When life sends us turbulence, we tend to search for happiness, but Neil Pasricha believes what we should be doing is practicing happiness. As a best-selling author, public speaker and the founder of the Institute of Global Happiness, Pasricha tries to guide corporations and their people toward happiness. His TED Talk has been ranked as one of the most inspiring of all time, and he has addressed hundreds of thousands of people, including Fortune 100 companies, Ivy League schools and royal families in the Middle East.
This January, Pasricha will coach salon owners and stylists as a keynote speaker at Serious Business, but first he gives SALON TODAY a little preview:
SALON TODAY: What inspired your award-winning blog, “1000 Awesome Things?”
Pasricha: “I went through the worst year of my life unfortunately. My wife left me—she knew the marriage wasn’t healthy but I couldn’t see it at the time. To add to that, my best friend committed suicide. In midst of this horrible year, I started the blog as a way to cheer myself, a form of online therapy. I’d come home from a terrible day and write a blog about the smell of bakery air, or wearing warm underwear fresh from the dryer or thinking it’s Thursday when it’s really Friday. Slowly over time, writing the blog really did change my mood.”
