June 12th, 2009
Giving City Magazine has just written an article on Happiness Is. Below is the full article and you can also download the entire article here.
THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS IS…
A new film asks one of mankind’s most profound questions – and gets the answer.
by Monica M. Williams
After Andrew Shapter finished the film, “Before the Music Dies,” a critical look at the popular music industry, he wondered aloud about the focus of his next project. “Before the Music Dies” had taught him everything there was to know about the music industry, he says, “So I told people my next film had to be about happiness. It was kind of a joke at first.”
But the idea took on its own life, and soon Shapter found himself once again traveling to the far corners of the country to talk – to anyone who was willing – about happiness. “I’d just walk up to them and ask them what their ‘pursuit of happiness’ is. Some people knew right away. Others didn’t know what to say.”
Shapter didn’t have the answers either, but an introduction to Alan Graham, he says, “triggered a dramatic twist that would lead to a definitive ending” for the film.
Graham is a founding member and president of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, an Austin-based nonprofit that takes meals out to the homeless and working poor. On that particular trip, Graham took him on a lunchtime truck run to the downtown library. “It was a real cold, wet, miserable day, I remember,” says Graham. “Usually the homeless move in there to stay warm and dry. They shot all the footage of us in that single truck run. I think (Shapter) got a lot out of it.”
In the video clip, Shapter shows Graham and volunteers making plans in the food pantry area, loading the truck, driving to the Austin downtown library, and handing out food to homeless men. Graham talks about his journey– how he was a successful real estate broker who started asking the tough questions in life and found himself investing everything he had to create MLF. The nonprofit is now in four states and enlists 12 catering trucks and almost 10,000 volunteers a year.
It can be said that Graham is not exactly an ordinary person. “If there were a Fortune 500 for the world’s happiest people,” he says, “I’d be at the top of that list.” His decision to relinquish his wealth in favor of service to the homeless is what led to that happiness, he says. “I run into people all the time that say, ‘I wish I could do what you did,’” says Graham. “When people witness someone like me who has made such a radical change in their life – and now happiness is such an intrinsic part of my life – that impresses people.”
What Shapter found, after interviewing dozens of people from children to accomplished and wealthy businessmen, was proof that achievement, wealth, and fame don’t lead to happiness. Giving to and supporting a cause you believe in, he says, does.
He refers to a statement made by Mother Teresa, sainted for sacrificing her own well being for the sake of the extreme poor of that city.
“People need to find their own Calcutta. The people who are happy in this film all have their own causes,” says Shapter. “The message is that you need to find your own cause, and give.”
For Shapter that cause is Capital City Kids, a nonprofit that helps homeless kids in Central Texas obtain the resources they need to succeed in school. (In Austin, more than 4,000 students pre-K through high school are homeless.) “When I saw the reaction from people after the initial screenings, I thought maybe people were being touched by the film. So I made a request at
the end of one screening here in Austin for donations to Cap City Kids, thinking I’d raise about $1,000. Turns out we raised more than $10,000 that night.”
That same night, a person affiliated with the Obama campaign was in the audience, and is now working with Shapter and C3 (producers of the Austin City Limits Music Festival) to build a model for the film’s distribution. This summer, the team will enlist sponsors to take the film on a 40-city tour that will engage local charities and turn screenings into fundraisers, with Shapter selling DVDs of the film at those events.
“What I found then is that when people get over their egos, they generally stop doing whatever it is that is keeping them from being happy,” says Shapter. “They stop comparing themselves to people ‘above’ them and start looking around at others. Then they start to help.”
Shapter on Happy, Texas
“I was shocked to see the the small towns deteriorating. We have these mass migrations to the big cities – like Houston, Miami, and Phoenix – because people are leaving these tight-knit communities where everybody knows your name. And it’s sad.
“There was this woman in Happy, Texas, whose husband died, and that caused the whole town to come together and take care of her, support her through that time. But then that widow moved to Dallas and joined a support group for widows; there she met another widow who lived in Dallas when her husband died but said none of her neighbors even knew her. That broke her heart.
“You know, our country is a nation of immigrants; we are people that believe success and wealth lie somewhere else. So it’s in our DNA. It’s why young people move away from home. “What’s remarkable is that new immigrants are the ones re-making these small communities and keeping them alive. I think young people will continue to move away and take that journey, but what’s going to happen is that they will always get called back.”
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June 7th, 2009
We are pleased to announce a new tour is in development. Dates, venue locations and times will soon be announced. We are organizing the first leg of our tour right now. Our first 15 cities include.
