“Why limit happy to an hour?” ~ Anonymous
If you’re like many I’ve met lately who are awash in disempowering reports and ever increasing reasons to feel depressed, you are not alone.
However, you may be in need of a reminder to turn the tables. Rather than thinking like a casualty of the collective consciousness, you can become a catalyzer instead. In this latest podcast, I’m inviting and reminding you to become your own fulcrum of happiness.
Don’t wait for someone or something else “out there” to create happiness for you when you can create it for yourself.
In this latest podcast, I’m taking up the topic of creating your own Happy Hour. Yes, Happy Hour!
The idea struck me while sitting over breakfast at a local diner, noticing an advertisement on a video screen above my head. The advertisement simply read, “Join us for happy hour – Monday through Friday, 4 – 6 pm.”
Like many retail establishments, this one was looking to increase traffic during normally slow business hours. The diner sold just wine, but its advertisement employed the familiar visual of a festive martini glass. The appealing artwork caught my eye and brought back pleasant memories from my youth.
Suddenly, the traditional sense of “happy hour” expanded for me. Within minutes, I was lost in the possibilities of a much broader idea. If the early notion of happy hour meant couples and families inviting close friends to their home for spirited cocktails and a bit of frivolity, what should prevent us from masterminding our own versions of happy hour today?
When creating new ideas for “Happy Hour,” we’re only limited by our imagination and a willingness to innovate.
In the following podcast, I talk about my childhood recollections of family happy hours from the 1960’s, a popular era for cocktails and martinis. Next, I expand upon the notion as to where – and how – happy hours can, and do, happen.
An impromptu Happy Hour in Glasgow, Scotland. Invited to join a self-described carpetbagger and his bicycle shop entrepreneur friend when inquiring about local directions. Lots of fun and some crazy stories ensued.
Join me as I share a few of my own experiences, creating variations of happy hours in ways that suited me at the time. You’ll begin to discover some of the common elements that make happy hour truly happy. When you have a creative and open mind, you’ll realize that alcohol is not even required.
Then, start thinking independently. Be inspired and empowered make happy hour happen in a way that works for you.
In my first ever challenge, I invite listeners to write and send me emails, photos or videos of their own versions of “Making Happy Hour Happen.” If you’d like to take up the challenge, write me at Maura@Maura4u.com. I’ll look forward to hearing from you!
Finally, listen in as Brigitte Plugge from The Hague, Netherlands shares with us what makes her happy from the inside out, too!
Be the source of happiness in your life — then invite others to join with you, too!
Click here or on the audio link below for Podcast 116: Making Happy Hour Happen.
Need more inspiration to create your own version of Happy Hour?
Watch the video Back in Time – Q 105 FM’s Flashback Prom
Watch the video What Makes You Smile
Watch the video Dancing With the Local Stars with Former HSN Host Barbara Marville
Maura is an International Speaker on Influence, Leadership and Emotional Intelligence.
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