Happiness in Hard Times

HAPPINESS in HARD TIMES is my 5th Andrew Matthews book. Since my college days, I have been collecting his work:  BEING HAPPY, FOLLOW YOUR HEART, MAKING FRIENDS, HAPPINESS NOW and then this. Andrew Matthews is one of those self-help gurus that I've always depended on especially when my life gets a bit harder to handle. How many times did I think about ending my life when I was still very young? Thanks to Andrew Matthews, I was able to overcome every big and small hurdle that came my way and came out a happier, better and more blessed me. I'd also like to think that his first book, Being Happy, also saved my brother from committing suicide. Yeah... we were a bunch of suicidal maniacs then.^_^

Happiness in Hard Times resonates very well with a lot of people today, especially since many have been and are still continuously beng affected by the worldwide recession that has beset the global market for a few years now. I, for one, did have a couple of lean months when I thought that things won't be back to where it should be. Even before I got a hold of his new book, I've already been practicing the principles I've learned from his books before, and now that I have a copy of this, the stories (not just by Andrew Matthews but by many of his readers and fans as well) are ever more so inspiring me to live a better and happier life no matter how hard life can get sometimes. 

Happiness Now by Andrew Matthews

I've come to know Andrew Matthews when I first read BEING HAPPY back in college, one of his most famous books. I have all three by the way including HAPPINESS IN HARD TIMES, FOLLOW YOUR HEART and MAKING FRIENDS. This particular one, HAPPINESS NOW, is like a summary of all those three. All the principles I learned about living a healthy, happy, prosperous life, achieving the career of your dreams, obtaining peace of mind, etc. --- all these things are put into several cohesive and creative nutshells for better and simpler understanding. 

Basically, it taught me  three things: 

The Power of Purpose by Richard J. Leider

This powerful book by Richard J. Leider is one great tool especially for people who feel like they have lost their purpose in life. Or maybe, they know what they're meant to do here on earth but for some reason, certain circumstances and situations just don't allow them to express who they really are and what they should really be doing. Instead,  they are consumed with busyness if only to fill that void left by their unfulfilled longing to do and be so much more than just another regular, ordinary person in this dog-eat-dog world most of us call life. 

Many times in my thirty years here on earth, I have felt that way. I still do from time to time and I give it my best shot to shrug off the feeling and replace it instead with hope and belief that I am meant to do something greater. This is the reason why after two years since I last read this, I am once again finding myself reading its words of wisdom every now and then, just to give me that extra push I need to pursue my life's purpose. 

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

To give you a brief background, it actually summarizes all the teachings I have learned from Stephen Covey (8^th Habit), Andrew Matthews (Being Happy), Chin Ning Chu (Thick Face, Black Heart), Paolo Coelho (The Alchemist) and the Holy Bible and all those other self-help books I’ve read at one point or another. Simply put:

The Peter Principle by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull

The Peter Principle is one of the oldest books we have on our bookshelf. It was published last 1978 and Peter and I can't remember exactly if the copy we have brought to our home is mine or his since both his folks and my grandpa owned one when we were little. The pages are brittle and brown with age but the words of wisdom inside transcend time and space. After all, it discusses PRINCIPLES. From the moment I read its reviews, I got so  hooked that in a matter of 24 hours, I was able to finish it in between work, commute and errands. As compared to Stephen Covey's 8th Habit which is taking me forever to finish, Dr. Peter's style of writing is direct, factual, and straight to the point. I can actually relate (both directly and indirectly) with everything that he's written.  Here are a couple of lines that struck me the most: 

Like The Flowing River by Paolo Coelho Part I

Hi guys! I'm still quite exhausted from the house transfer, unpacking of our stuff and voluminous paper work and quizzes I have to contend with in MDP but I couldn't resist blogging. This post has been in draft mode for almost a month already so it's easy for me to publish it. I'm sort of "stealing" our neighbor's wifi so I still can't fully blog. Peter still hasn't applied for smartbro... hopefully, tomorrow he'll be able to take care of it. So for now, enjoy the first part of my bookworm regarding one of the works of one of my fave authors...

~~~oOo~~~ 

Read more: Like the Flowing River by Paolo Coelho