On a scale of 1 to 8 how happy are you right    now on average, where 1= seriously not happy and 8 is unconditionally happy…happy no matter what the conditions of life are around you. Are you happy anywhere? Or are you a high achieving control freaking perfectionist who says, “I’ll be happy WHEN…I have a half a million in the bank, 10 million, a Ferrari, a mansion, my kids get a job, my parents are okay”…and the WHEN keeps changing, so are you ever REALLY happy?

Hi, my name is Dr. Marissa Pei and I was invited to be the featured contributor of this quarter’s issue of the ACCA, to talk about my favorite topic, happiness, and to introduce the 2025 Get Happy Hour Column & Speaker series that will start next year. First, a little background…my doctorate is in Organizational Psychology so I get to consult in Fortune 500 companies and teach at business schools like UCLA on topics like leadership, change management, communication, diversity and success. When I was teaching in the Anderson Graduate School of Management a few decades ago, one of my MBA students came up to me after class and told me my talents were being wasted, that I belonged in front of a camera instead of teaching at a lecture. And that was the beginning of my life in media. As an expert TV commentator, you may have seen me on many ABC, FOX, Discovery and Learning Channel specials including Totally Out of Control People, Busted on the Job, Nostradamus: A Scientific Inquiry and other shows exploring the question, “Why do people do weird things at work?!” As a motivational speaker, I’ve shared my expertise as a business psychologist and happiness guru all over the US, Asia and Europe and shared stages with celebrities like Captain Kirk at the Kodak Theater and Manny Pacquiao in the Philippines. In 2012 I began a podcast show called “Take My Advice, I’m Not Using It: Get Balanced with Dr. Marissa” which has won several awards and continues to this day, 655 consecutive weeks on the air/on camera on NBC News Radio KCAA AM 105 FM 106.5 and streaming on all major platforms, iHeartRadio, Spotify with all 1275 podcast shows on my Youtube TV Channel. As host and producer, I’ve outlasted the prediction that a show about hope and happiness wouldn’t last a year…and more than12 years later, I am still balancing out all the bad news out there with good news and good people like Fran Drescher talking about how to decrease your risk of cancer, TV icons including the late great Maryann from Gilligan’s Island Dawn Wells, Potsie Ralph Malph and Mrs. C. from Happy Days (Anson Williams Donny Most and Marion Cunningham) Carole Baskin from the hit Netflix The Tiger King, Hot Lips Houlihan from M*A*SH*, 4-time world boxing champ Laila Ali and The Cove Dolphin Activist, Ric O’Barry to name just a few. I was introduced to Oprah as ‘the Asian Oprah’, and moonlight as a (Good) News Broadcast Reporter and Journalist, having Red Carpet interviews with celebrities like Halle Berry, John Travolta and the late great Quincy Jones. Along with articles in Inc. and Forbes magazines, my latest book ‘8 Ways to Happiness from Wherever You Are’ is a #1 Amazon and National Bestseller. During Covid, I became an award-winning filmmaker with PPP: Post Pandemic Possibilities short film and my first feature doc ‘The Road to Race’ with solutions to racism without blaming white privilege. My current projects include “Life by a Thousand Cuts” screenplay and a limited series special called “Swipe Me Off My Feet: A System to have fun dating on an app”

I’ve been honored with many honors including the 2005 Role Model of the Year Award in Business and Media; 2007 Remarkable Woman of the Year Award; 2012 Asian Entrepreneur of the Year, 2014 Asian Heritage Award, 2016 Business Lotus Award, 2017 Iconic Women Creating a Better World from the WEF India, 2022 ACMA Media Excellence Award, and 2023 Gestalt OSD Lifetime Achievement Award. Obviously my life motto is "Don't Die Wondering!”

And now I am on a Happy 88 Mission, 88 million more happy people in the next 8 years. Why? Because many people have fallen into the habit of thinking that Life Sucks, that right now, our country is not acting like a United States, and humankind is not so kind. And most people are not happy, and instead of taking responsibility for their own happiness, they are turning to sex drugs and rock and roll to ease the dis-ease they are having with themselves and others.

So the buck stops right over…HERE. With me and you. So if you’re ready to be happier than you are right now, here’s your first #happy88 tip on how to Attract Happiness. Start every morning taking a bite of my Gratitude Sandwich and tell the person next to you 4 things you are grateful for, like hot showers, or fabric softener, or your favorite food. Then before you go to bed at night, instead of worrying about all the things that could go wrong or all the things you didn’t finish doing or all the people that did you wrong, fall asleep thinking about what one quality about yourself that you like…are you caring loving smart funny most of the time? Of course you are…and the only side effect of taking a bite out of this gratitude sandwich is a smile on your face. So, if you are reading this, I hope these words up your Happiness level at least one point, and if you want more, you will join me in person at the Gallery for a Get Happy Hour event, and/or enjoy the Get Happy Hour column that I will be writing for the ICCA next year. This is Dr. Marissa reporting live in print reminding you that life is way too short to be pissed off…and Happiness is your birthright in this thing called life, so CLAIM IT!

www.DrMarissa.Life

drmarissa4balance@gmail.com

562-881-9437