"Let no one be like another, yet everyone like the highest. How is this done? Be each one perfect in himself." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I want you to practice "Premeditated Happiness." Happiness is one of the most important things in your life. Happiness does wonders for your soul. You should know that reading this newsletter will not just make your life better; it will make the world a better place because you have decided to be happy!

"What you do may seem insignificant, but it's important that you do it." - Mahatma Gandhi

Reminding you to make the "Happiness Decision." Letting you know about our meeting dates, giving you happiness information, and the latest copy of the Be Happy Zone Article that is published every other Wednesday in the Fairfield Citizen-News. Read the latest article called: YOUR PRESENT.

Think Smart, Be Smart! Be Happy!
Lionel

Happ-E-Quote:) "Doing what we were meant to do creates fun, excitement and contentment in our lives, and invariably, in the lives of the people around us. When you're excited about something it's contagious." - Mark Victor Hansen

Happ-E-Mail:) Wishing you a happy new year, and I thought you would be interested in knowing that my "Definition of happiness" page is live, and your definition is amongst them. Some day I expect there to be hundreds of definitions, but for now this is a start. David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy http://www.TheHappyGuy.com

Happ-E-Quote:) "Thinking isn't agreeing or disagreeing. That's voting." - Robert Frost

Happ-E-Mail:) Hi from China. You may be surprised that someone from China has searched for happiness from your web.:-) My friend's Mom in your community has introduced this web to me and she said she thinks of me whenever she reads your news paper articles. I am trying to cheer myself up since a car accident made me stay in bed for four months. I would not be able to walk for about one year. They are doing some medical process and the effects are unknown. There were so many things that I wanted to do, but they had to be suddenly stopped. Right now all I have left is my full body scars and breaking heart. Therefore, I would like to subscribe for happiness. - zhou peng

Dear Zhou, Thank you for writing to me. Sorry to hear about your accident. I think you will find that our newsletter will help you have happiness in spite of having the problems you now have to over come. I wish you all the luck in your recovery and hope that you find happiness with our newsletter. Sending Love, and Happiness to you! - Lionel

Happ-E-Quote:) "Nothing is as liberating as joy. It frees the mind and fills it with tranquility." - Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

Happ-E-Web Site:) Our Happinessclub.com is a site to see, take a look:) Click here: www.happinessclub.com. We are still in the process of updating our web site. If you like this newsletter, then spread the word, and share it with your friends and colleagues.

Happ-E-Quote:) "If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, then the world is yours and all that's in it." - Rudyard Kipling

Happ-E-Book:) A new book that was just published and has caught my attention is: The Don't Sweat Stories, with foreword by Richard Carlson, Ph.D. It is a book of Inspirational Anecdotes from Those Who've Learned How Not to Sweat It. Pulled from the thousands of fan letters Richard Carlson receives each year, these inspiring stories illustrate how people have found peace and joy in their daily lives. Richard Carlson, Ph.D., is the author of the best-selling Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series, which has sold over 21 million copies. Check out a copy of his book!

Happ-E-Quote:) "Our emotions need to be as educated as our intellect. It is important to know how to feel, how to respond, and how to let life in so that it can touch you." - Jim Rohn

Happ-E-Poem:) I did a radio show recently and wrote this poem for the program.

I am happy as can be.
Happiness was made for me.
It is true I made a choice.
But Happiness gives me a voice.

You can have some just like me.
If you do -- it sets you free!
Being Happy is the way.
You can have it -- just don't stray!

Happiness is a decision -- that is true!
If you don't choose it -- you'll be blue!
So I leave you with this thought.
Your Happiness just must be caught.

Don't pursue it, if you do.
Happiness will not come to you.
Be as happy as can be!
Hold that thought and you will see!
By Lionel Ketchian

Happ-E-Quote:) "The world is full of poetry. The air is living with its spirit; and the waves dance to the music of its melodies, and sparkle in its brightness." - Percival

HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING:) It was wonderful meeting so many of you at our Holiday Party and I look forward to meeting you at our next one. Our next meeting will take place on Thursday, January 16, 2003, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM at Sullivan Independence Hall. Just around the corner from the Library. Meet some new friends and get yourself in a happy mood for the New Year. Admission is free.

Meet:) "A Happy New Year"
Date:) Thursday, January 16, 2003
Time:) 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Place:) Sullivan Independence Hall - Downstairs in the back.
Just around the corner from the Library.
Address:) 725 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824
Room:) Come in the from the back and it is downstairs.
Park:) Plenty of free parking in the back.

Open to the public and admission is free. www.happinessclub.com.
Call Lionel Ketchian (203) 258-7777 or E-mail: PrintLRK@aol.com

Directions:
From New York - I- 95, Exit 21, Mill Plain Road. Right at bottom of ramp. Under railroad overpass make a left at light (Post Rd.), 1/2 mile on right at the corner.
From New Haven - I- 95, Exit 22, North Benson Road. Left at bottom of ramp. Under railroad overpass make a right at light (Post Rd.), 1/2 mile on left at the corner.

