A recent NY Times article devoted itself to exploring what makes us happy. It began with a profile of a woman who had a $40,000 a year investment industry job, a 2br apartment, two cars and enough wedding china to feed two dozen people. But she was not happy, felt stuck on the “work-spend” treadmill and decided to step off. Inspired by a web site and books on living simply, she and her husband sold and gave away their cars and other things until they had just 100 items they really wanted.

Today, they live in a 400 square foot apartment in Portland. She is a web designer and freelance writer working from home and he is completing his doctorate in physiology. She owns four plates, three pair of shoes and two pots. Her $24,000 a year income covers their expenses and they bike everywhere. They paid off $30k and are debt free. They now have money to travel and contribute to their nephews and nieces educational funds. She works fewer hours and has more time to volunteer and be outdoors.

She says that “The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false.”. “I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn’t bring about happiness.”

While she and her husband made their move before the recession began, many  others are reconsidering what really brings them happiness in light of having less income or losing their jobs.

“We’re moving from a conspicuous consumption — which is ‘buy without regard’ — to a calculated consumption,” says Marshal Cohen, an analyst at the NPD Group, a retailing research and consulting firm.

People are saving more and spending less. Before the recession, saving rates were 1-2 percent. In June, they hit 6.4%.

These and other strategies people are adopting seem to be making them happier and that’s not surprising since living simply with low overhead makes life a lot easier than trying to keep up with the Jonses which was the norm for many years. Spending less means having more that in turn can mean more happiness.

Another aspect of this shift is the move from things to experiences. Rather than buying a new car, we seem to derive more pleasure from a vacation, going to a concert, riding our bikes, playing tennis or golf or hiking a local trail. There appears to be a far deeper connection to an experience than a another thing

In the past spending was a consumer sport and comparing what we had with others was a way of keeping score. But now we are reexamining our priorities and looking at what truly matters in life and for many, it turns out its relationships, doing soul satisfying work, using our talent to serve the world starting in our local communities and generally engaging the deeper more spiritual parts of us rather than the surface material world’s offerings that advertising tells us we need so badly.

We are coming to realize that we were sold a lifestyle that never really satisfied us and we feel betrayed. But the truth is we are responsible for our choices and so we are in the midst of re-framing our choices, seeing the world and our place in it anew and making better more soul informed choices.

It’s quite fitting that Eat, Pray and Love opens this week. The plot centers around a happily married woman who while trying to get pregnant realizes her life needs to go in a different direction, and after a painful divorce, takes off on a round-the-world journey.The film seems perfectly timed to help us explore our cultural angst and questioning of assumed values. After starring in this film, Julia Roberts began questioning her own values and she and her family now practice Hinduism.

According to a study from The National Institute on Aging, spending $20,000 on leisure activities was nearly equal to the happiness boost one get’s from a marriage and also increased interactions with others thus reducing loneliness. This appears to be a trend that many retailing professionals feel will be a permanent lifestyle change rather than a fad. Many of us have discovered that great memories have a lot more value than more stuff.

It comes down to re-prioritizing what we want from life and it is a sea change. No longer will we be enticed to buy things by fancy packaging and seductive ads. If it doesn’t satisfy our souls, we will simply look elsewhere.

There will always be the sad materially addicted wealthy few who will live with their ego driven status symbols while their souls wither. But increasing numbers of us are awakening from our material world slumber to discover the extraordinary value and satisfying energies of expanding relationships, creative expressions and the myriad experiences that bring us deeper levels of happiness. One advantage of experiences is that they can live again through our memories.

In a June report, the Boston Consulting Group said that recession anxiety had prompted a “back-to-basics movement,” with things like home and family increasing in importance over the last two years, while things like luxury and status have declined.

The phrase, :it’s the little things that matter” is a perfect way of expressing that buying big ticket items may not have lasting significance in our lives, That many smaller purchases that satisfy our deeper needs may be more meaningful and bring us more joy because we can get used to the home or car after a while. Psychologists call “hedonic adaption.”

One strategy to fight that is anticipation which psychologists have shown in creases happiness so purchasing a vacation ticket in advance beings us more happiness than buying it at the last minute because we can savor the idea.

What this means for business is that the will no longer be able to sell things but will have to promote the experience we will receive. Those businesses that adapt will remain viable and those who continue to try and persuade us to buy more stuff may find themselves holding going out of business sales.

Evidence of this shift can be seen in the success of Apple’s Genius Bars and classes, auto dealers 30 day test drives, clothing store’s personal shoppers, mall’s day care offerings, retailers use of Facebook and Twitter pages to offer customers discounts and invitations to special events but even these strategies may fail as more and more of us spend less and create more.

