In this episode of Happiness Through Creating, we reflect on why beginnings matter more than resolutions, using the tradition of First Day Hikes as a powerful metaphor for how real change actually starts. Rather than focusing on big promises or dramatic goals, the episode explores how simple movement—like taking a walk on January 1st—can become a meaningful declaration of identity. A first step, however small, shifts us from standing at the edge of a new season into actively living within it.
Brian utilizes the Creation Cycle and the Insight Loop to demonstrate the importance of character. This episode is an invitation to stop waiting for clarity or inspiration and to begin through action instead. Whether it’s a walk, a conversation, or a single brave decision, taking a step creates trust, confidence, and forward motion. Happiness, the episode reminds us, doesn’t come from declarations—it comes from creating.
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In this extended episode of Happiness Through Creating, we are invited to learn from one of nature’s most overlooked teachers: trees. As we stand on the edge of a new year, we explore how trees embody timeless principles of creativity, resilience, patience, and contribution. Drawing lessons from trees around the world—from the water-storing Baobab and the intentionally shaped Bonsai, to storm-tested Mangroves and ancient Bristlecone Pines—we begin to see trees not as background scenery, but as living mentors for a meaningful, creative life.
Through these examples, the episode reveals how lasting creation is built through preparation, intentional growth, adaptability, and long-term vision. Trees remind us that beauty can emerge from imperfection, flexibility is strength, and what we create always shapes the environment around us. As the new year approaches, we’re invited to reflect: What are we growing? What roots are we strengthening? And what kind of tree are we becoming? Because if happiness truly comes through creating, trees show us how to create in ways that endure, contribute, and give life to others.
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In this episode, we explore the meaning and creative power of the New Year’s song “Auld Lang Syne,” tracing its origins from an 18th-century Scottish poem by Robert Burns to its place as a global ritual marking transition and renewal. The episode unpacks how remembering is not about clinging to the past, but about consciously deciding what we carry forward. Through the song’s central question—whether old acquaintances and experiences should be forgotten—we’re invited to see reflection as a necessary phase of creation, one that shapes character, motivation, and the direction of what comes next.
The episode highlights kindness as the key creative posture for closing one chapter and opening another. By taking “a cup of kindness” toward who we were, what we experienced, and how we’ve changed, we create the emotional space needed for growth, forgiveness, and intentional movement into the future. Rituals like New Year’s Eve matter because they anchor meaning, and meaning shapes identity. Rather than asking whether the next year will be good, the episode encourages listeners to ask what they want to create, what they need to release, and how reflection, gratitude, and kindness can help author a new chapter with clarity and purpose.
Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aop6YF1Xqqg
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In this episode, we explore the idea that memory is not an individual possession but a shared, creative process shaped by our relationships and communities. Drawing on sociologist Maurice Halbwachs’ theory of collective memory, the episode examines how identity, meaning, and happiness are deeply relational—formed through the stories, traditions, and interpretations we inherit and reinforce together. Memory is presented not as static recall, but as a living system that evolves as relationships change, helping explain why belonging strengthens joy, why isolation erodes it, and why the same event can be remembered differently depending on one’s place within a group.
The episode then connects collective memory to creation, happiness, and repentance, inviting listeners to see themselves as stewards of remembered meaning. By reframing shared memories with compassion, creating meaningful rituals, speaking new stories into stuck relationships, and intentionally remembering goodness, we actively shape healthier futures. The central invitation is to recognize memory as one of the most powerful creative forces we possess—one that can heal rather than harden—and to choose, intentionally, the stories we reinforce and pass on as we create who we become together.
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In this special Christmas Eve episode of Happiness Through Creating, we reflect on the timeless song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” and the story behind it. Inspired by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s personal grief and the turmoil of the Civil War, the song reminds us how hope, joy, and meaning can be created even in the midst of hardship.
