The Real Formula For Happiness

There are all kinds of negative things going on in the world right now.

With all the division…

All the hate…

All the frustration…

All the despair…

…and all the sadness…

It can be really hard to see past everything that’s wrong with the world right now, which can devour a lot of our energy and sanity.

Regardless of where you stand…

Where you come from…

What your race is…

...or what your political beliefs are…

At the end of the day … we all have one thing in common: We all want to be happy.

The problem is, the vast majority of people believe two things about happiness that are just false...

The first thing they believe is that happiness is something that just happens to you.

You either experience happiness … or you don’t.

…and since they believe happiness can just come and go at will…

They fail to realize that happiness is something you create through your own actions.

The second thing they believe, which isn’t true either, is that there’s some sort of “secret” to happiness.

They think they have to be one of the chosen few to know the secret…

…and that it’s probably some super complicated algorithm…

Or that it’s some sort of mystical revelation that’s been passed from person to person to person…

But guess what?

You can buy it from some bozo on the internet for $3,500 and become a certified happiness guru, right?

Wrong.

First of all…

Happiness is not going to just appear out of thin air for you.

Second of all…

You can’t buy it.

If you want happiness … you have to make it.

The Real Formula For Happiness

Forget everything you think you know about happiness and let's get into how to actually create happiness all the time.

Happiness is an equation just like success is an equation.

It's math.

It's very simple, and my life is proof that these equations are true.

I tell people all the time because it’s the literal truth…

I am not the most talented or gifted human on the planet.

I’m far from it.

I don’t have access to some special knowledge or resources that nobody else has either.

A lot of people like to pretend like they do…

But I promise you…

They do not, and neither do I.

Here’s my “secret”...

Every day I identify what needs to get done…

…and guess what?

I actually do it.

I do the work relentlessly, and that’s what has gotten me to the point I’m at in life.

All I did was execute on the simple equation.

Well, the same is true for happiness.

Happiness is not the natural result of the “perfect conditions.”

This is what a lot of people think.

They think it has to do with the cards they were dealt…

Especially when they compare their life to someone else who appears to have it all together.

You may even have someone in mind in your own life.

You know, that person you look at who seems to have the perfect family…

The perfect job…

The perfect income…

The perfect relationship…

The perfect place to live…

The perfect body…

…and has all of these things without any physical, mental, or emotional challenges to come along with them.

That is false … and we all know it too.

Understand that you can have all of those things and still be miserable.

That’s because there is a legitimate equation for happiness that needs to be executed upon because it’s reliable and consistent.

This is how it works.

The results for the equation of happiness will always be the same.

If you execute the equation…

You will get the result.

So what’s the equation?

Here it is…

Discipline + Purpose + Gratitude = Happiness.

That's the equation.

So let's start with discipline and the role that plays in the formula for happiness…

Discipline’s Role In Happiness

If you looked up discipline in the dictionary, this is what you’d find: “To train yourself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.”

But I have a different definition of discipline that’s a lot more simple…

…and let’s be real…

This definition is a lot more meaningful too.

Here it is: Discipline is the ability to keep the promises you make to yourself.

When you say you’re going to lose 100 pounds…

Discipline is keeping that promise to yourself.

When you say you’re going to scale your business to 9 figures…

Discipline is keeping that promise to yourself.

When you say you’re going to write a bestselling book…

Discipline is keeping that promise to yourself.

The way you keep the promises you make to yourself is by consistently saying “No” to the weak voice in your head when it presents you with excuses, or tries to convince you not to do whatever promise you made to yourself.

It’s consistently saying “No” to this voice, and instead, consistently taking action…

Consistently executing…

…and consistently doing the work whether you feel like it or not.

That includes doing the work even when the conditions are the worst they could possibly be.

You must execute day after day after day without compromise…

Without deviation…

Long past the time you feel like quitting…

…and long past the time when you feel like there’s nothing left in the tank.

That’s what true discipline is.

It's doing whatever it takes to keep the promises you make to yourself.

When you become the kind of person who knows you are going to keep the promises you make to yourself...

Do you understand how confident and self-assured you're going to become?

This is a significant advantage that comes with the ability to stay disciplined...

You’re not going to be worried about what the outside factors are because you’ve come to understand that you are in control of the biggest factors in your happiness.

If you can control you…

…and if you can control the promises you keep to yourself…

I guarantee that you can succeed in achieving your goals no matter what they may be.

