Good Morning, Leaders and Change-makers.

Welcome to March — the final month of Q1 and a powerful checkpoint in your 2025 journey. It’s a chance to pause, reflect, and ask: Am I building success at the expense of my happiness — or am I building both together?

This month also marks Women’s History Month, a time to honor the contributions of women throughout history — and in our own lives. Whether it’s the women who raised us, mentored us, partnered with us, or worked alongside us, this month is a reminder: Strong communities and successful businesses are built through shared leadership and diverse voices.

Let’s start this week with a truth most people overlook: Success doesn’t create happiness. Happiness creates success.

And as we reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going, I want to offer you a mindset shift that will serve you far beyond March:

Happiness isn’t the reward for success. Happiness is the engine that drives it.

That’s the heart of Shawn Achor’s The Happiness Advantage. It’s not just theory — it’s neuroscience and leadership gold.

The Happiness Advantage For Leaders

The data is clear: Happy leaders aren’t soft. They’re strategic.

When you’re happy — genuinely fulfilled — your brain fires on all cylinders. You become more creative, resilient, and productive. You make better decisions, solve problems faster, and build stronger relationships.

🔔 Leadership Insight:
This month, prioritize your happiness like it’s a revenue driver — because it is.

Happiness isn’t the reward. It’s the foundation.
When you prioritize happiness — through gratitude, connection, and purpose — your performance skyrockets. It’s time to flip the script: Focus on what energizes you, and the results will follow.

Understanding the Happiness Advantage in Business

Let me break down a few key takeaways from the book — and why they matter for you, your business, and your leadership journey.

1. The Happiness Advantage

Happiness isn’t the reward. It’s the foundation.
When you prioritize happiness — through gratitude, connection, and purpose — your performance skyrockets. It’s time to flip the script: Focus on what energizes you, and the results will follow.

🔔 Leadership Insight: What’s one daily practice you can adopt to bring more joy into your work? Start there — the ROI is real.

2. The Tetris Effect

Your brain is like a sponge — it absorbs what you repeatedly focus on. If you’re constantly scanning for problems, you’ll find them. But if you train yourself to spot opportunities, wins, and solutions, you’ll see those everywhere instead.

🔔 Leadership Insight: Success follows focus. Every morning this week, write down three wins or gratitudes — retrain your brain to see abundance.

3. The Fulcrum and the Lever

Your mindset is your lever. Shift your perspective — from seeing obstacles as threats to opportunities — and you gain the power to move mountains.

🔔 Leadership Insight: Challenges aren’t detours. They’re data. What’s one limiting belief you can reframe this week?

4. The 20-Second Rule

Big changes rarely last. Tiny shifts do. The easier you make a good habit — or the harder you make a bad one — the more successful you’ll be.

🔔 Leadership Insight: What’s one small tweak you can make today that brings you closer to your goals?

5. Falling Up

Failure isn’t the end. It’s the training ground.
When things go wrong, the happiest and most successful people mine their failures for insights — and emerge stronger.

🔔 Leadership Insight: What’s one recent setback you can learn from, not lean on?

6. The Zorro Circle

When life feels overwhelming, shrink the circle. Start small. Win small. Build momentum. Then expand.

🔔 Leadership Insight: If everything feels like too much, focus on one small action today. Progress beats perfection.

7. The 5-Minute Rule

Spending just five minutes a day on something positive — gratitude, reflection, connection — can shift your entire outlook.

🔔 Leadership Insight: Set a 5-minute timer today. Use it to journal, meditate, or send a message of appreciation to someone who’s made a difference.

8. Social Investment

Your tribe matters.
The happiest, most resilient people invest deeply in relationships — mentors, peers, family, friends. Success isn’t a solo sport.

🔔 Leadership Insight: Who’s one person you can reconnect with this week? Leaders don’t thrive in isolation.

9. The Ripple Effect

Your happiness doesn’t just impact you — it ripples through your team, your business, and your community.
Your energy sets the tone.

🔔 Leadership Insight: This week, be intentional with your energy. What ripple are you creating?

10. The Orange Frog

Achor tells the story of an orange frog who embraced its uniqueness — and, in doing so, transformed the whole pond.
Your happiness and authenticity make you a beacon.

🔔 Leadership Insight: Own your story, your quirks, and your joy. Your boldness gives others permission to do the same.

Lesson: Your first customers are often those closest to you—but they need to see your commitment and results before they fully buy into the vision

This Week’s Leadership Challenge

This Week’s Leadership Challenge

Start training your brain for happiness.
Every morning, write down 3 things you’re grateful for.
Simple? Yes. Powerful? Absolutely.
Gratitude rewires your brain for optimism — and optimism is the foundation of bold leadership and sustainable success.

Let’s Apply AI to Our Learning

I’m inviting you into something different this week — a dialogue.

Copy an use this prompt in any AI chat:

Let's talk openly about how fulfilled I feel. Ask me about my recent feelings. Look for signs about my happiness, goals, or problems. Then, wait for my answer.

[Pause for my natural response without making assumptions.]

After hearing from me, recommend strategies from Shawn Achor's work that fit my case. The goal is to give me tools, not advice, using methods that have helped others succeed and be happy.

The approach will focus on my unique challenges. It will use ideas from "The Happiness Advantage" to help me overcome hurdles and keep growing. This will be done in ways that make me more content.

How are you feeling lately — personally and professionally?
What’s giving you energy, and what’s draining it?

Reply directly (or comment if this is a social post) — let’s have an open, unfiltered conversation. No judgment. Just real talk.

When you respond, I’ll offer personalized strategies — drawn straight from Shawn Achor’s research — tailored to your situation.

Not advice.
Not a motivational speech.
Just proven techniques you can apply immediately to feel happier, lead better, and build more momentum.

Because happy leaders build stronger businesses — and better lives.

🚀 Let’s kick off this week with intention.
Drop your thoughts below — I’m here to listen.

📩 Want more leadership insights, mindset strategies, and AI-powered tools to scale your brand?
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About the Author:

John Thomas is a veteran entrepreneur and advocate for community-powered success. Through Alternative Programming, he helps veterans and entrepreneurs transform challenges into opportunities. His insights come from two decades of experience building multi-million dollar businesses and supporting veteran entrepreneurship.

Keywords: entrepreneurship support, family business support, veteran entrepreneur, business mentorship, startup support network, business success foundation, entrepreneurial journey, family support in business

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Building success together,

John Thomas

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