Need more happiness in your life? Be inspired as you listen to a recent interview with Amy Newmark, co-author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Amy talks about how to cultivate happiness and shares some eye-opening stories from her latest publication, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Amy Newmark has been the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series since 2008 and has co-authored over 170 books since she began her time with the brand. She has extensive experience in the media and telecommunications industry and finance.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
BEHIND THE BOOK
The popular series, Chicken Soup for the Soul, has been publishing compilations of inspiring personal stories for 29 years. Many of you may have grown up reading Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, but contrary to what you might think, these books serve a wider audience than just young adults. In fact, according to Amy Newmark, Editor in Chief for Chicken Soup for fourteen years, “the vast majority of our books are for adults of all ages.”
Chicken Soup for the Soul collects stories from “ordinary people who share their extraordinary experiences, their milestone moments, their epiphanies, their wisdom, and their advice,” Amy explained. After reading tens of thousands of stories, Amy says that she began to understand what “makes people tick” and what common themes contribute to the happiness of humanity.
Now, as we are coming out of the worst of the pandemic, it seems like we’re ready for a fresh start. That’s why Amy put together what she’s learned about the quest for happiness in her recently-published book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness. Readers can not only be inspired by others who have found joy despite hard times, but they can also implement any of the 10 keys to find it in their own lives.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Turning the Page
“I really wanted to [publish this book] during a time when it did seem viable that we were looking at a fresh start. I feel like people are ready for this right now. […] We’re actually finding our pants that have zippers, putting shoes back on, and trying to look a little less unkempt than we did for the last two years. You know, it really is like coming out into the sunshine from the hole that we were in.”
Unloading the Burden
“Forgiveness is really important because, in our home lives and at work, resentments build up, people disappoint us — they hurt us, and we kind of get slapped around by life. And certain people are not our favorite people, or they did things that were not our favorite incidents. And we have this tendency to relive those, which is crazy because then we’re letting the person who did those things occupy some of our mind space. We have a story in the book from a woman who was so focused on her ex-husband that she was complaining about him for years after her divorce. And finally, her best friend said to her, ‘You might as well still be married to the man. You take him with you wherever you go.’ It was such an epiphany.”
Finding Time to Breathe
“One of the keys is to make ‘me time,’ and I think that’s so important, especially if you’re working. […] So we had a story from Christine Byron. And she had one of those shared calendar things going on where other people could insert meetings onto her calendar. And she was fully booked all the time, and it was killing her. And then her mentor said to her, ‘You need lilypads.’ So you know how a frog jumps onto a lilypad, and then it suns itself and relaxes for a little while? Her mentor said, ‘Put some fake appointments on your calendar, and those are your lilypads where you can just breathe and relax a little bit in the middle of your busy day.’”
It Can Wait
“One woman worked at an inn, so she didn’t have Saturdays off. Her days off were Sundays and Mondays. She spent Sundays with her husband, and they just did stuff together — that was like their couple day. […] And then Mondays were for her ‘me time,’ where she would do anything she wanted. If she wanted to read in her pajamas all day, she would do that. If she wanted to go shopping, she would do that. If she wanted to go to a museum, she would do that. She just wouldn’t let work interfere with that day.”
Less is More
“John Buentello wrote a story called The Liberation of Liquidation. And so this couple moved from a full house to a one-bedroom apartment. They were going to put all kinds of stuff in storage, and then they realized, ‘Well, that’s stupid. We’re never gonna use it.’ Everybody who puts stuff in storage later says that it was a really big waste of money and time. […] But anyway, they took everything that was slated to go into storage, and they got rid of it and moved into this little one-bedroom apartment. They were so happy, so excited about having less stuff. And I think it holds true for the work environment.”
Something for Everyone
“I picked stories that I thought were very relatable, so I’m sure you’re going to find stories that will work for you. Some people like to read our books one story a day for 101 days. Some people say, ‘Nope, I read your book like I eat potato chips. I just go right through.’ […] So everybody has a different way of doing it. You could certainly look at the chapters and decide which of those keys to happiness seems like something you would actually want to implement.”
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Amy’s book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness, go to chickensoup.com.