Happy – A Documentary Trailer from Wadi Rum Productions on Vimeo.

A filmmaker, Roko Belic, making Happy, a documentary on happiness, moved from San Francisco to Malibu to be closer to the ocean so he could surf three or four times a week. He moved to a trailer park and says it’s the first real community he has ever lived in. He is happier and believes the things we were trained to believe make us happy like a new car every few years and buying the latest fashions don’t.

HAPPY – How It All Began from Wadi Rum Productions on Vimeo.

If you like the idea of this film, you can help Roko complete it by joining me in making a contribution to this non-profit project by sending a donation to it’s fiscal sponsor CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION, 3216 Nebraska Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404 and writing “HAPPY documentary.” on your check in the memo section.

For more info on Roko and his film, click here to visit HAPPY.

Compassion in action is something we might not expect from billionaires but that’s what’s happening. We hope the giving gets to those who need it most…the billions living on a dollar or two a day, those without sanitary conditions, housing and other basic needs.

SEATTLE (AP) — Forty wealthy families and individuals have joined Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffett in a pledge to give at least half their wealth to charity.
Six weeks after launching a campaign to get other billionaires to donate most of their fortunes, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. released the first list of people who have signed what he and Gates call the “giving pledge.”

Buffett decided in 2006 to give 99 percent of his fortune to charity. Then, he was worth about $44 billion. After five years of investment returns while making annual gifts to five foundations, Buffett’s fortune totals nearly $46 billion. Bill and Melinda Gates do most of their philanthropic giving through their foundation, which had assets of $33 billion as of June 30 and has made at least $22.93 billion in total grant commitments since 1994.

Buffett said he, the Gateses and others have made 70 to 80 calls to some of the nation’s wealthiest individuals. The people who agreed to the pledge are from 13 states, wit the most participants in California and New York.

Among those who haven’t signed the pledge, some prefer to keep their philanthropy anonymous, some were not available to talk, and others were not interested, Buffett said. Many on the list will be asked to call others, and small dinners will be held across the country in coming months to talk about the campaign. “We’re off to a terrific start,” Buffett said. Buffett said he and Bill Gates also will meet with groups of wealthy people in China and India within the next six months to talk about philanthropy. They hope the idea of generosity will spread, but they have no plans to lead a global campaign, Buffett said.

Gates and Buffett estimate their efforts could generate $600 billion dollars in charitable giving. In 2009, American philanthropies received a total of about $300 billion in donations, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Stacy Palmer, editor of The Chronicle, was surprised and impressed by the speed at which the giving pledge idea has been accepted. “I think it’s remarkably fast that so many people went public with their commitments. The world of philanthropy tends to be very slow moving,” she said. Palmer noted that many of names on the list are people who are known for their
philanthropic generosity. She said she would be more excited when she sees names that have not been on other major donor lists. Taking the idea past billionaires toward millionaires and regular working people could make an even bigger impact, Palmer added. Jason Franklin, executive director Bolder Giving, a relatively new organization that encourages big gifts from everyday people, agreed. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave Bolder Giving a $675,000 challenge grant earlier this year to encourage more people to give at least 20 percent of their personal wealth to charity.

Franklin estimates the giving power of the world’s millionaires eclipses the potential donations from U.S. billionaires many times over. Gates and Buffett are asking billionaires not just to make a donation commitment, but to also pledge to give wisely and learn from their peers. Their group has no plans for combined giving, and none of the philanthropists will be told how or when to give their money. “Everybody has their own interests,” said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who participated in a teleconference with Buffett on Wednesday as one of the individuals who has signed the giving pledge. “That’s what’s wonderful about private philanthropy.” Bloomberg, who has a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $18 billion, said he has changed his personal philosophy over the years from wanting to be more private about his giving toward trying to play a leadership role. He said his whole family is in tune with his giving plan. “I’ve always thought your kids get more benefit out of your philanthropy than your will,” he added. Others who have signed the pledge include filmmaker George Lucas, media mogul Ted Turner and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Click here to visit the Giving Pledge Site.

Like so many other disciplines, the old paradigm music industry is dying and the empowered artist is now in control of their destiny. This is both exciting and requires an understanding of the new game. That is exactly what fifty year career veteran and accomplished educator, John Hartmann offers through his brilliant online Holodigm Music Academy that provides artists or anyone in or aspiring to be in the music industry with a new paradigm music education and, beyond that, an opportunity to be part of the future of music. If that’s you, I strongly suggest you visit the Holodigm site and view John’s introductory Academy videos. If you know any musicians who are starting or developing their careers, you will do them a great service by introducing them to Holodigm.

