Welcome to Bryan Cohen

author of

The Post College Guide to Happiness

Bryan Cohen here, guest poster and author, promoting my new book The Post-College Guide to Happiness for The Happiness Blog Tour.
I'm giving away free digital review copies of the book and doing a giveaway for paperback copies, audio copies and even a Kindle Fire! Read on and check out the info below the post. "To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him."
- Buddha

 Mental Strength Training
The sentiment expressed here by Buddha has since been confirmed by many studies and books. The most mentally disciplined people in the world, monks, have been tested and their brains have more activity in the sections connected to happiness and health. Does this mean you have to take a vow of silence and start wearing orange robes to be happy? No, because as with all areas of life, a little can go a long way. Studies have shown that genetics control about 50 percent of happiness. That means if you are predisposed to negativity, it's because the majority stakeholder of your joy is a big grump. To become happier you need to discipline your mind to fight back against genetics. People tend to become just like their fathers and mothers (in good ways and bad) because they let themselves. It's hard work to fight against your genes because it's like going against the current. Those who are the happiest and most successful, however, are the ones who build on their strengths and fight against their weaknesses. The first way to wage this disciplined war is to practice thinking. Open a word processor document or get out a sheet of paper and brainstorm about your life. I love brainstorming about ways to improve my health, increase my income and to enhance my peace. You should brainstorm about whatever is important to you. Thinking creatively allows you to begin to figure out ways to go beyond your DNA to break up your routine and push forward in your life. Secondly, it's important to improve your emotional intelligence. If the same incidents make you mad or upset over and over again, you need to train yourself to have a different reaction. Do you think that a monk gets bent out of shape when he gets stuck in traffic or gets yelled at during work? Nope. He's cool as a cucumber because he trained himself to be calm in the face of adversity. Enhance your calm by practicing deep breathing techniques, gratitude about the good you have going for you and using logic instead of emotion. Lastly, discipline yourself with positive and forward thinking goals. The happiest and most successful people have things to strive for and positively anticipate. Write down goals in all areas of your life to go along with your thinking and emotional intelligence to create the mental discipline you need for fulfillment.

 -- Bryan Cohen is giving away 61 paperback and audio copies of The Post-College Guide to Happiness and a Kindle Fire between now and May 7th, 2012 on The Happiness Blog Tour. All entrants receive a free digital review copy of The Post-College Guide to Happiness. Bryan hopes to give away at least 1,000 copies during the blog tour. To enter, post a comment with your e-mail address or send an e-mail to postcollegehappiness (at) gmail.com. Bryan will draw the names at the end of the tour. Entries will be counted through Sunday, May 6th. Bryan Cohen is a writer, actor and comedian from Dresher, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 with degrees in English and Dramatic Art and a minor in Creative Writing. He has written nine books including 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More, 500 Writing Prompts for Kids: First Grade through Fifth Grade, Writer on the Side: How to Write Your Book Around Your 9 to 5 Job and his new book, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More. His website Build Creative Writing Ideas helps over 25,000 visitors a month to push past writer's block and stay motivated. Feel free to follow along with the tour at The Happiness Blog Tour Hub Page or on the book's Facebook Page.