Seize the Moment?

I love the idea of taking one action and achieving multiple outcomes. I seize the moment when I am talking to someone and consciously ask open-ended questions to learn more about them. Questions like:

• What makes your heart sing?

• What are you passionate about?

• What personal victory can you share?

These questions prompt positive thoughts and responses. I love being the catalyst for happy exchanges, big and small.

I also enjoy keeping track of what people are interested in. (When I remember, I put lots of personal notes in my phone.) My goal is to be as resourceful as possible and I enjoy sharing stories and my collected information when I see it will make a difference and contribute something of value. I like to listen to learn and to expand my thinking. 

I consciously look for specific things I can say to sincerely acknowledge people. Not only does this demonstrate my interest in them, it clearly communicates that I care and want them to succeed. I strive to make the world a better place, then when someone succeeds in moving their goals forward—personal or otherwise, all of us benefit.

This is what I call seizing the moment. Join us in celebrating Global Belly Laugh Day on Friday, January 24, 2025 1:00-2:00 pm EST. Let’s  uplift the world together and Discover the Power of Laughter as we pre-launch our new book. We promise it will be worth your time. For more information, register for the FREE event and reserve a copy of the book here: www.DiscoverThePowerofLaughter.com

What are you dreaming for 2025?

When you let yourself dream… what do you conjure in your imagination?

I Imagined Myself as a Published Author

Since 2019, when I started to focus a LOT of my attention on polishing this book and getting it into people’s hands, I’ve been clear about my vision:

I’m in a large, well-known bookstore (maybe Barnes & Noble) with my co-author and twin sister,  Sarah Routman. More than 100 people are in the store, and more than half of them are there because we directly invited them. There was a lot of advanced press promotion for the event.

The energy is high. People are fully engaged in Laughter Games. The sounds of joyful, purposeful, playful laughter fill the store. Lots of people are taking pictures and videos. As the laughing calms down, we end with a powerful visualization—inviting people to put some giggles in their pocket to remind them of  the power of positivity.

It seems we have magical giggling pens in hand as we both sign books without getting tired. Someone approaches and offers us a TED Talk…  And the manager asks us to come do another event!

And there you have it, my vision for letting the world know about our book, Discover the Power of Laughter. I’ve done it! Step one is accomplished! We’ve completed the writing, editing, designing, and indexing of our book. This week we will each record the final pick-ups for the Audiobook. The eBook is ready to upload after we approve the print copy. I couldn’t be more excited.

Step two of getting the book into people’s hands is distribution and marketing, and it’s all new territory. No longer on a treasure hunt for fascinating facts and studies about laughter and its many benefits, now I’m an author/publisher learning about book distribution, book launches and marketing. At times I feel overwhelmed by the volume of information out there, but I am keeping the vision in front of me. I’ve written it down. (There is power in writing it down, according to Forbes.) I’m sharing it. By the end of 2025 I want to have made a difference for more than 10,000 people, by teaching them the power of laughter and how easy it is to hone and develop this tool—whenever and wherever it is needed.

Your turn: What is your dream? Have you written it down? Are your ready to share it?  There is power in sharing, too. What can people do to help you reach your dream?

You can reserve a copy of my book at DiscoverThePowerOfLaughter.com

Please share the link with all your people.

Your’e invited to our celebration—January 24th 1-2 pm on Zoom. Register for the event at the link above… come celebrate the pre-launch of our book along with Global Belly Laugh Day It promises to be a celebration filled with laughter and opportunities.

It Starts with a Smile

January is 'Be on Purpose' month. In our work, we teach people to laugh on purpose for better health - without the use of humor.

"Laugh on pupose?", people ask. "Without jokes?" "You can't be serious!" In the early days, we weren't sure how to encourage the laughter. We quickly realized that the request, or mere suggestion to simply laugh on command, was often met with resistance that felt like several steps backwards from where we wanted everyone to go. Smiling, we thought, might ease the way.

Armed with the knowledge that a mere smile sends cortisol on a hike, while inviting endorphins, the healthy 'feel-good' hormones, surging toward the brain to start dissipating stress, we changed the ask. A smile is all we needed. Author, Mary H. Waldrip said, "Laughter is a smile that bursts." Knowing that smiling is indeed the gateway to laughter, we invited our clients to find a partner, make eye contact, and smile at each other. We initially hoped to break the ice with the smiles. What happened surprised and delighted us - many of the people started to giggle! Before we knew it, the room was filled with joyous laughter!

We now start all our laughter sessions with Smile-Ups, 10 push-ups for your mouth, that do serve as a warm-up for laughter, but also genuinely lead to a lighter feeling amongst participants.

Smiling on purpose seems like the best start to us.

Without a doubt, this wonderful imagination of an endorphin moving toward the brain to the music of @Paul Messing is sure to bring a big, long, smile to your face!

Don't stop there, though. January 24th is Global Belly Laugh Day, a day when people all over the world gather to celebrate the wonderful benefits of smiling and laughing. The ultimate goal is to join the Belly Laugh Bounce Around the World. That means, at 1:24pm on 1.24, wherever you are, add your unique belly laugh to the joyous laughter of others!

Practicing a 20-second smile will help ease you into it. When you're ready, let out a few chuckles and giggles, and as they become contagious, let them build naturally into belly laughs. You can thank us later!