Sima is excited to have Andrew Cannon and Debby Schlesinger-Hellman, the Co-founders of the Art and Science of Joy and EQJOY, joining her today!

Andrew and Debby are on a mission to empower people and inspire them to live more joyful lives! They use the art and science of joy to help individuals and companies elevate their personal and business success. In this episode, they talk about what joy is, what they are doing, and what inspired them to do it.

Andrew’s inspiration

Andrew’s inspiration for what he does comes from his journey to find purpose in life. He loved his career in the market research industry but needed to do more. His struggles led him to realize that he needed joy in his life. He also needed to use his talents and connections to bring joy to others.

Debby’s inspiration

We are all born with a certain percentage of joy in our DNA. Debby was fortunate to be born with lots of it. However, a few decades ago, due to circumstances, she started feeling less of it. About five years ago, she felt the need to build more joy for herself and realized she could help others do the same. She and Andrew are both research-minded, so they began talking about how they could use the art and science of joy to make the world a better and more successful place for individuals and businesses.

An alternative reality

Andrew started doing a podcast and spoke to experts on topics like gratitude, empathy, nutrition, crisis, family life, and what they did to help themselves. Talking to those people helped him find an alternative reality that was a much better space!

Elevating people

Andrew and Debby elevate people, give them a voice, and offer them joy through their connection to the research industry and the people within it.

A powerful industry

The research industry is powerful! Each year, about 30 million people get touched through research in the US alone!

The Year of Joy

The Year of Joy is about making 2023 a joyful year of not getting pulled into life's challenges and focusing more on the good things we can do for ourselves and others. It is not about ignoring the challenges but accepting them for what they are and understanding that they are external and beyond our control.

The doors to the Year of Joy online community will open on the 17th of January, 2023, and millions of people will be invited to join.

EQJOY

Joy is about being able to manage our emotions and feelings. It starts with the children, so Andrew developed a game to teach young children (and their parents, caregivers, or teachers) emotional intelligence. Then he and Debby decided to give it away by making it a non-profit.

Goals

Their goal for EQJOY is for the next generation of parents to instill emotional intelligence in their children and ultimately make the world more joyful within the next three to four generations. Another goal is to give the game to every child in the first grade worldwide.

Joy

It takes time and effort to build joy. Self-love is a fundamental requirement.

Although joy differs for everyone, research has shown that everyone has four building blocks of joy in common:

Sense of well-beingSense of belongingHaving a positive impact on othersHaving fun in life

Everyone needs a sense of well-being and the ability to love themselves. However, many individuals struggle to achieve that alone. That is why a sense of community is vital to inspire people looking to improve their well-being.

The most joyful people are those who positively impact people, the planet, or both.

Making a difference

Debby and Andrew hope to make a difference by allowing others to make a difference and giving people access to things that will help them become kind humans.

Pain

Everyone experiences pain in life. However, we can manage that pain, get pat it, and ultimately choose whether or not we suffer.

CEOs

Some CEOs get Andrew and Debby’s message and understand that joy is a powerful tool for engagement, while some do not.