Shawn Achor is the NY Times bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential. Shawn has worked in 50 countries with nearly half the Fortune 100 and everywhere from Camp David and Harvard to shantytowns in Zimbabwe and children’s cancer wards in Boston.

Shawn’s TED talk, The Happy Secret to Better Work, has over 16 million views.

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Research is useless unless it’s lived.

Recently, Shawn sat down with Oprah at her house to discuss the science of happiness, defining success and how we can bring the powerful research-based techniques of positive psychology to the world. To share the message that happiness is a choice, Shawn and The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) created an in-depth, two-part Happiness Course to help individuals impact their own lives and the lives of those around them with the Happiness Advantage.

Shawn’s research on happiness made the cover of Harvard Business Review, his research and work on stress in partnership with Yale University at UBS was published in the The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and his PBS special has been seen by millions. Shawn has worked with over a third of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as the NFL, the NBA, the Pentagon and the White House. His talks have taken him to more than 50 countries, where he has spoken to CEOs in China, doctors in Dubai, schoolchildren in South Africa, and farmers in Zimbabwe.

A Family Business

Before Shawn even moved to Harvard and learned about positive psychology, he participated in several experiments, as his father L. Joseph Achor, found that his two children made good study subjects in his neuroscience lab. Shawn credits his parents, years of debate team, and his own experience with depression while working at Harvard to his success as an international speaker.

In 2010, Shawn decided to leave academia and share the power of positive psychology with the world.
To do this, he moved home to Texas and formed GoodThink, a happiness consulting firm, with his little sister Amy the unicorn (herself an expert on spreading happiness as the only person appointed as a point of light by two US presidents). In 2012, Shawn and Amy hired Jordan Brock as VP of Business Development to help grow the strategic direction and business initiatives of the company.

To do this, he moved home to Texas and formed GoodThink, a happiness consulting firm, with his little sister Amy the unicorn (herself an expert on spreading happiness as the only person appointed as a point of light by two US presidents). In 2012, Shawn and Amy hired Jordan Brock as VP of Business Development to help grow the strategic direction and business initiatives of the company.

In 2013, Shawn married fellow happiness researcher and author Michelle Gielan founder of the Institute of Applied Positive Research (IAPR). They live in Texas with their son Leo, who reminds them everyday that joy and awe are contagious.




One of the world’s leading experts on human potential.
– Arianna Huffington
An amazing event! It was such fun and so stimulating to have Shawn at Facebook! As we strive to help the world become more open and connected, remaining positive and grateful for meaningful and productive relationships is essential! Shawn’s ideas and research is very insightful to us as we think about our mission. Thank you!
– Facebook
We can’t thank Shawn enough for making this year’s Johnson & Johnson OCMO Leadership Team meeting such a success. His presentation was a highlight of our event. Our meeting objectives focused on audience engagement, leadership skills, structured networking and fun – Shawn helped us achieve all of these and then some. I’ve already witnessed my colleagues engaging in the happiness habits, and I’m practicing them myself!
– Johnson & Johnson
Our expectations for Shawn’s talk at our recent H.R. Conference was quite high, given what I had seen of his TED talk and having read much of The Happiness Advantage = and all those expectations were exceeded! While I knew the content would be powerful and anticipated the delivery would be engaging, I underestimated the positive impact it would have on the audience beyond the conference. The attendees have been quite energized and have begun taking actions to be happier and more grateful in their own lives. Further, while the learning will be applicable at our workplace, I think the attendees felt he impact was transferable to all aspects of their lives (and their families).
– The Wendy's Company
Shawn Achor is a talented and engaging speaker. He has the ability to reach his audience through a unique combination of humor and real life experiences intertwined with results from his extensive research on happiness that brings credibility and validity to his message, which should resonate with an y individual or company that values continuous improvement and strives for peak performance. I highly recommend Shawn Achor as both a speaker and a n author. I am happier as a result of Shawn’s positive influence on my life and family.
– Corning Credit Union

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