Build the Life You Want

Arthur C. Brooks is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses on happiness. He is the creator of the popular How to Build a Life column at The Atlantic, an acclaimed public speaker, and the author of bestselling books, including From Strength to Strength and Love Your Enemies.

As a global media leader and communications pioneer, Oprah Winfrey has built unparalleled connections with people around the world. Through The Oprah Winfrey Show, she entertained, enlightened, and uplifted millions of viewers for twenty-five years. Her accomplishments as a philanthropist and her commitment to books, reading and education have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures today.

You can get happier. And getting there will be the adventure of a lifetime.

When times are good, this is easy to believe. But sometimes life s hardships can feel like impossible barriers, making happiness seem out of reach. In these times, the only way to get happier is to wait and hope things get better. Right?

Wrong.

In Build the Life You Want, Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey invite you to begin a journey toward greater happiness, no matter how challenging your circumstances. Combining their decades of experience studying happiness from every angle, they show you how to improve your life right now instead of waiting for the outside world to change. This is not another book with unrealistic promises of perfect bliss. It is a research-based work plan that meets you wherever you are and shows you how to make greater happiness a choice.

You will learn how to:
Manage your emotions so they no longer control your outlook and behavior
Turn life s inevitable difficulties and challenges into opportunities for growth
Strengthen your family ties by managing your expectations and building trust
Create and preserve deep and lasting friendships at any age
Develop an approach to work that fits your life and brings satisfaction
Find your inner peace with a spiritual practice

Build the Life You Want introduces you to the cutting-edge science that can change your life, in understandable terms and with actionable strategies. Along the way, Arthur and Oprah share hard-earned wisdom from their own lives and careers, as well as the witness of regular people whose lives are joyful despite setbacks and hardship, including that of a professor who spent the last months of his life getting happier even while suffering from a terminal illness, and insights from a woman whose most fulfilling years came after a failed marriage and a career reset at forty-five. In every page, your happiness skills will grow, and you will learn amazing information you can t wait to share with others.

Using the tools of emotional self-management, you can take control of your well-being, rather than hoping and waiting for your circumstances to improve. Build the Life You Want is your blueprint for a better life.