Each year, the release of the World Happiness Report gives new insight into global well-being. On this episode, host Paula Felps talks with Dr. Lara Aknin, a distinguished professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University and one of the editors of the report. Lara explains why the U.S. fell out of the top 20 happiest countries for the first time in the report’s history, which age group is thriving in the U.S., and shares some encouraging findings about how benevolence is changing worldwide.
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Plenty of research shows that pets can help us heal, and now even hospitals are warming up to the idea. On this episode, host Brittany Derrenbacher sits down with Heather Stohr, a certified child life specialist at Norton Children’s in Louisville, KY. Heather manages the facility dog program at Norton Healthcare, which allows animals to play a very important role in the healing process for patients, families, and caregivers. Find out how they are changing lives one hospital bed at a time.
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March 20 is the International Day of Happiness, and that makes it the perfect time to meet Will Thomas, a Happy Activist who founded Good News magazine during the pandemic to give people a break from the steady stream of negative news. What was supposed to be a one-off publication has grown into a thriving media brand with magazines in eight communities. In this episode, Will joins host Paula Felps to explain how it evolved and why it’s so important to spread positivity in your own community.
Then, Live Happy’s Casey Johnson and Laura Coppedge talk about how you can celebrate the International Day of Happiness and share some of their favorite ways to make the most of the day.
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If you feel like you’re stuck in survival mode, this week’s episode is just what the doula ordered! Host Paula Felps sits down with life doula and author Brandi Sellerz-Jackson to talk about her new book, On Thriving: Harnessing Joy Through Life’s Great Labors, which is part memoir, part roadmap to leading a happier, healthier life. She’s here to offer tips on how each of us can go from surviving to thriving and discovering true joy.
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This week, we celebrate International Women’s Day, which makes it the perfect time to talk about how women can help empower and support each other. In this episode, host Paula Felps talks with Amber Olson Rourke, an award-winning marketing executive, mom, co-founder of the direct sales company Neora, and co-host of the Built to Win podcast. Amber is passionate about empowering women to step into their full potential and reach for more than they think is possible, and she’s here to talk about how we can look for opportunities to support one another — and how that can change the world.
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To hear more from Amber follow her on Instagram and subscribe to the Built to Win podcast.
Throughout March, Live Happy celebrates Happiness Month with 31 days of happy actions that we call #HappyActs. This week, host Paula Felps talks with Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah Heisz about how we’re celebrating our 10th anniversary of #HappyActs and how you can share happiness with our new digital wall on the International Day of Happiness on March 20.
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Music has the power to help us heal, and that’s why one Musicians on Call delivers music where it might be needed most: the hospital. This volunteer organization connects musicians with hospitals to provide live and recorded music to patients. In this episode, host Paula Felps is joined by Katy Epley, executive vice president at Musicians on Call, to learn how this program came about and how it has changed the lives of both patients and the musicians who perform for them.
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Enduring the Loss of Love With Clare Mackintosh
Grief and loss are an inevitable aspect of love, and this week, best-selling author Clare Mackintosh sits down with host Paula Felps to discuss her new book, I Promise It Won’t Always Hurt Like This. Written years after the death of her son, it’s filled with important insights about love, loss, and the journey to healing — and shares hope for those who are walking through a painful time.
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This week, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, so today, we want to talk about the greatest love of your life — yourself. In this episode, host Paula Felps is joined by Brittany Derrenbacher and Sarah Pavey of The Healing Collective in Louisville, Kentucky. In their practices, Brittany and Sarah teach clients how to discover a deep lasting love for themselves, and they also hold workshops on creating self-love vision boards. Today, they’re sharing some insights on how self-love improves our lives and our relationships and offer some tips for starting your own self-love practice.
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It’s February, which means the message of love and Valentine’s Day is all around us. But did you know this is the make-or-break time for many couples? This week, host Paula Felps welcomes Dr. Julia DiGangi, a neuropsychologist and author of Energy Rising: The Neuroscience of Leading with Emotional Power. She’s here to discuss some common mistakes we make in our relationships and how we can improve those relationships by learning more about what our brains – not our hearts – are doing to complicate things.
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As we approach February, our minds turn to love. For the next few weeks, Live Happy Now will look at the many ways love shows up in our lives and how we can create more of it. To kick it off, host Paula Felps talks with Maria Baltazzi, author of Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct and Produce the Life You Want. In her book, Maria outlines eight happiness essentials and, not surprisingly, one of them is love. In this episode she talks about some of the practices we can use to build more love into our lives.
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Throughout January, we’ve been sharing practices that can help you create habits that increase your wellbeing. And now, it’s time for an adventure! This week, host Paula Felps talks with Steve Taylor, a best-selling author and senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in England. Steve has devoted his life to investigating spiritual awakenings for himself and others and his new book, The Adventure: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Awakening, provides a roadmap to walk through practices to help you embark on your awakening journey.
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As we venture a little farther into the new year, it’s a good time to pause, take a breath, and – if you have three minutes – learn to meditate! This week, host Paula Felps is joined by Richard Dixey, a lifelong student of Buddhism who has devoted the past 15 years of his life to teaching meditation. His new book, Three Minutes a Day: A Fourteen Week Course to Learn Meditation and Transform Your Life, is designed to teach readers how to change their lives with simple meditation practices that truly do take just three minutes a day.
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Dr. Joanne Cacciatore knows first-hand the trauma caused by grief and loss. And she also knows how animals can help us heal. On this episode, host Brittany Derrenbacher sits down with Dr. Jo, founder of the Arizona-based Selah Carefarm, which provides a compassionate, healing space for those who have suffered trauma and loss. Listen in as they discuss how humans and animals help each other heal from abuse, trauma, and grief.
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What’s so funny about 2024? You’re about to find out! This week, host Paula Felps talks with Paul Osincup, a speaker, corporate trainer, and author of the forthcoming book The Humor Habit. Paul recognizes the importance of humor as a tool to relieve stress, improve our physical and mental health, and to make the world more enjoyable for ourselves and those around us. He’s here to tell us how to create a humor strategy for 2024 and make it a healthier, funnier, and happier year.
In this episode, you’ll learn: