How to be happy (in my humble opinion)

This morning, I woke up with a strong urge to share some thoughts that have been brewing inside me for a while. As a 62-year-old man who’s seen his fair share of life’s ups and downs, triumphs and challenges, I felt compelled to write down what I believe is essential for finding happiness. Or perhaps a better word is ‘contentedness’—the state of being satisfied and not needing or wanting anything more. Although closely related to happiness, contentedness captures the essence of feeling at peace with oneself and life.

So, here I am, sharing my humble opinion on how to be happy. These reflections come straight from the heart, unfiltered by research or external influences. It’s simply my perspective, shaped by decades of personal experience and introspection.

First, let me share a bit about my journey, but only what’s relevant to the decisions I’ve made and how I’ve ended up where I am today. From a young age, I was often told I had a knack for writing. I loved crafting stories and pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in English literature, which I thoroughly enjoyed—studying was synonymous with reading great books. The plan was always to do my own writing. I wasn’t always sure what form this writing would take but I was drawn to either screenplays or children’s adventure stories. I started a lot of projects but finished very few. By now the realities of an everyday adult life were setting in––the need to earn a living was taking over. I found myself working as a copywriter in the advertising industry, which is where I met my wife, Lara, who was a graphic designer at the same agency.

For many years, I wrote ads and developed campaigns for everything from shoe companies to airlines. Anyone who has worked in an ad agency knows it’s a very social environment, full of parties and events—my twenties and thirties flew by in a bit of a blur. I kept telling myself, “This is just my day job. Soon, I’ll write my masterpiece and do the work that I’m destined to do.”

Lara and I left the agency and started our own small graphic design company called Blue Apple. We decided it wouldn’t focus on things like selling shoes and airlines; instead, we aimed to undertake more meaningful work in the world. We even coined the term “Projects with Purpose.” Over the next few decades, we worked with many amazing clients, including World Vision International, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Save the Children. While fulfilling to a degree, the work could also be quite dry—lots of annual reports and academic briefs. But writing remained my passion and the nagging thought persisted: “I am going to write my own stuff and then I’ll be happy and fulfilled.”

Maybe you’re thinking that this journey ends when I eventually started writing my own stuff which brought me happiness and fulfillment. After all, if you pursue your passion, you find happiness, right? Well, yes to a degree. Doing what you’re passionate about is important, but as I was to discover, it’s only part of the story. I ended up writing and self-publishing a children’s time-travel adventure. It was well-received––I spoke at schools (which I enjoyed) and the book sold a few thousand copies. But something was still missing. Where was this elusive happiness? “I need bigger success!” I told myself.

During this period, I also found myself pondering life’s big questions: “What’s it all about?” “Why are we here?” “What’s the point of it all?” These thoughts can lead to dark places. Unfortunately, I’ve lost a few friends (SH and IS, I’m thinking of you!) who felt they had reached a dead end and saw no reason to continue. These wonderful guys, who I knew from my school days, ended up taking their own lives, although I should add that health issues (physical and mental) also played a part.

Thankfully, I’ve never felt like I’ve reached a dead end, although I’ve certainly navigated a few dark alleyways! It was during some of these darker moments that I made a discovery: I could lift my mood by being in nature. I’ve always loved riding my mountain bike in the beautiful forests that we are fortunate to have around us. Even when I head off on a ride under a dark cloud, I always feel much happier when I return. The combination of exercise and nature seems to do it for me. And when I ride with my son, it’s even better. Here are a few photos, taken seven years apart.

Okay, so let me cut to the chase. The fact that being in nature makes me happier has obviously made me appreciate nature more. Then one day I was on a ride when I came around a corner on a trail I knew well, only to discover that the forest had literally been mowed down. It was gone––nothing but broken stumps and deep tread marks left by the heavy trucks. What followed were thoughts like “we have to look after what we’ve got” and “how can we be doing this to our planet?!”

And so my thoughts began to crystallise. It was like I had been exploring various winding forest paths, only to discover that they all eventually lead back to a main trail. And, as soon as I was on this main trail, I knew it was the right one. I knew I had found my purpose in life. I needed to try and make a difference––however small, I needed to try.

Suddenly, from this new viewpoint, everything looked different. When I thought about my writing, I knew I had to rewrite my time-travel adventure, but now my young heroes were going to have to embark on an epic journey to try and save the world from environmental catastrophe. And so my Rogue Travellers series was born. I have now written two books, with number 3 almost complete and I’d say another three on the way. My priority has been to make them fun, fast-moving adventures that children will love, but I also hope the readers will be motivated by the story. By showing them how bad things could get in the future, they will hopefully be spurred on to take some kind of action.

Rogue Travellers: Books 1 and 2

When passion joins with purpose amazing things can happen! Passion is the spark but purpose is what keeps the engine running. Today, I can honestly say that writing these books is literally what gets me out of bed in the morning.

And it’s not just my writing that has been affected––far from it. Another example is the Love Our Planet images that we have been creating for posters and calendars. It’s great to create pretty pictures, but when they have a purpose behind them (like showing the connection between humans and animals), I think they are taken to a different level. We have plans to create plenty more images that both stimulate and educate.

An example of one of our Love Our Planet posters.

I am so lucky that Lara feels the same way as I do about these issues. This has made her a dynamic force in the creation of many beautiful designs and products, including beautiful greeting cards (and other items) have been created with the express purpose of spreading some love around the world ––love for our planet and love for each other.

We design all sorts of cards filled with love to brighten up someone’s day and show them you care. We have plenty more ideas for loads of other products. So please keep checking back because we will be adding new products all the time.

Going beyond our creative projects, the next logical step was to look for other ways that we could make a difference. And, of course, the more you look around, the more you realise that there are so many things that need fixing––so many ways to make a difference––and so many things we can do to live a healthier more sustainable life. Thankfully, there are alternatives as more people are discovering. We need to do everything we can to look after our planet, our wildlife, our wild spaces, our water and food supplies, our oceans, our health.

Our passion for creativity has joined with a purpose that we think is important, and this has led to the birth of Green Apple. It is a recipe that has brought happiness (or at the very least contentedness) into our lives. Everyone will have their own journey––their own talents, loves, motivations––whatever “floats your boat”. This could be cooking, gardening, coaching, anything, but whatever it is I believe the same principle applies. Harness your passion and use it to strive towards some sort of purpose. The passion will launch you and the purpose will keep you going––hopefully with a smile on your face!

Whatever path you are on, I wish you the very best. Thanks for taking the time to read this.