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The Science of Igniting and Sustaining

Positive Change

BROADCASTING

HAPPINESS

MICHEL L E G IEL A N

BenBella Books, Inc. Dallas, TX

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INTRODUCTION

I knew something was wrong, but I was on a meteoric rise.

In the midst of going from anchoring a local news broadcast

in El Paso, Texas, to hosting two national news programs at CBS

News in New York, I saw something while reporting on the south

side of Chicago that would eventually change my lifes story.

It was the sixth funeral Id covered in as many months. But

this one was different. It was a funeral for a child: A ten-year-old

girl had been shot by a stray bullet from gang gunfire at her own

birthday party.

As a news reporter, I knew the formula to use to tell the

story. I had told this story countless times before. It was a sensa-

tional one of random violence, full of raw emotion from family

members, which would leave viewers shocked and fearful that

this could happen to their loved ones too. And just like many

viewers, I didnt know if I should feel numb to the violence or

terrified at every moment that life could randomly and irrevo-

cably be destroyed.

I was tired of it. As I sat in that church in Englewood, one of

the roughest neighborhoods of Chicago, I was surrounded by a

black congregation that was tired too. Yet amidst the emotional

exhaustion there were stories of hope, and those stories changed

the trajectory of my life.

As I listened to the preacher and watched the violence-ravaged

congregation surround the grieving mother and sway together to

songs of prayer, I realized that the story we often told on the

newsa sensational tale of yet one more act of gang violence

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

stealing our kids from uswas only one of the possible stories

we could choose to tell. It was one that paralyzed the community

instead of rallying everyone together for action. I thought, what

would the ripple effect be if we were to focus on the other possi-

ble stories unfolding that day?

We could tell the story of a mom surrounded by a loving

community that supported her in a time of great challenge.

We could talk about how, despite this tragic act of violence,

according to the stats, Englewood was slowly becoming a better

place to live, thanks to specific coordinated efforts by the police,

community leaders, and local residents.

Instead of focusing solely on the pain and desperation, the

story could also highlight the hope, optimism, and resilience of

this community. These were all equally true facts.

It was clear to me that there was a better way for us to tell sto-

ries, but I had my sights set on a national news position in New

York. It was a job I landed two years laterright as the economy

collapsed. From my anchor desk at CBS News, I covered the

greatest economic downturn in the United States since the Great

Depression. We told heart-wrenching stories of the destruction

of peoples lives as they lost their homes, jobs, and retirement

savings. And the sad stories didnt end with the economy. The

lights hanging above a multimillion-dollar studio shone down

on me as I described in detail how five million barrels of oil dev-

astated the Gulf of Mexico and its surrounding communities.

On July 17, 2010, I left.

It was not because we were telling negative stories or because

of the long hours and early mornings. And it wasnt lost on me

what I would be giving upbroadcasting to millions of people

every time that red light went on over the camera.

I left because I had seen another light. This book is about

that story.

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

Throughout this book, youll see what I saw over the course

of the five years that followed my leaving CBS. Youll see how

people can change the trajectory of their families, companies, and

communities when they change the stories they communicate.

How a single leader at a massive national insurance company

changed the way his team thought about its work and tripled rev-

enues. How a news series focused on fostering happiness during

the recession, which didnt mention a single negative story, got

the highest viewer response of the year. How a pair of estranged

brothers, each facing the threat of losing his home, reunited to

live together. How managers at a certain company trained their

brains to experience 23 percent fewer negative effects of high

stress. How a school district raised its graduation rate from 44 to

89 percent in a few short yearsand how its not done improving

yet. How a two-minute habit can change someone from being a

lifelong pessimist into an optimist. How shifting their mindset

about getting older can scientifically alter the aging process for

a group of seventy-five-year-old men. How a forward-thinking

media mogul is using positive research to transform news cov-

erage. And how you can use all of the incredible research from

positive psychology and the phenomenal stories in this book to

better your life.

I didnt stop being a broadcaster when I left CBS. I learned

that we are all broadcasters, and by changing the stories we

transmit, we can create positive change.

We do it by broadcasting happiness.

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THE VALUE OF BROADCASTING HAPPINESS

I am a happiness researcher. But I didnt start out that way.

In fact, I am a computer engineer with a specialty in elec-

trical engineering and systems architecturewho just wanted

to be on TV.

My dream was to become a network news anchor broadcast-

ing from New York City. The reality is that you dont start your

career in New York. You start anywhere theyll take you.

Realizing that, I sent one-hundred fifty tapes to news stations

around the country. I got one call.

Bienvenidos El Paso! I heard on the other end of the line, and

I packed my bags for Texas. I worked such an awesome schedule

there; it led me to ponder some deep philosophical questions,

including: If you start your newscast at 3 a.m., do you begin with

Buenas noches or Buenos das?

I would like to say that my rise to media prominence was

due to my hard-hitting investigative stories in El Paso. But that

would not quite be accurate. Some of my top stories included

Bed Bugs Invading Your Mattress, Skin-Eating Fish DO

Make for a Better Pedicure, and there was, of course, my biting

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B R O A C A S T I N G H A P P I N E S S

interview with the Dalai LlamaI mean, Dolly the Llama.

Yes, that interview went down at a petting zoo.

But because of some luck and determination, a year later I

found myself in Chicago, covering city hall, and doing an inves-

tigative series on alleged police brutality. Because of that work,

a short time after that I was sitting in the anchor chair at CBS

News in New York City.

I was over the moon and thankful every morning for what I

knew was a one-in-a-million dream job. CBS News is an incred-

ible place to work to effect large-scale change. I anchored two

early morning news programs and did reports for The Early

Showmore recently named CBS This Morning with Charlie

Rose and Oprahs best friend, Gayle King. My office was down

the hall from Andy Rooney. Katie Couric would often stop by

the studio. I met and interviewed newsmakers, politicians, and

celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Donald Trump, and Deepak

Chopra. For most of the time I was at CBS News, I was given

more airtime than any other anchor or reporter. And every time

the red light went on over the camera, I was broadcasting to mil-

lions of people. I was one grateful former computer programmer.

But within weeks of getting to that anchor desk, the econ-

omy tanked. All of a sudden the news cycle became overtaken

with heart-wrenching economic stories in addition to the usual

reports of murder, death, and destruction. Morning after morn-

ing we watched as families lost their homes during the recession

and ended up on the streets. We heard about single mothers-

of-three who couldnt keep their jobs and were sinking deeper

and deeper into debt. About couples in their seventies whose

retirement accounts had been decimated and who were fall-

ing behind on paying their basic medical bills. Over and over,

our mornings began with helplessness and hopelessness. It was

painful to watch, especially from a dark news studio, on repeat