First, there was a book…
In 2010, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s first book, Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose blasted to the top of bestseller lists with its blend of business advice, tales of worm farms, raves, multi-million dollar deals and – above all – the belief that happiness can be used as a model both in business, and in life.And WOW… did people respond! From Seoul to Lithuania, Sacramento to Sao Paulo, we heard an outpour of positivity from people inspired to make a change – big or small – towards happiness. So much to the point we couldn’t help but believe that happiness is on the tipping point of world domination.
Then there was a bus tour…
A few months after the book launch, the team drove a big blue bus cross-country to talk to folks inspired by Delivering Happiness and hear firsthand how people were making happiness a priority in their own lives. Watching this community of enthusiastic happiness-seekers come together, we knew we had to figure out a way to collect that energy and so the happiness could keep flowing.
Now, the Movement…
That’s why we’re now a company, a company with a cause – to grow a movement that spreads and inspires more happiness in the world!
Why does it matter?
It’s a universal belief most people just want to be happy in their lives. Yet the research shows we’re really bad at predicting the things that actually make us happy. (How’s that for Irony-with-a-capital-I?)Backed by studies being done within the science of happiness and positive psychology, we’ve learned that there are actually tangible ways to augment the happiness in our lives.And that’s where Delivering Happiness comes in. We exist to help people, organizations, and businesses apply the different frameworks of happiness to their lives.
What do we want to do about it?
We’ve got a higher purpose, and it’s a pretty big one. But big changes can’t happen without a big vision behind it. Ours is:
- To inspire (and be inspired!)
- Connect like-minded people to a community
- Educate and empower people to create more happiness, and
- Create meaningful experiences in our lives.
The DH Movement grows with every happy person that joins our community. And with all of us working towards the greater goal, together we’re nudging the world towards passion, purpose and a happier place.
How are we doing it?
How exactly is Delivering Happiness creating all this happiness?
- Community. Whether it’s online on DeliveringHappiness.com, Facebook or Twitter, or offline at our DH Town Halls and community events, we’re bringing people together. And these aren’t your ordinary folks – these are VHPs (Very Happy Persons) inspiring individuals that have made the commitment to make this world a happier place.
- DH@work. With so many people asking us how they can start making changes, we’ve spun off a team called DH@work to coach on ways the same frameworks of happiness applied at Zappos can be applied to any workplace.
- DH Shop. Get the happiest gear known to humankind here – inspirational goods to keep our community as happy as they can be. All profits from the DH Shop will be used to keep fueling DH as a company and therefore, keep the DH Movement growing!
- DH@school. Growth and learning are big components in the happiness equation, so we’re doing all we can to support it. By partnering with our friends in education, we’re developing programs like PhD – Pursuit of Happiness Day – when teachers set aside one day every year to talk about the science of happiness and how students can apply it to their lives.
- content@DH. Knowledge is king and queen at DH, which is why we like to share it all we can – videos, articles and stories of real people creating happiness in their own ways. The saying is true: happiness is contagious, and we like to spread it as much as we can.
It’s just the beginning.
So much has happened in quick-time fashion, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store. Every day, we’re putting together the pieces it’ll take to grow a global movement to spread and inspire happiness. And to think, it’s just beginning!
© Zappos, LTD