We explore how acknowledging reality, acting intentionally, celebrating small miracles, and believing in the power of goodness can transform despair into creativity, resilience, and lasting happiness. This episode is a heartfelt guide for turning Christmas Eve into a moment of reflection, hope, and intentional creation.
Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Vi0BxAbpg
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In this Christmas-week episode of Happiness Through Creating, we reflect on the transformative power of hope, belief, and small acts of courage through the lens of the song “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt.
Explore how belief and intention can create strength, momentum, and miracles in your life, even in the face of fear, uncertainty, or pain. We break down the song’s key messages and show how Christmas is not just a day on the calendar, but an experience we actively create through hope, courage, and action.
Whether you’re seeking inspiration, peace, or the courage to take the next step in your life, this episode is a heartfelt reminder that even fragile faith can grow into overflowing belief.
Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKaXY4IdZ40&list=RDLKaXY4IdZ40&start_radio=1
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In this episode of Happiness Through Creating, we explore the extraordinary life of Helen Keller and what her experiences teach us about happiness, purpose, and inner growth. Despite losing her sight and hearing early in life, Keller cultivated joy through attitude, curiosity, service, and optimism.
We'll highlight five key lessons from her life: inner happiness, resilience in the face of adversity, purposeful service, intellectual curiosity, and the power of hope and faith, and demonstrate how modern science confirms her insights. Discover practical strategies to cultivate your own joy, develop your character, and turn challenges into opportunities.
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In this episode of Happiness Through Creating, we explore hope not as wishful thinking, but as an active, creative force. Drawing on psychology, philosophy, and personal insight, we show how hope fuels our actions, strengthens our character, and allows us to create joy, purpose, and lasting impact, even in the face of adversity.
Discover how hope resides in the heart, faith inspires the mind, and their union awakens your agency to shape your life and the world around you. If you want to generate happiness, resilience, and meaningful creation, this episode is your guide.
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In this episode of Happiness Through Creating, we delve into the holiday classic "Believe" and its lessons for living with wonder, hope, and intention. Through the song’s lyrics, we are reminded that magic isn’t lost as we grow up; it’s something we can notice, nurture, and act upon.
From reconnecting with our inner dreamers to listening to our hearts and giving our dreams wings, this episode shows how belief is an act of creation. Join us to discover how choosing to believe in yourself, your dreams, and the possibilities around you can spark joy, purpose, and lasting happiness.
Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Avycrez66o&list=RD3Avycrez66o&start_radio=1
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In this episode of Happiness Through Creating, we explore the story of St. Lucia, a 4th-century saint whose courage, faith, and commitment to service transformed opposition into a lasting legacy of hope. Her story reminds us that true creation often meets opposition, and that small, brave acts can have a profound impact.
From St. Lucia’s defiance in the face of danger to Nordic traditions celebrating her light in the darkest time of year, we highlight how principles, courage, and intentional action can produce lasting joy, connection, and meaning. I also share a personal story of how a simple, courageous act led to a life-changing relationship, showing how creation begins in small steps.
This episode is an invitation to embrace challenges, take intentional action, and create light, hope, and goodness in your own life and the lives of others.
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In this episode of Happiness Through Creating, we explore one of the most inspiring modern stories of resilience and self-creation: Liz Murray's journey from homelessness to Harvard, achieved through sheer determination, hope, and daily acts of creation.
Her life reveals a profound truth: opposition isn’t something to avoid; it’s the place where creators are forged. Through her struggles with poverty, loss, and instability, Liz learned to assess, adjust, and act her way forward, transforming pain into purpose and momentum into opportunity.
Join me as I unpack how Liz’s story illustrates the creator cycle, how movement becomes momentum, and how character, not circumstance, shapes our future. This episode is an invitation to create your way through difficulty, reclaim your direction, and build the kind of joy that grows from becoming who you were meant to be.
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In this special episode, we revisit the beloved song “My Grown-Up Christmas List” and discover how its lyrics reveal the emotional evolution of the human heart. As children, we wished for presents. As adults, we long for healing, peace, connection, and a kinder world. Through a reflective walk-through of the song, we explore what it means for our desires to mature, and how those longings invite us to become creators of goodness, compassion, and transformation.
