The Happiest Place on Earth!

I have spent the last three days in the most amazing, uplifting place in the world.  You might say, the happiest place on earth; Orlando, the home of Disney and all the wonders that the Disney parks magic brings.  But,  I did not visit one of the Disney parks and I still feel a jolt of child like optimism about life and work.   I am not in Orlando to experience Disney,  I am here to experience a unique conference called "Work Human".

 When I signed on,  I really didn't know what Work Human was all about.  I learned of this conference from a friend of mine at the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association and I thought it sounded interesting and different from my usual veterinary conference.  This conference is put on by a company called Globoforce and the goals of the conference are centered around making all of our workplaces more "human".  Whether you work in an office, home or school, the space that we occupy for our work needs to be more meaningful and soul nourishing.

I heard from speakers like Shawn Achor, the author of, "The Happiness Advantage" in which he proves statistically that increased happiness directly correlates to productivity and profit in the workplace.  Amy Cuddy, author of the book, "Presence", who shows that we are happier and more productive in life if we live in the moment and embrace our power.  She does research on Power posing and how it leads to higher achievement in the boardroom and the classroom.

Finally this morning we heard from actor, Michael J. Fox, who at the young age of 29 was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and has continued his career as a successful actor and founded on of the most successful foundations in the world working on diagnosing and treating Parkinson's disease.  He spoke about how you cannot always control your circumstances, but you can control your attitude towards them and use the space you are given to create something good and continue to live life to your fullest potential.  To see someone that has little control of their body, retain so much control of their mind and optimism is remarkable.

The lesson that I have learned from hearing all these amazing speakers, is that our capacity for resilience and optimism lies far beyond our imagination.   It is only limited by our own pessimism.

Check out the books written by these amazing people and have a blessed an optimistic day.