I came up with the idea of this happiness movie 3 years ago. As I worked with my clients, I noticed some clients were naturally happy while others were not. What was it that caused a pair of twins that I worked with, for instance, to have completely different outlooks on life?

One was happy and the other seemed quite miserable. How could this happen? How is it that two children who came from the same mother, at the same time, grew up in the same environment and have such a different emotional makeup? I wanted to find out also how a person that I worked with who grew up in a hut in Africa had decided, against all odds to come to America, learn English and get into a PhD program! She is much happier here than when she was growng up in Africa, but what made her ask the question “Am I happy?” and then make that choice to be happy?

These are the kinds of questions that made me want to make a documentary film on the nature of happiness. We are looking for people with amazing stories to interview for our movie, The Chronicles of Happiness. If you have an amazing story about how to achieve happiness, please send an email to Christina.

©Christina Florence – November 2010

Michele and I have been working for months now and we are so excited to have our trailer/teaser to show the world what we have been up to!

I am pleased to present the trailer to our happiness movie, The Happiness Chronicles.

The Happiness Chronicles asks some revealing questions: “Are you happy?”, “What makes you happy?”, “Do you believe in happiness?” and most importantly, “Are you choosing happiness?” These questions may sound simple, but, we discovered when a person is asked the question “Are you happy”, it isn’t always readily answered. We also explore the question of how to achieve happiness.

The idea for the film really came into focus as I was writing my recent guide to happiness, Be Alive in Five, a workbook featuring exercises you can use daily to create a happier life. I wanted to understand why some people are happy and some are not. What makes the difference? Are there those of us who are predisposed to happiness? Maybe there is indeed a “happiness gene.” Is achieving happiness tied to health, wealth, race, career, religion? If we understand that happiness is a choice, well then, why aren’t more of us choosing to live happy lives? Is happiness out there somewhere, or part of the internal workings of our mind?

Michele and I have really just begun our quest, as there are many interviews to be completed. Every person we talk with brings a new insight into what may perhaps evolve into our “Happiness Chronicle’s Exceptional Philosophy of Happiness.” (Hmmm, another book perhaps?)

Michelle and I would like our film to help you discover how to achieve happiness. We are having so much fun that we intend to travel the world to define the importance of happiness, why it often remains just out of reach and what we can do to grab it and hang on!

More to come from the Road to Happiness, so stay with us!

©Christina Florence – November 2010

One evening some time ago, I was sitting around with some friends discussing life in general. Eventually, we began to talk more specifically about the way in which different cultures and age groups experience happiness. We felt that the perception is that everyone wants to be happy.

But then, after a few moments, we reconsidered. Does everyone really want to be happy?

As happiness is indeed a choice, do people intentionally choose happiness? Maybe some people make that choice but countless others wait for happiness to arrive or be bestowed upon them by some miracle. Everyone’s idea of happiness is different and every person’s way of achieving it it different. I myself was not a happy person up until about 10 years ago when I began to make the choice to happy. I looked in the mirror nearly every day and asked myself “am I happy?” That question, among others, inspired me to write two books about my journey towards happiness. That is also why I want to make this “happiness movie”.

The Happiness Chronicles is a documentary film project that I began 3 years ago in an attempt to answer the question “what is happiness?” Every person on this planet has the right to be happy but just what is happiness? How does one explain it and, more importantly, how does one achieve it?

I set out on a mission to find out how to achieve happiness. I decided to interview people from all walks of life, any culture and any age group to discover the answer. So I put together a small team experienced at documentary filmmaking and we decided on 10 important questions we wanted to ask. Though some of the questions have changed over the course of time, we have maintained the basic format throughout.

One of our many subjects is a street musician named Stu. He lives in a small apartment near the University of New Mexico. We spent some time with him at his apartment before following him downtown to his outdoor “gig.” Stu is very lively, kind of funny and way out there. I was a little taken aback when I first arrived at his place. It was a typical bachelor pad – you know, stuff everywhere! During the course of our interview, I came to realize that he was quite an amazing character, as you, too, will see in the film.

Cecelia – collector of art and a beautiful soul! She is a small business owner in Albuquerque who keeps a beautiful and extensive art collection. Recently, she was forced to downsize her store and get what many consider a “real” job – a direct result of the current economy. Cecelia has maintained a most wonderful outlook on life even though she has experienced a great deal of adversity.

Singer and songwriter Rex Warren is one of my favorite subjects. He is an incredibly talented musician who seems to be endlessly in a good mood. We all ask ourselves why he is not famous already and why he has had to keep a job with a forklift company. When he plays his music you just want to jump up and dance! He, too, has overcome his share of tragedy and soon plans to relocate to Hawaii. What a great spirit!

Some of the people we interviewed for our happiness movie did not even really believe in happiness even though they were surrounded by people who seem to be happy.

©Christina Florence – April 2010