Do Great Things!

June 13, 2007
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

We can do nothing better than make a positive difference in the world. To do great things, just think about what needs to be done in order to leave this world better than you found it. Each of us has different thoughts on what that is and when we do it with happiness, we empower ourselves to accomplish great things.

A group of teenagers from the Happy Club of Stamford, CT conceived and coordinated a Memorial Garden in Fort Stamford. It was a beautiful day on Tuesday, June 5 as many people gathered to dedicate this project. The mayor of Stamford, Dannel Malloy gave a wonderful speech dedicating the garden and acknowledging the Teenagers who made a positive difference by working together to create this project. The event was broadcast on television and the press interviewed the teen leaders for the wonderful work they had accomplished.

Trees were planted; red, white and blue flowers surrounded a bronze plaque commemorating our soldiers who gave their lives in Iraq. The local veterans groups, a Marine Corps color guard, the boy scouts and the garden club were in attendance.
In the six months that the Happy Club for teens has been in existence, it has completed eight projects that serve others. Some of these projects included collecting goods for the local food bank, interacting with senior citizens in an assisted living center, making and serving lunch to recovering drug addicts and people with mental illness, selling baked goods and other items to benefit an animal care facility and helping to set up for the March of Dimes Walk-a-Thon.

Kasey Glass and Sami Stone are two of the teens that started this Happy Club with the assistance of Dr. Cynthia Barnett. The club has 35 high school aged youths from Connecticut, New York and New Jersey representing over 15 schools. I spoke to a few of the teens and asked them how they felt about serving others. They all agreed that it was the greatest feeling they could imagine.

I congratulate the wonderful teen members of our Happy Club. Our teens are a shining example for people of all ages. Volunteering their time and their efforts both physically and mentally, provides people with a good example of being happy and serving others. The members of the teen Happy Club have become role models for people much older than they are. Our youth is showing everyone how to be happy and spread that good feeling to others by serving people using happiness as a power tool.

The Happy Club teens are a great testament to our future leaders in this wonderful county called the United States of America and to the entire world. These teens are the leaders of a happy future for all of us. They are doing the most important work any human being can do. They are making a positive difference in their own lives and in the lives of everyone they touch.

If there is something that you feel needs to be done, than do it using the power of happiness. You might be telling yourself that you are only one person, what can I do? If you don't give up on your ideas, you can make a positive difference in this world by acting on what you want to see accomplished. If you just begin, events and people will come along to assist you in your efforts. Do nothing and nothing changes. It is time for you to make a positive difference. Do something big or something small, it does not matter at all, as long as you do something.

Getting out of yourself and thinking of others and the world around you is the best way to find freedom for your soul and to experience enduring happiness. The happiness these teens have found is an everlasting happiness. Nothing will be able to take that feeling away from them. They are learning early in life that making a positive difference is the best thing they can do for themselves.

2,911 yeas ago, a man named Aristotle was born who stated these true words: "All men seek one goal: success or happiness. The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to society."

At a Hospice recognition dinner, I heard a volunteer say: "I serve because it makes me feel happy." That was her whole speech. She accepted her award and sat down. A woman I was speaking to after a Happiness Club meeting told me she became happy after following what I had said at a meeting a few years ago. She told me that I said, if you are unhappy help someone else and you will find happiness. She said that she followed that advice and is now a volunteer and life has changed for the better.

Why serve others? It will make you feel fantastic! Do Great Things! Make your dreams come true and make a positive difference in your life. Everyone will benefit from you! If not you, who? If not now, when? Do it Now!

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