Originally published on Advisor Perspectives, February 20, 2019

Much has been written about how to achieve happiness. I devoted an entire section of my Smartest Sales book to this subject.

We have vast control over making ourselves happy. I found happiness in a unique way that helps those who are unprepared to fund their retirement.

What makes us happy?

Here’s what surprised me. Minor tweaks to our lifestyle can significantly improve our happiness.

Diet and exercise have a profound effect on our level of happiness. So does walking outdoors on a sunny day for 20 minutes.

The “practice of gratitude” made a seismic impact in my personal happiness. Every day when I awake, I consciously think about everything (and everyone) for which I’m grateful. It would be even better if I had the discipline to write my thoughts in a journal, but I don’t.

Positive relationships make us happy.

Having more money doesn’t, once we reach the level where we can cover our monthly expenses and maintain our quality of life.

But the biggest epiphany for me occurred when I found the data indicating the real secret to happiness.

It’s helping others.

Which brings me to Middle America’s Plan (MAP).

I created (with the help of a very talented actuary, Patrick Thornton) MAP for selfish reasons – I wanted to see if helping others would make me happier.

I was aware of the data indicating middle-class Americans (those making $50,000-$100,000) were woefully unprepared for retirement. The average individual between 55 and 64 in this demographic has only $104,000 saved for retirement.

Traditional advice has not worked for them. Many don’t trust the stock market. What they need is an entirely new approach to saving for retirement.

Together, Patrick and I came up with MAP. You can read a summary and download a PDF version here.

Our idea is to enlist an army of advisors to help the middle class implement MAP, publicize it on their webpages and link to it on their social media. Advisors who are dual-licensed will receive commissions on the sale of the insurance products recommended in MAP. Those who aren’t can charge a modest planning fee, enhance their relationships with insurance providers and perhaps attract a younger demographic to their firm.

An encouraging start

We vet every advisor who expresses interest in MAP. We explain that we provide a website with extensive information, give them a MAP logo, provide videos explaining MAP and give them information about how to publicize MAP to potential clients.

We personally funded this effort. We don’t charge advisors anything. We don’t benefit from the sale of any products recommended in MAP. We have no ongoing or reciprocal arrangements with advisors, insurance agents or insurance companies.

We don’t put any constraints on MAP advisors. They are free to recommend MAP or not, and to find insurance products suitable for their clients from any resource.

Doing for others has its own rewards. Once advisors understand they are helping a poorly or under-served market, it brings out their best instincts. They want to be part of this program.

I’ve spent hundreds of hours on MAP.

Every time an advisor contacts us, I feel a sense of pride.

I don’t know how far we can take MAP.

Here’s what I do know: Pursuing it has made me much happier.

If you are interested in some excellent resources on happiness, I recommend The Upward Spiral, by Alex Korb, Ph.D. and Brain Rules, by John Medina.