Shawn Achor

“I once stayed at a Ritz in D.C., paid for by a client, and when I asked to change rooms because mine smelled of smoke, the hotel immediately found me a better room, then paid for my dinner and drinks and even threw in a free massage to compensate me for the very minor inconvenience.”

“Positive vacations have a significant effect upon energy and stress.”

“The idea of investing in the positivity of employees is often low down on companies' priority lists.”

“Our daily decisions and habits have a huge impact upon both our levels of happiness and success.”

“As Harvard Business School professor Peter Bregman advises, 'Don't write a book, write a page...Don't expect to be a great manager in your first six months, just try to set expectations well.”

“You've probably noticed how when someone says hello or smiles at you, your automatic reaction is to say hello or smile back.”

“Scientifically, happiness is a choice. It is a choice about where your single processor brain will devote its finite resources as you process the world.”

“Poorly planned and stressful vacations eliminate the positive benefit of time away. The less the stress, the more likely you will experience a positive benefit from the time off. A positive, well-managed vacation can make you happier and less stressed, and you can return with more energy at work and with more meaning in your life.”

“Not every vacation is equal. And theory - the idea that vacations should increase happiness - doesn't always translate to reality.”

“We not only need to work happy, we need to work at being happy.”

“You have to train your brain to be positive just like you work out your body.”

“We sometimes think that the best doctors are the ones who have the most specialized knowledge or the fanciest degrees, but in fact, study upon study, including one published in the 'New England Journal of Medicine,' show that the best doctors are the ones who also know how to connect with their patients.”

“You spend money on Internet connection for your employees. Why not spend money on the energy that fuels their brains?”

“The research says that being successful doesn't automatically make you happier, but being happier - being more positive - makes you more successful.”

“Research shows you get multiple tasks done faster if you do them one at a time. It also decreases stress and raises happiness.”

“What we've been finding is people are afraid of happiness. They're afraid of happiness because they think we'll stagnate or we'll be blind: that if I'm happy now, I won't keep fighting as hard. If I'm happy now, I won't push as hard to make a better world. That's what pleasure does. Joy does the exact opposite.”

“You can study gravity forever without learning how to fly.”

“Turnover can be one of the most expensive problems at a company.”

“I'd love it if every company could give raises to the average worker for doing good work.”

“Happiness is the joy you feel striving toward your potential”