I Can Make You Happy

                           Image courtesy of ebay.com

“There is a better way to measure success than in houses, cars, flat screen TVs and money. Success in life can be measured as the amount of time you spend doing what makes you happy with people that make you happy.” –Martin Rooney

American society has been trained by large corporations that material possessions will make us happy. When we buy something—new clothes, a new TV, a new car—we are essentially buying good feelings.  Soon enough, though, the good feelings wear off or something newer and better comes. Then, in order to have more good feelings, we buy something else, none of which are essential to our survival. Every advertisement on television promises you will, in some way, become happier if you buy their product. Why not cut out the middleman? Why not choose to become happier directly, without the need to spend money on material possessions?

This month’s book review is on Paul McKenna’s international bestseller I Can Make You Happy. As a hypnotist, McKenna takes an approach different from many other self-help authors. This book is not filled with motivational stories or inspiring quotes. It does not tell readers how to find happiness in the little things of their everyday life. It is a straightforward, practical approach to making readers happier using many different mental exercises.  McKenna believes the human mind is like a computer. All of the thoughts and behaviors a person has can be reprogrammed to be happier and healthier. This reprogramming is done primarily through visualization, hypnosis, and other methods designed to allow readers to develop a deeper understanding of their feelings and emotions. By consistently applying the techniques in the book, these new happier and healthier thought patterns become habitual at the subconscious level of the mind, leading to greater overall happiness.

I chose to review I Can Make You Happy because I believed other people would benefit from reading it, but also because I needed to read it for my own benefit. After 6 weeks of absolutely no exercise, minimal brain stimulation, and the majority of my free time spent isolated in a dark room due to constant migraines, I was in need of something to help lift my spirits. Although this book was different from the motivational message I was originally expecting, I read it anyway; 15 minutes at a time. I was having difficulty with the visualizations because I no longer had the ability to completely focus my brain. I continued to work at it and listened to the guided relaxation CD daily. Eventually things slowly started improving with my headaches, concentration, and especially my attitude and outlook on the whole situation. I have made significant progress since that time, and this book is one of many things I believe helped me along the way, primarily with keeping a positive mindset and knowing that I would get better.

I will continue to practice the techniques in this book and encourage others to do the same. Whatever your current level of happiness may be, this program can help you become happier. However, someone that is unable to control their mind will have difficulty with the visualizations in the book. Because of this, their brain will need to be trained to concentrate and visualize, so it may take longer to see results. With that, I recommend this book to anyone looking to become happier, especially if other methods have been tried and failed, regardless of their current level of happiness.

**Com­ment, Like, Sub­scribe, Tweet, and Share the Knowl­edge below!!**

 

Enjoy this review? Get a copy of Linch­pin in the Self Made® Book Store!

Want to use this arti­cle in your blog, newslet­ter, or other plat­form?  You can, but be sure to include all of the bio­graph­i­cal infor­ma­tion found in the yel­low box below!