That’s why discipline is the first piece to the formula for happiness.

But the reality is  ... you're not going to be able to do what needs to get done to keep the promises to yourself if you don't know why you want to do it.

...and that's where the second part of this equation comes in.

Purpose’s Role In Happiness

The second part of the happiness equation is purpose.

Nobody is going to do the hard work just for the sake of doing the hard work…

There is always an alternate motive.

Most of the time … it’s because doing the hard work or putting yourself through a difficult challenge or situation can be a massive achievement…

…and this massive achievement is something that motivates you.

There’s not a single person on this planet who wants to be disciplined just for the sake of being disciplined.

That’s like saying, “I want to play in the NFL just to play football … I don’t care about winning.”

Or…

“I want to be a solider … but I don’t care about winning the war.”

Let’s be real…

Discipline is not an end.

Discipline is a means to an end.

When I resist the urge to eat peanut butter out of my pantry in the middle of the night…

It’s not so I can be like, “Look at me, I beat the peanut butter!”

It’s so I can cultivate the discipline I need to resist the peanut butter so I can achieve my ultimate goal, which is crushing all of my goals and winning big at everything that I do.

Does that make sense?

Discipline is the vehicle you are using to reach your goals, which is why it is a means to an end.

This also explains why purpose is so important.

If you don’t know why you want or need to do the hard things…

Guess what?

You’re not going to do them.

That’s why it’s critical to your happiness to understand what your ultimate purpose is.

To be happy, you have to be disciplined and you have to have a clear picture in your head of exactly what it is you want out of life.

Understanding the “why” behind your hard work and execution is essential to drive your discipline.

It’s as simple as that.

Gratitude’s Role In Happiness

If happiness was a coin…

On one side, it would be the ability to get what you want…

…and on the other side…

It would be the appreciation for what you already have.

That's the side of happiness that people like you and me need to make sure we don't neglect.

I’m talking about driven, hungry, and ambitious people who are high achievers...

People who want to crush massive goals on a daily basis.

It’s good to want that.

It’s good to have dreams and goals.

It’s good to want to pursue your full potential.

It’s extremely important to keep pushing toward your goals…

But, the reality is, if you’re always looking toward the future…

You’re always working toward something…

…and you never take the time to appreciate what you have right now…

You’re going to feel miserable and go insane.

That’s why you have to create a ritual in your life for executing on this consistently.

You have to form a daily habit of giving thanks.

If you follow me…

You know I do this when I brush my teeth.

When I brush my teeth, I take the time to identify the things that I am grateful for.

My dogs...

My friends...

My family...

My health...

My companies...

The cool people at my companies that have become an amazing part of my life…

The cool things I've been able to experience like driving a race car or speaking in front of huge crowds...

Not everyone gets to live this kind of life and I'm incredibly thankful for it...

That's the truth.

…and you have a lot to be grateful for too.

But here’s the kicker…

Even if a lot of these things in your life are a result of putting in the hard work...

You still need to consider them gifts.

You can't take them for granted.

You have to value them purposefully...

...and you have to be super grateful for them...

Because if you don't literally take the time every day to identify the great things in your life and say, “Thank You”...

Do you know what happens?

Do you know what the opposite of gratitude is?

It's entitlement.

The opposite of giving thanks is complaining.

If you're not a grateful overachiever...

You're going to become a complaining little baby with a victim mentality.

That's the truth.

We see it everywhere right now…

Trust me when I say the world doesn’t need more of it…

It needs less.

Consider this…

Have you ever met someone who was ungrateful but also super happy?

No ... of course you haven’t, because it doesn’t exist.

Gratitude and happiness go hand-in-hand.

Happiness is a Daily Equation

So that’s it. That’s happiness.

Discipline + Purpose + Gratitude = Happiness.

The ability to get what you want and the appreciation to love what you have all adds up in the equation…

…and it’s foolproof.

Plug in the parts…

Execute the equation…

…and the results will come.

But this isn’t a one-time for all-time thing.

You can’t just execute on this equation for one day and expect to be happy.

It’s like brushing your teeth…

You have to do it every day.

If you execute on the formula for happiness every single day…

Every day can be a great day.

Not a pleasant day…

Not a perfect day…

Not a pain-free day…

But still a great day.

A day that in spite of what goes wrong…

You are still happy to be alive.

If that’s your goal…

You have the equation…

Now it’s up to you to execute.

If you want to hear more about happiness, you can listen to the full episode I did on the topic here.