Join us as we unpack themes of emotional growth, inner peace, friendship, healing, and the courage to believe in a better world before we see it. This episode is an invitation to uncover your own grown-up Christmas list, and to step into the role of a creator who can help bring those hopes to life.
A gentle, soulful reminder for the season: happiness isn’t found under the tree. It’s something we build, one act of love at a time.
Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch4U0ImE-F0
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In this episode, we explore a simple but profound truth: humans aren’t just consumers, we’re creators. Drawing on large-scale studies of arts engagement, cross-cultural research on creativity, and evidence from students, older adults, and populations with chronic illnesses, we uncover how creative activity reliably boosts happiness, meaning, and well-being. We break down key mechanisms, including agency, flow, purpose, emotional processing, and connection, to show why intentional creation can transform us from the inside out. Finally, we offer practical ways to embrace your identity as a creator, persist through resistance, and infuse your life with purposeful making. Join us as we trace the arc from creation to joy, and learn how even small creative acts can anchor resilience, meaning, and transformation.
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In this energizing episode of Happiness Through Creating, we take an unexpected turn into the world of sports to uncover a deeper truth about happiness, creativity, and meaning. From legendary rivalries like Michigan vs. Ohio State and Barcelona vs. Real Madrid to the rivalries we face in our personal and creative lives, we explore how opposition can become a catalyst for joy and growth—if we engage with it creatively.
You’ll discover how:
Rivalry is a form of co-creation — true competition means “to strive together,” not against.
Opposition adds meaning — it transforms effort into story, tension into growth.
Your intention shapes your happiness — are you creating excellence or chasing dominance?
Avoiding zero-sum thinking can turn life’s challenges into shared progress.
Creative tension fuels fulfillment when we focus on building, not beating.
Through the lens of sports, psychology, and creativity, this episode invites you to rethink rivalry as a training ground for purpose and joy. Because whether on the field, in the studio, or in daily life, the presence of opposition doesn’t block happiness—it builds it.
🎧 Listen now and learn how to turn rivalry, challenge, and resistance into creative energy—and lasting happiness.
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In this episode of Happiness Through Creating, we gently explore a question many of us hold close during the holiday season: Where did our joy go? Together, we dive into the song “Where Are You, Christmas?” a song that beautifully reflects the space between who we once were, who we’re becoming, and how our experience of happiness shifts along the way.
As we walk through some of the song’s lyrics, we unpack what they reveal about emotional well-being, identity, and the very real feeling of disconnection that can arise when life changes. We explore why happiness sometimes feels distant — not because it has disappeared, but because we have grown, and our joy is inviting us to grow with it.
We discuss what it means to rearrange our inner world during seasons of transition, how to reconnect with parts of ourselves that we may have buried under the weight of responsibility or grief, and why joy isn’t seasonal. It’s something we actively create through intention, love, compassion, and connection.
This episode is for anyone who feels like the holidays don’t look or feel the way they used to. For those whose traditions have shifted, whose circumstances have changed, or who simply feel out of sync this time of year. We share gentle, creative questions that can help rebuild meaning, rekindle connection, and rediscover the joy that may feel missing.
By the end, I hope you’ll feel what the song so powerfully teaches: joy isn’t something we wait for or chase down. It’s something we create, moment by moment, expression by expression — even in seasons of change.
Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1qXL1cEgi4
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In a world that told them “you don’t belong here,” they created anyway.
In this episode of Happiness Through Creating, we explore the untold power behind Hidden Figures—the true story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson: three brilliant Black women whose mathematical genius helped launch NASA into the space age.
But this episode isn’t just about history.
It’s about how they created—in quiet, in struggle, in resistance—and still found meaning, growth, and joy through their work.
