Daniel Lerner, inspirational speaker and teacher at NYU, discusses how publishers can invigorate their work with passion and find happiness by serving themselves in a way that serves others

Following his enthusiastically received keynote at IBPA’s Publishing University 2018, Daniel agreed to this interview to further reflect on what makes people happy. So many accomplished people—doctors, lawyers, even publishers– are stressed out, despite making lots of money and leading a “comfortable” life. What are they missing or not understanding?

There’s no easy answer to human satisfaction. But there are some things we can all do that can alleviate our stress levels and connect us better to what we’re doing and to other people. We need to relax, for one thing. To not obsess so much over our jobs. To find additional outlets for our energies. And above all, we need to work in areas that both satisfy us and enable us to serve others, whether it’s making time for our family or our larger communities.

Humans are not so distant from a time when our prime motives were strong emotions like fear, disgust, and anger. These were essential to our survival. But our world is safer now, and we have to work hard to evolve to the next stage, to discover that friendships with others are more than just safety in numbers but enormously satisfying to our own sense of well-being.

Publishers, this is a great message to reflect upon. Are you working with passion? Does your work serve the world?

To learn more about Daniel Lerner, go to http://daniellerner.com/.

Participants

Daniel Lerner is the author of U Thrive: How to Succeed in College (and Life). He is a clinical instructor at NYU, and he serves on the instructional staff at the University of Pennsylvania.

Transformative, forward-thinking and always striving to help others realize their full potential, Dan Lerner has become known for his exploration of how positive psychology can affect the pursuit of world-class development, particularly how to leverage the advantage that a healthy psychological state can bring to performance excellence both at work and at home.

Employing cutting-edge research into positive psychology and peak performance, Dan works with students, established and high-potential performing artists, athletes and numerous Fortune 500 companies and executives around the world helping them manage stress and anxiety, achieve well-being, uncover their core strengths and define and realize their own brand of success.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.