Gretchen Rubin- The Happiness Project Revisited: The Social Engagement Journey

Reach Personal Branding Interview Series podcast

Happiness is a universal aspiration and yet can be so difficult to attain. For this episode, The Reach Personal Branding Interview Series is bringing back guest expert Gretchen Rubin, author of The New York Times #1 bestseller The Happiness Project, who was previously interviewed in September 2008. Gretchen will discuss her literary and personal journey creating the project and the book.

In fact, The Happiness Project is more than a book and a blog, it’s a movement. Happiness Project groups have sprung up from San Francisco to Johannesburg, where people meet to discuss their own happiness projects. Dozens of blogs have been launched by people following Gretchen’s example; hundreds of book groups have discussed the book; and rights for more than 31 foreign editions have been sold.

Ms. Rubin was first interviewed by William Arruda, founder of Reach Personal Branding, before The Happiness Project was published. We have asked Ms. Rubin to follow-up with what she learned about happiness, social engagement, and her personal brand in the process of writing the book.

In this interview, which will be recorded, you will learn:

• Why The Happiness Project was both a book and a blog, • What it takes to blog consistently and authentically on brand, • How to handle criticism and negative comments online, • Which tools can be most effective for social engagement, • What practical, every-day activities can generate happiness, • How online visibility can impact your personal brand, and • How to balance online and offline social engagement.

Bio: Gretchen Rubin is the author of The New York Times #1 bestseller and international bestseller, The Happiness Project. It is an account of the year she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons from popular culture about how to be happier.

On her popular blog, The Happiness Project, she reports on her daily adventures in the pursuit of happiness. An enthusiastic proponent of using technology to engage with readers about ideas, Gretchen has a wide, active following on Twitter, Facebook, and her monthly newsletter.

A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School, Rubin started her career in law, and she was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she really wanted to be a writer. Her bestselling Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill and Forty Ways to Look at JFK are succinct, provocative biographies. Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide is biting social criticism in the form of a user’s manual.

Raised in Kansas City, she lives in New York City with her husband and two young daughters.

For more information about Gretchen, visit: http://www.gretchenrubin.com/