Become a Better You!

October 24, 2007
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

This past week I saw Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria on 60 Minutes, Larry King, Fox News, and Glenn Beck. I understand they were on a number of other shows as well. Barbara Walters has named Joel one of the 10 Most Fascinating People. Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Texas, the largest church in the United States. His church was the former home of the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. He converted the sports arena, known as the Compaq Center, into the Lakewood Church in July 2005. His wife, Victoria is also a pastor. Joel, now age 42, took over the church when his father, John, died in January 1999. 30,000 people attend Lakewood Church every Sunday.

Joel has just published his second book entitled, Become a Better You. Joel's first book, Your Best Life Now has been on the New York Times best selling book list. It is also on my 20 best happiness books, listed on my web site. Chapter 7 is called: Choose To Be Happy!

About six years ago, I happened to tune into a TV program on Sunday morning. I did not know who the person on TV was, because I had never heard of Joel Osteen at the time. I was immediately captivated by his message that day because he was speaking about happiness. The title of his talk that Sunday was Choose to Be Happy! I could not believe my eyes and ears. Here was a preacher talking about happiness. Joel said, "The bottom line is if you're gong to be happy, you need to make a decision to be happy right now. Happiness does not depend on your circumstances; it depends on your will. It's a choice that you make." Now you know why I love Joel Osteen.

You can see Joel on TV every Sunday morning, he is on hundreds of stations across the country. The show is watched by tens of millions of people in more than a hundred nations worldwide. In Connecticut, he has half-hour shows starting early in the morning which run until 9:30 AM on different channels. His message is always an important and positive one with no gloom and doom, no hell and damnation. Joel tells you how to deal with important issues in your life. Joel always delivers a message to help you cope with emotional issues and create the right attitude to live your life. I hear him mention happiness in almost every "sermon." Joel said, "To develop a habit of happiness, you must retrain those negative responses."

I have found people of all faiths, not just Christians, listen to Joel to hear his positive messages. In all the years I have seen Joel on TV, his basic format is the same. He always starts the program by telling a joke. The congregation remains standing for the joke and then Joel leads them in a 21-second bible vow. He never asks for money on the air. After delivering an inspiring and motivating talk he closes the broadcast with a 7-second prayer. Joel said, "Make a decision that you are going to live your life happily."

Joel is 42 years old and is doing an outstanding job of teaching people in the world to practice responsibility by practicing emotional control. Joel is showing us joy, peace, love and happiness in every message he gives. In an interview at Beliefnet.com, Laura Sheahen asked Joel: How does God want us to live our lives? Joel's answer was: "He want us to live our lives happy"

Joel said, "God does not want you to sacrifice your happiness to keep somebody else happy. At first brush, that may sound a little selfish, but there's a tenuous balance here. Your first priority is to take care of yourself. To do so, you must recognize that some people are still not going to be happy no matter what you do for them, no matter how nice you are, no matter how much time and energy you give them. They have their own issues with which to deal or things inside that they need to resolve."

All the quotes in this article are from Joel's new book. I recommend that you read Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day. The 7 keys are 1. Keep pressing forward. 2. Be positive toward yourself. 3. Develop better relationships. 4. Form better habits. 5. Embrace the place where you are. 6. Develop your inner life. 7. Stay passionate about life.

Joel says, "Friend, life is too short to go through it being controlled and manipulated by people who refuse to make good choices on their own. Please understand: You are not responsible for everybody else's happiness. You are responsible for your own happiness. If people are controlling you, it's not their fault; it's your fault. You must learn to set some boundaries."

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.





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