Using Humor to Maximize Living affirms, sustains, and encourages people in the practice of humor, not only as a personal tool to optimize a healthy life style, but also to maximize the benefits of humor in everyday life. Check out the research that includes a review on the use...

Humor gets very little respect! While references to the importance of having a sense of humor are liberally sprinkled throughout the popular media, and it is usually mentioned as one of the qualities of effective employees, it is rare to find purposeful humor practice. Humor is without a doubt the one quality that most of us agree is needed in life. However, it is rare to find serious applications on the benefits of applying humor in everyday life and in our world of work. When the federal government tried to incorporate humor into a staff development program of a federal agency, there was an outcry. It seems that humor was thought to be a waste of taxpayer money, and the program was axed. The purpose of Using Humor to Maximize Living is to affirm, sustain, and encourage people in the practice of humor not only as a personal tool to optimize a healthy life style, but also to maximize the benefits of humor in everyday life. Check out the research that includes a review on the use of humor to nurture creativity, to increase the capacity for memory retention, to support an optimal work environment, and to build safe communities that reflect the relational trust necessary for maximizing living.

The motto of this book is smarter through laughter. If you can laugh about it, you can probably change it. The authors use a heavy dose of humor (the laughing side), and a healthy measure of science (the learning side) to help you improve yourself, your relationships, and your surroundings. The book introduces the “I CAN model,” which stands for Interactions, Context, Awareness, and Next steps. Interactions are powerful determinants of health and happiness. There are two skills that can make our interactions healthier: the ability to connect and the capacity to communicate. Context is also a powerful but often neglected driver of change. The contexts of our lives consist of people, places, and things. To leverage context to our advantage we need to master the art of reading cues and changing cues in the environment. Awareness is the next driver of change. Regardless of where you are in the process of change, there is always a next step to strengthen your change, maintain your gains, and keep thriving. To do that, you need to make a plan, and you need to make it stick. The book will teach you how to use these drivers of change to flourish and thrive.

Create Lifelong Memories through the Power of Play. Explore the six stages of humor development that provide the research-based foundation for this play-filled book. Author Mary Kay Morrison investigates how humor and laughter build positive relationships, contribute to longevity, and support mental and physical health. Learn how to play The Game of Humor for a joy-flow lifetime.

"Humor increases persuasion's effectiveness." - Dr. Jim Lyttle I am comedian/author/dudeman Marshall Chiles and I will show you step-by-step proven methodologies to help add humor to your business presentations in order to increase your persuasion, maximize your impact, and be one of the cool kids. "I used your recommendations and absolutely crushed my sales presentation at the conference. Was told I was a stand out speaker and was really able to get the crowd engaged with some humor. You the man!" - Ryan Hughes, 360 Rick Partners After 16 years as a comedian and comedy entrepreneur, I have taken my knowledge of comedy and business to write this book. YPIJ initially was as an introductory course for new comedians, then I adapted it for business presenters as a speech. Over the last three years, I have been able to fine-tune the lessons that easily help people be funnier on stage. What really reenforced my belief in what I have to offer happened in 2015 when the presentation form of YPIJ won an award from YPO (Young Presidents' Organization www.ypo.org). YPO is one of the most elite executive groups on the planet, and they not only hired me, but honored Your Presentation is a Joke as award worthy which helped me finally feel acceptance. If you have a business presentation, then you want to stand out, make people pay more attention and give you their money. I submit humor is the way to reach those goals. In this book you will learn proven techniques from adding funny images, to finding the funny in (almost) any subject, to writing self-deprecating jokes, and more. So whether you're a seasoned public speaker, a new speaker, or you just think I'm pretty and want to give me money, you should get Your Presentation is a Joke.

During these uncertain times, what people need most is a good laugh. Imagine what would happen if you understood there is an untapped force, contained within you, that has the power to totally change your life. And what if you discovered all you had to do in order to unlock this secret is simply to start using it? So it is with humor.The Sense of Humor is designed to demonstrate the sense that humor can make in the life of anyone who is willing to use it.Humor will deliver direct health benefits to the user. Outside of this primary benefit, humor will touch the lives of everyone around the user in positive ways for relationships, families, education, at work, in ministries, and so much more.The Sense of Humor cuts across social, economic, ethnic, and educational barriers. Music had been said to be a universal language. So, too, is laughter

Drawing on the authors’ diverse backgrounds and expertise, this is the first academic volume dedicated to the rarely discussed topic of laughter and humour in positive psychology.