You'll hear:
How character fueled their creativity in the face of racism and sexism
Why they didn’t wait for permission—they paved new paths
What it means to create value, even when no one is watching
And how joy doesn’t wait for recognition—it grows in resilience
This is a story for anyone who’s ever felt unseen, unheard, or underestimated. A reminder that your work matters—even if the spotlight hasn’t found you yet.
🎧 Listen now, and remember:
You don’t have to be visible to be valuable.
You just have to keep creating.
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In this heartfelt Thanksgiving special of Happiness Through Creating, I invite you to pause, breathe, and rediscover gratitude as a creative act. More than a reaction or tradition, gratitude is something we make—through awareness, attention, and intention.
We explore how Thanksgiving can become a ritual of creation: a time to shape meaning, connection, and joy through simple acts of thankfulness. You’ll learn how to transform gratitude from a fleeting feeling into a tangible practice that strengthens relationships, uplifts your mind, and brings calm to the season.
In this reflective episode, you’ll:
Discover why gratitude is an act of creation, not just a reaction.
Discover simple practices to cultivate daily joy through thankfulness.
Explore how to create connections around the table or beyond it.
Be guided through a quiet one-minute gratitude reflection you can do anywhere.
Whether you’re celebrating with loved ones or simply taking a quiet day to rest, this episode will help you create warmth, meaning, and happiness—on purpose.
🎧 Listen before Thanksgiving to fill your heart with intention and your holiday with gratitude.
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In this Thanksgiving-week episode, we delve into Ben Rector’s “The Thanksgiving Song” and uncover the deeper truth hidden within its lyrics: the moments we cherish aren’t accidental — we create them.
From familiar highways to the tenderness of family memories, we look at how intention shapes the warmth around our tables.
Together, we reflect on the question: “What am I trying to create?” and how it can transform every holiday moment.
Join me as we discover how to build connection, gratitude, and meaning from the inside out.
Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwaxNPY5nIY&t=173s
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On the night of November 21, 1944, deep in the Taiwan Strait, the USS Sealion faced overwhelming odds — a lone American submarine confronting a Japanese surface fleet. Outnumbered, outgunned, and operating in darkness, the Sealion’s crew turned danger into decision, and opposition into creation.
In this stirring episode of Happiness Through Creating, we revisit the only submarine attack in World War II to sink an enemy battleship — not to celebrate destruction, but to explore how creation can emerge from conflict. Through the lens of the Creator’s Paradigm, Brian reflects on how courage, discipline, and action under pressure transform both individuals and teams into creators of purpose and meaning.
You’ll discover how:
Opposition reveals opportunity — creativity is often born in uncertainty.
Action defines creation — decisive moments shape character.
Purpose renews the past — loss and struggle can become sources of new strength.
Happiness grows through mastery — fulfillment comes not from ease, but from creation under challenge.
The Sealion’s story is more than naval history — it’s a timeless reminder that even in life’s darkest straits, we can create light, meaning, and happiness through courageous action.
🎧 Listen now and learn how to face your own “fleet” of challenges — not by retreating, but by creating boldly through opposition.
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In this special November episode of Happiness Through Creating, we explore how the act of democracy itself is one of humanity’s greatest creations — and how opposition can become the forge that shapes both leaders and citizens.
Through the inspiring story of L. Douglas Wilder, the first elected African American governor in U.S. history, we reflect on how courage, vision, and persistence can transform resistance into renewal. From his roots in segregated Richmond to his groundbreaking 1989 victory in Virginia, Wilder’s journey reveals how character and creativity work hand in hand to build change.
You’ll discover how:
Opposition refines creation — every challenge is an invitation to grow.
Democracy is a creative act — each vote, voice, and act of leadership shapes our shared story.
Happiness comes through meaningful action — from personal growth to civic engagement.
As the nation pauses this season to give thanks and reflect, this episode invites you to see voting, leading, and creating as sacred forms of participation — ways to continue the work our Founders began.
🎧 Listen now and be reminded that happiness isn’t found in ease, but in the courageous act of creating change — because you are a creator.
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