mindset training for you.

After reading this guide, here’s the main point I want you to walk away with: to create lasting success, you need a joy habit.

Dan Sullivan, founder of Strategic Coach, once said we don’t set and achieve goals because we want to find happiness. We set and achieve goals because we are happy and we want to expand on that happiness.

Joy is a catalyst for success, but you have to be disciplined in creating it now. Once you become disciplined with joy, you’ll have the toolset to pursue your success, no matter the difficulty.

Here’s how to become disciplined with joy.
(Click below to continue to Part 3)

Continue to Part 3