Drive past the Fairfield Public Library as usual and keep going down the Old Post Road to the stop sign. Make a left to Old Field Road (YMCA on the right). Make a right on Town Hall Green Road as soon as you pass St. Pauls Church. At stop sign go right and follow signs to John J. Sullivan Independence Hall. The building is on your right hand side. Drive up and go to the back of the building and park in the back. Come in the back door and the meeting will be held downstairs on your right.

Happ-E-Quote:) "95% of your emotions are determined by the way you talk to yourself." - Brian Tracy

BE HAPPY ZONE
Fairfield Citizen-News
December 18, 2002

YOUR PRESENT
By Lionel Ketchian

'Tis the season! Wishing you the very best holidays and a very Merry Christmas! In keeping with the season, I have a gift for you. Actually the universe has given this gift to you. It is the gift of Happiness. The first thing you have to do with the gift of happiness is try it on, wear it from the inside out. Once you put it on, you will never want to leave without it. Happiness is becoming fashionable, catching on quickly, and spreading fast.

The interesting thing about this gift is that if you don't use it, then it is not worth anything, even if it has tremendous value. You have to know something is valuable to benefit from it. Happiness is one of the most valuable things in the world. Most people don't even know the value of happiness because they don't know what happiness is. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said: "It is not the level of prosperity that makes for happiness but the kinship of heart to heart and the way we look at the world. Both attitudes are within our power, so that a man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy, and no one can stop him."

Happiness is mental health, and peace of mind, a great attitude, a positive vision, a contributor to good physical health, and a friendship magnet. Happiness is the foundation for love and compassion. Happiness has different meanings for different people, but it always possesses the same basic component, which is having gratitude for what you already have.

Anton Chekhov has said: "Men are made for happiness, and anyone who is completely happy has a right to say to himself: I am doing God's will on earth." Happiness is not getting up in the morning and hoping you have a nice day. It is getting up and knowing you are going to make it a great day. It is not waiting to hear someone pay you a compliment so you can feel happy. It is treating people with respect no matter what they say. Happiness is being able to not take it personally so that you do not let yourself become disturbed and negatively affected by what other people think.

Happiness is meeting the "problems" of life head on with the tool bag of choices available to the happy individual. Happiness is not a thing. It is a state of mind. It is a decision that is made in one clear moment, which will positively impact the rest of your life. A good decision does more to create the best future for you than anything else can.

I made the "Happiness Decision" on December 24, 1990. I have practiced "being happy" since that time, and it has never let me down. I am not going into all the ways happiness works. That's what I normally write about in my regular articles. Happiness works, and the proof is that more books have been written on happiness in the last few years than ever before.

Still the choice remains, which will you choose? Will you choose happiness or unhappiness? You're always making that choice anyway. You may have been letting your emotions make the choice for you. It's time to let your thinking determine the best decision for you to make.

Decide to use your gift of being happy and choose happiness in every moment, over every obstacle and problem you encounter. You will become the most powerful person in the world, because you will have developed the power to gain the strength you need to have control over yourself. That is the authentic power of being happy.

How do you learn to use this gift of happiness that you posses? You can contact me to speak to your organization, or come to a Happiness Club meeting. Our next meeting is January 16, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. The topic is "A Happy New Year," and will be held in the Downstairs Room, at the Sullivan Independence Hall, located at 725 Old Post Road. There is no charge for the meeting.

You can access the Happiness Club's website at www.HappinessClub.com and find out all about happiness and many great books that have been written on the subject right on our web site. While you are on the website you can enroll in the free Happ-E-Newsletter that is e-mailed to you every other week. Send an e-mail to PrintLRK@aol.com, with "subscribe" on the subject line, and you will start receiving the newsletter.

The greatest reason for using the gift of happiness is the fact that happiness is the opposite of fear. Believe me, you do not need fear to run your life. It is mankind's biggest problem. Happiness is powerful. Try smiling at someone and you will see what I'm talking about.

Happiness is your present! The present is your gift! Use your gift and appreciate the present. Andre Gide said: "In order to be utterly happy the only thing necessary is to refrain from comparing this moment with other moments in the past, which I often did not fully enjoy because I was comparing them with other moments of the future." Be grateful for your present, for it contains something wonderful inside. Open your present and look inside. Do you see what I see? I see happiness! If you don't than you are missing out on a wonderful gift - your present. Smile, you have been given more than you know.

In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Old Fezziwig said to Scrooge: "When happiness shows up always find it a comfortable seat." LOVE AND JOY TO THE WORLD…. ESPECIALLY TO YOU!!!

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and a happiness coach, and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The Web site is www.HappinessClub.com

Reprinted with permission by the Fairfield Citizen-News

Share a smile and forward this motivating Happ-E-Newsletter to your friends and family members you care about. Brighten their day by giving them a FREE Newsletter. Or, it's FREE, and easy to subscribe, just send your blank e-mail to happinessclub@aol.com, or subscribe online at: www.happinessclub.com.

"To the dull mind all nature is leaden. To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you desire. Please include the copyrights and credits due the authors.

Our mailing list and your name is never sold, traded, or given to anyone outside of our organization. You can smile about that!

REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS: To be removed from this list reply with "Remove" in the subject line.

© Copyright 2003, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.