When I started writing my forthcoming book, The Smartest Sales Book You'll Ever Read, it was not at all my intention to deal with the subject of happiness.  I was focused only on peer-reviewed research that would help salespeople close more sales.  I was surprised when I found that financial success doesn't correlate directly with happiness.  I had it backwards.  Happy people are more likely to be successful.  Financially successful people are often caught up in the endless pursuit of status which yields frustration instead of contentment.

Then I stumbled upon meditation.

Before reading the balance of this blog post, you need to abandon the thinking that starts with:  If it sounds too good to be true.....

Everything I am about to tell you about the benefits of meditation is supported by over 600 studies,  some of which I reference in Smartest Sales.

Meditation makes you more empathetic.  It reduces stress and has a positive impact on depression, blood pressure, fatigue and insomnia, among other heath issues.  It improves learning and memory.  It makes you more creative.  One study from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that meditation produced a greater reduction in pain than morphine.

Given these benefits, it's not surprising that those who follow a meditation regime seem to be calmer and happier than those who don't.

They are also more likely to be successful.