Media Review


	August, 2008
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	Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out Marci Shimoff / Carol Kline Hardcover, $24.95 Free Press IF you are willing to actively pursue your desire to have a happier life, Happy for No Reason is a must-read. Marci Shimoff and Carol Kline share twenty-one stories from interviews with people who applied the steps in the book; they feel these personal testimonials best define what it means to be “happy for no reason.” The authors feel that there are many paths to happiness, and that it can be attained no matter where your journey begins. Some of the seven steps they offer are: Take Ownership of Your Happiness, Let Love Lead, Plug In to Spirit and Live a Life Inspired by Purpose. The steps are accompanied by practical exercises and charts. The authors also believe in the positive effects of meditation and prayer. Many studies on happiness and its causes have been conducted. In the late 1980s Dr. David T. Lykken, a scientist at the University of Minnesota, and a team of other scientists found after extensive testing that 50 percent of a person’s individual level of happiness or “happiness set-point” is genetic, and the other 50 percent is learned. The steps in Happy for No Reason address adjusting our happiness set-point (like a thermostat) for optimum happiness. Author Marci Shimoff is a celebrated transformational leader and is the co-author of six books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She has inspired millions of people around the world with her methods of personal fulfillment and professional success. Carol Kline who shared in the writing of this book, is the coauthor of five books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. I believe the euphoric title of this book is solidly supported by its contents, and its benefits are best stated in this quote from Shimoff: “Happy people cultivate relationships in their lives that nourish and support their happiness.”
	—Mary Porter


	www.Freecycle.org WITH nearly ten thousand volunteers, the Freecycle Network is the largest recycling and reuse organization in the world. Their mission statement sums up the intention of this innovative organization quite nicely: “Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.” Created five years ago by Deron Beal, The Freecycle Network has grown into a worldwide organization that has spread to over seventy-five countries. The concept is simple: Members of the Freecycle.org communities are giving and getting reusable items for free, which serves our planet by keeping a lot of computers, housewares, toys and other still useable goods out of the dumpster. The Freecycle Network is made up of more than five million members across the globe. Membership is free, and you can locate and sign up with a group near you on the site: www.Freecycle.org. In my area I was directed to the North Hollywood Freecycle group which states that the “group is open to all who want to ‘recycle’ that special something rather than throw it away.” The membership rules are posted, and include a reminder that they are “a nonprofit organization and movement of people interested in keeping good stuff out of landfills.” With more than four thousand Freecycle Network groups in operation, the results of their activities are impressive. They are currently keeping over three hundred tons of material goods out of landfills yearly. As a point of reference, they say, three hundred tons, when stacked in garbage trucks, amounts to four times the height of Mt. Everest. As is common with nonprofit groups, they welcome donations to help with expenses and to assist in the cost of the expansion of the Freecycle Network infrastructure online. Donations are tax deductible, and they would greatly appreciate your support in “changing the world one gift at a time.”
	—Yolanda Porter

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