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From the authors of Success magazine:

Your brain contains some powerful drugs. That’s according to Joseph McClendon III, author of Get Happy Now: Get Happy in 10 Minutes, Feel Happy in 10 Days, Be Happy for Life (SUCCESS Books, May 2012). These chemicals in your brain can create feelings of happiness and euphoria, like dopamine or endorphins, while others can contribute to feelings of anxiety or depression. Sometimes people modify their body chemistry with drugs, alcohol or other chemicals in an attempt to get happy. Maybe you know someone who solves stress that way, or maybe that’s been you. The scientific truth is the body manufactures chemicals that mimic the way drugs like opium or valium affect your mood.

Just like morphine is a powerful pain medication that alters the way your brain perceives pain, your brain has naturally occurring chemicals that do the same thing and more, modulating your energy, emotions, ability to interact with others and ultimately, your happiness.

Inside your brain, you have a powerful drug that’s available free of charge, with no prescription and accessible any time day or night—it’s called happiness.

“Everyone wants to be happy,” McClendon says. “They seek it, buy it, chase it, medicate it and do everything possible to get it. I’ve spoken in more than 50 countries around the world and met all kinds of people in various cultures. I’ve seen people with every reason to be happy who are not, and I’ve met people with every conceivable reason to be miserable who are happy and content.”

But, he emphasizes, happiness isn’t complex. “It’s not distorted, a 12-step plan, or years of agony in counseling with some self-help guru. Happiness is the feeling of joy and excitement you get when you have hope, and move with positive expectation toward that positive dream, expectation, or goal.”

McClendon says, “Happiness is just an emotion.”

Read more about SUCCESS Books’ newest release, Get Happy Now by Joseph McClendon at SUCCESS.com.

 
 
Guest blog from Success Magazine

If you haven't typed your name into a search engine to see what pops up, you're one of the rare few. But your online identity doesn't have to be a mystery. With the right resources, you can manage and increase your Web presence to draw traffic to your business.

Know your online identity.
Snitchname.com offers an extensive list of sites you can search to find out what information about you exists online. If you find information that's incorrect or unfavorable, contact the webmaster at the site where you found it, or use Google's URL removal tool at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/. (Be aware that certain public information, such as arrest and court records, can only be expunged by judge's order.)

Make it easy for people to find you.
If you register your name with google.com/profiles, or peekyou.com, you can include information about your business, add URLs, upload a photo and be found easily with a search engine. Social networking sites also can increase your exposure, so be sure you are using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Start a website or blog.
Wordpress.com and tumblr.com are two of the leading blog sites to create your web presence. Or, create a digital business card of yourself on about.me. To get more website hits, sign up for stumbleupon.com and ask friends to recommend your site so it's shared and discovered by more people. Favorable quality ratings will increase Web views. Link your site to other established websites in your area of expertise to enhance your online network.