Five Actionable Strategies to Create a Positive Path to Success

Before Happiness

If you want to change your life, you first have to change your reality

Shawn Achor is CEO of consultancy firm Good Think Inc. He gives 150 lectures a year on the science of human potential, speaking to audiences recently at Google, Adobe, UBS and Johnson and Johnson. He is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and Psychology Today. His TED talk on the Happiness Advantage has been viewed over 3 million times.

Do you want to achieve success in your personal and professional endeavours? The first step is to see a reality where success is possible. Only when we choose to believe we live in a world in which challenges can be overcome, in which our behaviour matters, and in which change is possible can we summon all our drive, energy, and emotional and intellectual resources to make that change possible. 
 
In Before Happiness, Shawn Achor, former Harvard professor, and bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage introduces a groundbreaking new theory about success and human potential. 
 
Achor shows how a positive mindset is the best predictor of motivation, engagement and performance in the workplace and in your personal life and offers five practical, actionable strategies for creating this mindset that will make us more successful at work and at home: 
 
1)Add vantage points – how to select the most valuable reality 
2)Map to success – mapping success greatly increases the chance you will get there 
3)Finding the X Spot – proven techniques for harnessing your cognitive abilities 
4)Boost the signal by cancelling the noise – how to cancel negative noise 
5)Positive Inception – how to spread positive reality to others 
 
Backed by science, great stories, and research-based strategies, by the time you finish this book, you will have a complete understanding of exactly how to create a better reality and magnify the volume of happiness and success in your life, and equally important, transfer that positive reality to others.

The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work

The Happiness Advantage

Traditional psychology tells us that success makes us happy. Discover why this isn't true and what steps you can take to really become successful and happier

Achor transports us to his virtual classroom, a journey along which we glean the seven secrets of happiness. "The Happiness Advantage "reveals the most important discoveries coming out of modern psychology.

Rom Brafman, bestselling co-author of "Sway" and "Click"

Shawn Achor is funny, self-deprecating, and devastating to my notions of what his field is all about.... I'm butter to his knife.

Achor bases his training on a burgeoning body of research on the positive psychology movement, which emphasizes instilling resiliency and positive attitudes....

Shawn Achor is a lecturer at Harvard University, where he has studied with pioneers in the field of positive psychology. He is the co-designer of Harvard's 'Happiness' course, one of the most popular in Harvard history. He is also the founder and CEO of Aspirant, a research and consulting firm that uses positive psychology to enhance individual achievement and cultivate a more productive workplace. Its clients include American Express, KPMG, Microsoft, and UBS. He gives more than 150 lectures a year on the science of happiness and human potential, which have been covered in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and NPR.

Most people want to be successful in life. And of course, everyone wants to be happy. When it comes to the pursuit of success and happiness, most people assume the same formula: if you work hard, you will become successful, and once you become successful, then you'll be happy. The only problem is that a decade of cutting-edge research in the field of positive psychology has proven that this formula is backwards. Success does not beget happiness. 
 
Based on the largest study ever conducted on happiness and human potential (a survey conducted by the author of more than 1,600 students), Harvard lecturer Shawn Achor shares seven core principles of positive psychology that each one of us can use to improve our performance, grow our careers, and gain a competitive edge at work. He reveals how happiness actually fuels success and performance, not the other way around. Why? Because when we are happier and more positive we are more engaged, creative, resilient to stress, and productive. The Happiness Advantage will appeal to anyone who wants practical advice on how to become happier and also more successful.

Shawn Achor

BIG POTENTIAL turns our notions of success upside down. It shows that the secret to achievement isn’t to focus on one’s self, but to lift up the lives of others. Then it outlines the practical, actionable steps to turn these ideas into action. This book is another reminder of the inspiring power of Shawn Achor

Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of WHEN and DRIVE

A vibrant book on how to bring out the best in others—and how they can bring out the best in us. With enticing stories, fresh studies, contagious enthusiasm, and immensely practical tips, this is Shawn Achor at his best

Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of GIVE AND TAKE, ORIGINALS, and OPTION B with Sheryl Sandberg

With cutting-edge research, penetrating insights, and practical examples, Achor describes a new conception of “success,” and in doing so, reveals exciting new strategies we can use to meet our highest potential. If you aim to live up to the possibilities of your life, you’ll find Big Potential to be a key resource

Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project and The Four Tendencies

We have long understood leadership potential as being a measure of individual performance and results. But Achor reveals that our true potential as leaders lies in our the ability to teach, inspire, and empower others to lead. He will open your eyes to the vast potential we can unleash by expanding our power and influence to those around us.

Marshall Goldsmith, executive coach and New York Times-bestselling author, ranked the number one leadership thinker in the world by Thinkers50

Five Secrets of Reaching Higher by Powering Those Around You

Forget everything you thought you knew about being your best. It’s not about your own skills or talents. Instead, real success in work and life comes from your connections and relationships – the teams you build around you, the friends you make – and getting the best out of them. You hugely amplify your own potential by helping others around you to realise theirs. 
 
A TED talk star with over 16 million views, Shawn Achor is one of the world’s leading experts on happiness and personal success – and author of the positive psychology classic The Happiness Advantage. Now, in this game-changing guide to greatness, he demolishes the myth of single individual achievement. With powerful stories, cutting-edge research and exclusive insights from Fortune 100 leaders, he shows how only by working with others will you ever reach your Big Potential.

Shawn Achor

Praise for Big Potential

BIG POTENTIAL turns our notions of success upside down. It shows that the secret to achievement isn’t to focus on one’s self, but to lift up the lives of others. Then it outlines the practical, actionable steps t ...

A vibrant book on how to bring out the best in others—and how they can bring out the best in us. With enticing stories, fresh studies, contagious enthusiasm, and immensely practical tips, this is Shawn Achor at h ...

With cutting-edge research, penetrating insights, and practical examples, Achor describes a new conception of “success,” and in doing so, reveals exciting new strategies we can use to meet our highest potential. ...

BIG POTENTIAL turns our notions of success upside down. It shows that the secret to achievement isn’t to focus on one’s self, but to lift up the lives of others. Then it outlines the practical, actionable steps t ...

A vibrant book on how to bring out the best in others—and how they can bring out the best in us. With enticing stories, fresh studies, contagious enthusiasm, and immensely practical tips, this is Shawn Achor at h ...

With cutting-edge research, penetrating insights, and practical examples, Achor describes a new conception of “success,” and in doing so, reveals exciting new strategies we can use to meet our highest potential. ...

BIG POTENTIAL turns our notions of success upside down. It shows that the secret to achievement isn’t to focus on one’s self, but to lift up the lives of others. Then it outlines the practical, actionable steps t ...

A vibrant book on how to bring out the best in others—and how they can bring out the best in us. With enticing stories, fresh studies, contagious enthusiasm, and immensely practical tips, this is Shawn Achor at h ...

With cutting-edge research, penetrating insights, and practical examples, Achor describes a new conception of “success,” and in doing so, reveals exciting new strategies we can use to meet our highest potential. ...

Books by Shawn Achor

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter