ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

During the final moments of my last broadcast at CBS News, tears welled up in my eyes. Journalists are not supposed to show emotion, so I did everything I could to keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks. As my voice cracked, I closed out the show by saying two things I wanted on record: While viewers only saw me each morning, the shows I anchored were the result of hard work from a big team of absolutely amazing people, and to that team I would be forever grateful. And while I was thankful for my colleagues’ brilliance, I was even more grateful for their friendship. Without both, the shows would not have been possible. The same holds true for this book. It is only with the incredible talent and support from the following people, and countless others, that this book could have come into being.

I am deeply grateful to my family for all their love and support. My husband, Shawn Achor, for more than I could ever hope to put down here on paper. You are my love, intellectual crush, fellow researcher, and best friend. Your support through this process has been unreal. I am an incredibly lucky woman for not only having married a man I admire but also finding one who is so full of love (and constantly acts on that love with everyone) that he inspires me to love more deeply every day.

Leonardo Grant Achor, aka #babyleo, our son, for your hugs and cuddles and excitement as you discover the world. Bearing witness to your awe-inspiring growth and development as a human being has deepened my understanding of the human potential to broadcast happiness. You have shown me it is not that we can’t broadcast happiness—we are born full of joy—we just need to learn to consciously and fully return to it and thereby return to love.

Dan and Barbara Gielan, my parents, for your wisdom and guidance. Many of the ideas in this book grew from seeds planted by you. I deeply admire you both and will be forever thankful for the love and opportunities you have given me all these years.

David and Jenna Gielan, my brother and sister-in-law, for your support and comic relief. It is incredible how sometimes a “little” brother can be such a wise teacher to his big sis.

Amy and Bobo Blankson for wrestling with life’s big topics with Shawn and me in a way that creates growth. And my nieces, Ana, Gabri, and Kobi—I love you girls!

Jordan and Kelci Brock, who taught me that it is possible to turn friends into family through love and intention.

Our team at GoodThink, half of which has already been named because we are a family business. Shawn, Amy, Jordan, Hannah Costner, Alexis Bierman Roberts, Cathy McCain, and Brandy Bisbocci. I am grateful beyond measure for your insights, feedback, and support.

Alecia Pulman Kimchy, Ann Browning, Sarah Moga, Courtney Friel, Betsy Korona, Natali Del Conte Morris, Debbi Bourke, Jacey Bloom Greece, Amanda Berndt, Becky Kozdron Dumcum, and Ilana Klein for being amazing friends. Even though we are separated by distance, you hold a special place in my heart.

Glenn Yeffeth, Jennifer Canzoneri, Vy Tran, Adrienne Lang, Monica Lowry, Alicia Kania, and the rest of the team at BenBella Books. You have been truly incredible partners through this process. For anyone looking for a boutique publishing house that provides personal attention, I highly recommend BenBella Books.

Jenny Canzoneri, Holli Catchpole, Michele Rubino Wallace, Marsha Horshok, Cassie Glasgow, Kim Stark—the team at SpeakersOffice in California that flawlessly handles all our back-office logistics while keeping things fun.

Michael Wright from Garson & Wright Public Relations. Thank you for singing the praises of this book and helping us get the messages within it international attention.

Arianna Huffington and Danny Shea for your forward-thinking, bold call for journalists to report more solutions-focused news and your excitement in partnering with our research institute to investigate the effects of positive and negative news on the brain.

All my friends from FOX News Chicago—too many to name—for an amazing experience in the Windy City and for welcoming me back after CBS to broadcast positive psychology segments on the morning show.

My friends from CBS News, including Anlynn Truong, Brian Applegate, Tony Dipolvere, Joe Gelosi, Jenn Eaker, Norman Gittleson, James McGrath, Chris Easley, Erika Wortham, Myra Zuleta, Mike Mancini, Greg Carlson, Bob Meyer, Russ Mitchell, Vera Gibbons, Carol Story, and Lauren Danza. Thank you for your excitement while producing Happy Week and the other positive, solutions-focused segments we put together.

Kym Yancey, Deborah Heisz, Donna Stokes, and the rest of the team from Live Happy for your commitment to walking the walk and broadcasting happiness as a way of life. Thank you for showcasing our positive psychology research in such a beautiful way.

Ernie Anastos, Gerry Richman, Colleen Steward, Kathy Caprino, and Kristen Adams for your work bringing broadcasting happiness research to television. You are shining examples of the transformative journalist that I write about in the Journalist Manifesto at the end of this book.

Lisa Weiss, Laura Berger, Amanda Cash, and the rest of the SuperSoulers at HARPO for broadcasting happiness in its truest, most spiritual form.

Tiffany Sun, Ofer Leidner, Ran Zilca, and the rest of the team at Happify for partnering with GoodThink to turn our happiness research into an online application to create and sustain a positive mindset. The work you are doing is truly at the forefront of the field of applied positive psychology.

Greg Ray, Greg Kaiser, Kevin Karaffa, and Mark McDonald for being supportive of this book from the beginning and for bringing our positive psychology research to life at major organizations in such an exciting and transformative way.

Gary Baker, president of Nationwide Brokerage Solutions, who let us turn his company into a Petri dish to test happiness strategies and together realize such a compelling business case for putting happiness research into practice.

My friends from Google—Li-Ming Pu, Catherine Brown, Anna-Maria Kourkoulakos, and Sarah McGuire—for championing happiness research at the highest levels of the company. Holding space for important conversations on work and happiness shifts thinking and transforms lives, and that is what you do on a regular basis.

Dr. Karen Panetta, my professor of Computer Engineering at Tufts University, a powerhouse in a male-dominated field, who is creating a positive ripple effect in her classroom and the world. You are a role model and friend.

Marty Seligman for founding the field of positive psychology and doing research that is so fascinating it lured me away from national television and into the lab to work and study alongside you. You have left an indelible mark on the world of psychology. We are just starting to comprehend the magnitude of the positive ripple effect positive psychology is having on global well-being.

Alia Crum, Libby Benson, Peggy Kern, and Kristen Merkitch for your commitment to positive psychology research, both conducting and living it. I am so thankful to have you as fellow researchers and friends.

My MAPP friends, especially my GGSs. As classmates during our master’s program in positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, I learned from each one of you tremendously. May your lights shine bright and continue to spark transformation in the rest of the world. With each paper you publish, presentation you give, initiative you start, radio broadcast you do, patient you treat, news report you write, research study you conduct, or person you talk to about positive psychology, you are transformative ambassadors and broadcasters of this research. I am thankful to have the chance to be part of this incredible group of human beings.

Kenny Lindner and Shari Freis from Ken Lindner & Associates. You transformed what I thought of broadcast agents, becoming my good friends. I am deeply appreciative to you for what you did to help make the story near the beginning of this book a possibility.

Elizabeth Lesser for welcoming me into the Omega Institute family and being a compass at a time when I was looking for direction on how to best serve the world. You and your work continue to be such an inspiration to me personally.

Joel and Victoria Osteen, pastors of Lakewood Church in Houston. Your positive messages of love and triumph broadcasted online have helped keep me energized through this writing process. May our paths cross sometime soon so I can thank you both in person.

And to the thousands of people who have watched my shows or attended my talks over the years and shared your stories with me—thank you! Please keep sharing with me all the ways big and small that you bring this research to life and the positive ripple effect it has on your work, family, and community. It’s those stories that serve as inspiration to others to choose to broadcast happiness as well.