HITS

Shari Alyse, a TEDx and inspirational speaker and best-selling author (“Love Yourself Happy”), arrived at the March 10 Smart Content Summit feeling a bit of pressure to deliver when she got on stage for the closing Women in Technology Hollywood (WiTH) keynote of the day.

“When you’re speaking at an event that says ‘intelligent content,’ you feel like you need to up your game,” she laughed, kicking off her presentation “Unleash Your Joy! 5 Ingredients to Living a Joy-Fueled Life.” “You all know what smart content is, but when I was told I was going to be speaking on a ‘smart’ stage, I remember thinking ‘I don’t know if they have the right person.’”

Her presentation — “Unleash Your Joy! 5 Ingredients to Living a Joy-Fueled Life” — offered up Alyse’s answer to the ways you can make yourself happier in day-to-day life.

Attendees heard not only what her personal secret to happiness were, but also her key ingredients needed to meet life’s uncertain moments with unwavering joy.

“It isn’t the latest tech gadget, the new car, money, the standing house,” she said. “Joy isn’t waiting for a vacation, or that new corner office, or cryptocurrency to increase.” No matter what may be going on in life, everyone can access joy, Alyse said. It’s just a matter of finding the right way to coax it out. And understanding there’s a difference between happiness and joy.

“Happiness usually comes with an external catalyst,” she said. “Joy can be felt by leaning in. Joy is experienced in the reconnection of something or someone important. So why do we have such a hard time leaning into joy? Because we have such a hard time leaning into ourselves.”

That’s her first key ingredient, is connecting with ourselves, finding time to spend within, and shutting out all the outside pressures. That means slowing down and asking yourself how you’re feeling. “Joy is the experience of being fully connected to yourself,” she said.

People who are joyful are also able to be kind to themselves, are mostly in a state of gratitude in their thoughts, placing yourself ahead of most other concerns daily, and acceptance of your feelings and current state, all contribute to finding your joy, she said.

“There’s always something to be inspired and ignited by,” Alyse said. “You just have to go out of the way to find it.”

The 2022 Smart Content Summit event will be held in conjunction with the EIDR Annual Participant Meeting (EIDR APM).

Smart Content Summit and EIDR APM are presented by Whip Media, produced by MESA, in association with the Smart Content Council and EIDR, with sponsorship by BeBanjo, Qumulo, Alteon, Digital Nirvana, Slalom and Rightsline.