John Hartmann began his professional career in the famous mailroom of the William Morris Agency. He later served as the Morris office liaison to Colonel Tom Parker the legendary manager of Elvis Presley the king of rock n’ roll.

A veteran music agent, personal manager and record executive, John has provided career direction for such luminaries as Chad & Jeremy, Sonny & Cher, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Canned Heat, Eagles, Peter, Paul & Mary, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne, America, Poco, and many others.

Hartmann is a result oriented operational leader with more than fifty years experience in the entertainment industry. His proven expertise in creating and executing career strategies is evidenced by the quantity and quality of great artists he has been honored to serve.

Hartmann lectures at UCLA and in the School of Film & Television at Loyola Marymount University, where the students voted him outstanding professor of the year for 2007, 2008 and again in 2009.

At Holodigm Music Academy John has put together a team of professionals who can help aspiring songwriters, musicians, producers and those in any other aspect of the music business. John knows the ins and outs of this new world as well or better than anyone and if you or anyone you know are or want to be part of the music business, you may want to consider taking the online classes and applying for membership. You can learn more about John and Holodigm at www.holodigmmusic.com

This exact course is offered at a major Southern California University for $2500 but tuition at Holodigm Music Academy is under fifty dollars making it what must be the best value in new music education. As a student, you’ll receive direct access to John Hartmann as your personal career coach, 15 lectures on the Holodigm System, The Career Direction and Coaching Forum, Songworks, Songwriting and Crafting System, Qualify for Membership in Holodigm Music Society, Free guest Lectures by Industry Veterans and Professional Forms and Contract Templates.

The Holodigm Music Seminars

THE HOLODIGM SEMINARS – This course of study is composed of a series of actual classroom lectures, on video, that reveal the history and future of concert music and the recording arts. They include an expansion on the free lectures already presented and more than twelve hours of additional instruction.

Upon completion of this course you will be qualified to apply for membership in the Holodigm Music Society. If accepted by the extant membership, you will join a new generation of creative artists and entrepreneurs united in a global support mechanism.

John Hartmann will personally guide you through The Holodigm System of visual and verbal technologies and provide you with a map of showbiz to follow for the rest of your professional life. You will learn how to play the game, build your career and compete for success in the music renaissance.

How To Build a Career in Music

Hartmann’s Laws – 100 Rules of Showbiz-This lecture presents brief video descriptions of 100 rules that govern the thinking processes that best serve the daily activities of artists and executives seeking to develop and advance carriers in the entertainment industry.

The Creative Process-Learn how to succeed by developing the discipline and creative thinking skills to define the possibilities and take constructive action to achieve your goals. (This lecture is an extended classroom version of the material covered in the free introductory lesson

The Holodigm-Learn how to use the map of showbiz to visualize your overview of the music industry and create a mental matrix for the pursuit of your career strategies. (This lecture is an extended classroom version of the material covered in the free introductory lesson.

The Music Publisher-Learn how the art and craft of songwriting is the cornerstone of music publishing and forms the foundation of all activities in the music industry. (This lecture is an extended classroom version of the material covered in the free introductory lesson.

The Artist-Learn how artists create, develop and exploit a body of music for the purpose of designing and developing careers in the music industry.

The Manager-Learn how the symmetry of the artist-manager relationship forms the core activity for conducting careers in The Music Renaissance.

The Agent-Learn how the booking-agent connects artists and managers to the live performance arena and how they supervise the financial systems and protocols of the performing arts.

The Promoter-Learn how concert promoters produce the contemporary, global concert business and provide a stable platform for the building and maintenance of the careers of musical artists.

The Record Produce-Learn how the advent of digital production techniques has shifted the paradigm and lowered the threshold to entry into the world of recorded music.

The Accountant-Learn how Certified Public Accountants manage and control the economics of recording artists and personal appearance attractions.

The Lawyer-Learn how entertainment attorneys create and maintain the array of contracts that define the equity and distribution of profits in the music business.

The Publicist-Learn how public relations experts manipulate media relations for the promotion and marketing of personal appearances and recorded music.

The Crew-Learn how Road Managers design and assemble the players, technicians and logistics of theatrical productions and touring companies.

Video, Film & Television-Learn how music videos communicate the image and style of performing artists and how music is marketed to film and television producers.

The Internet-Learn how the Internet is carving a new business model for the marketing and distribution of recorded music and the development of touring artists.

For a great example of John’s teaching skills and the class curriculum, check out his powerful introductory lectures. And, if you want the essence of the new music paradigm, watch Segment 5: The Music Renaissance in which John describes the Holodigm Process. Even if you decide this class is not for you, these lectures will provide a deep grounding in the history and future of music that is well worth watching.