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“Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.” -Aeschylus

Whenever I go back and re-listen to one of my podcast interviews, I always discover elements of the conversation I didn’t recall. Upon revisiting this 2025 conversation with best-selling author Gretchen Rubin, I of course remembered that she is a warrior for happiness and the practices that help her huge readership attain it. But listening again, I was struck by how cool Gretchen is. Not “cool” in a biker-jacket / beat poetry / clove cigarette way, but in the “I know who I am, what I’m committed to, and how I can add value to the world” way. I don’t claim to know Gretchen, but it seems logical to me that this self-awareness is a by-product of the kind of work she evangelizes. And it is work. As Aeschylus advised in the quote above, happiness is always there if we choose it, but only if—in the hard times—we are willing to get off the couch or smile through the pain. In times like these, Gretchen’s writing can help us find a path through the noise and, as she describes it, “identify ways we can take happiness from the transcendent to the concrete.” A great way to start that process is to listen (or re-listen) to this episode and take her happiness quiz here. You can also find many more applicable insights on Gretchen’s Substack, Secrets of Adulthood. Remember, happiness is growth—keep growing!

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Come see me (Paul) tell jokes (or give a talk), in person:

* June 4 - Atlanta Athletic Club

* June 5 and 6 - Laughing Skull Lounge, Atlanta

*June 12 - Wade Hampton Golf Club, Cashiers, NC

* June 19 and 20 - The Comedy Catch, Chattanooga

* June 25 - Happy Couples Show, West Side Comedy Club, NYC

* July 21 - The Venice West, Los Angeles (on sale soon)

* July 23 - Cobbs Comedy Club, San Francisco

* Aug 1 - Sticks and Stones Comedy Club, Southampton, NY

* Aug 8 - Atlanta Country Club

* Aug 13-16 - McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, Sarasota, FL

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