Paul Krismer directly addresses camera: Who doesn't want to be happy. We've long been told that happiness is a quality we all want. But what really makes people flourish? Well, I'm Paul Krismer and I'm the founder of a business called Happiness Means Business. Let's take 5 minutes right now to talk about the power of positive emotions.

      There's lots of psychological research that shows that just what exactly makes people happy and flourish and do well. The research notes that the presence of positive emotions leads to more success in life and that we're at our best when we feel good.

      That probably seems intuitive, an obvious. But science backs it up. When we're happy, we have better relationships, including those with buyers and sellers. The idea is that if we can learn positive emotion skills, then we get stronger in terms of our foundation in the world.

      Well, in real estate, customers come to you for your expert skills. And a huge component of that relationship is based on what we call emotional contagion. And for the most part, we ignore it, we ignore emotions as a formal subject of business.

      Instead, we talk about rationality and evidence. Just think about your listing presentation and the way you want to help a seller price the property correctly. Well, if we're a little bit more vulnerable, if are better able to connect.

      If I bring an air of confidence, cheerfulness and general positivity, my customers are going to share that emotion and they share it quickly. And if my emotions are really sincere, they feel my emotions. So how exactly do you do that?

      First, you must be grounded. 99.5% of our fears come from thinking and worrying about something we either have no control of or it's in the future, it's in the past, or it's never going to happen. So when we become aware of that negative thought, the question becomes, how can I ground myself for what's happening right now?

      And almost always, we can find things to be grateful in this moment. Look to what's going well in your life and focus on that. Gratitude is the key. Here's an activity that I recommend you do each day. The science backs it up 100%. Every single day, sit down, write three things that went well in the past 24 hours. We can hardwire our brains to look for the things that went well each day, and that becomes the habit rather than focusing on threats or what went wrong.

      Secondly, get involved in the community. There's lots of evidence that altruistic behavior makes us feel good. So if I'm generous with you today, you'll probably be generous with my friend the next day. And we don't live in a transactional way.

      We're just doing the right thing all the time. This leads me to my next point. If you want to be a leader, the most pro-social behaviors are always going to win. Real estate is a competitive industry. However, the people who are most willing to collaborate and share their ideas are the ones we do we defer to in leadership roles. We voluntarily give away power, including in sales relationships. So if you're nice, sincere, genuine people will give you power. And this may sound simplistic, but also get out in nature. That doesn't mean you have to walk through the woods every day, but people confined to a car, house or office can benefit from getting outside each day, even for just 30 minutes. So in between appointments, park your car under a giant oak tree or eat lunch at your local park. It's scientifically proven that being outside has a beneficial impact on your emotions. The wonderful truth is that happiness is a learned skill.

      It can be practiced and you can switch your mindset from negative to positive. And the simple, beautiful thing is it doesn't take much more than choosing to help others.