Austin, TX
San Antonio, TX
Houston, TX
New Orleans, LA
Lincoln, NE
Des Moines, IA
Minneapolis MN
Madison WI
Grand Rapids MI
Pittsburgh PA
Boston MA
Woonsocket RI
New York City NY
Orlando FL
Nashville TN
Grand Junction, CO
If you would like to be a part of one of our screenings in or around the areas listed above, please contact us.
Tour begins July 30th! More details soon. Check back here for more information about a screening in your area.
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May 21st, 2009
Greeting from Happiness Headquarters in Austin Texas,
I want to take a moment to recognize our newest team member, Tanner Moehle. Tanner is the visual scientist that is working on the new look of the DVD and this site. Tanner lives in Austin and has been a designer since 2000 and he specializes in Graphic and Web Design. His work can be seen at tannermoehle.com.
Tanner has been working with expert web developer Josh Alley to build and optimize our new site. Josh has 8 years of experience and has a knack for solving any and all web development conundrums.
Things are revving up for us! Our team members are gathering soon to get things started. The DVD release is coming very soon and starting next week, we’ll be blogging on a regular basis! That’s right, you’ll hear directly from me (Andrew Shapter), our Producer Tracy Marino, Associate Producer Christina Fernandez, team members Eric Klein, Tanner and many more folks in the coming months.
We want to hear from you too. Send us your comments or questions. You can log on now to make comments. In addition, please take a moment to follow us on twitter and let us know your thoughts on the film or happiness in general. Share interesting articles, research with us at any time or just say “hello”. We want to hear from you!
Andrew Shapter
twitter.com/andrewshapter
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May 7th, 2009
Can we create more happiness in our lives? Director Andrew Shapter, curious about what happiness is and wondering why the United States ranks so low in happiness studies, sets out on a road trip across America to find some answers.
Are happiness definitions as unique as finger prints? What can we learn about ourselves when we realize that the declaration of independence didn’t give us the right to happiness but rather the right to pursue it?
So come along on our journey as we talk to a colorful cast of characters about what happiness means and explore whether we can increase happiness across America…the answers may surprise you!
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May 7th, 2009
Greetings dear Happiness Is fans! Andrew and I are excited to be launching into a second phase of the ever evolving saga of Andrew’s second film, Happiness Is. We worked hard in social networking spaces like MySpace (we’re also in Facebook now, if you’d like to become a fan in there, look us up!) to blog while we were in production. Since the summer, though, we’ve been taking a little break while we worked on the edit, submitted to festivals and did some marketing, along with the support of team members Jim (Executive Producer), Sjon (Editor), Troy and Christina (Associate Producers) and we’ve even added a few more key players to Happiness Is, like the folks at RADAR.
Now, in our next stage, we will be building out our website to make it into an interactive community. Hoping y’all will share your thoughts and stories with us. And you’ll be hearing from different team players as we take a little time to let you know what we’re thinking about. And, as it’s always been with the MySpace blogs, y’all are the heart of the matter and when we hear from you, that’s what brings all this to life. The Happiness Is community is nothing without each of you, our neighbors!
So tune in each week to lend your heart and mind to a new blog. Let us know what you think…what resonates with you or just what song is in your head that day. 
First up this week — Adrienne from our friends at RADAR starts us off.
Why is it that the most beautiful, the strongest, the most terrifying and the most trusted things are the things that we cannot see? Isn’t it ironic that the invisible holds so many possibilities?
I’ve always been very interested and curious about cause and effect. From when you are a very little kid, most of your life is just this; you get rewarded or punished based on your actions. But the intricate chemistry and the endless amount of little invisible things that contribute to a change in decision or belief is what absolutely blows my mind. How is it that a 90 year old man who has been deeply racist all of his long, stubborn life can one day have an interaction that causes him to release this 90 year lifestyle and grudge? And throwing out the element of time, how can someone be so strongly against abortion, then find themselves at a clinic a few months later? What happens, and where does it happen? Your head? Your heart and soul? Both? I struggle with the explanation that a mixture of just the right amounts and types of chemicals intermingle to create emotions and therefore tie them to beliefs. Well, what exactly happens that completely undoes the done and sets the individual down a completely different path in life? And what about what Gladwell defines as “the tipping point;” what invisible orgy is taking place behind your flesh to be that last push?
Maybe its only invisible because we’re not looking for the right thing? Maybe a lot of things we face in life are because we looking in the wrong direction, at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons. I bet if we start looking into each other, the cause and effect would be a little more rewarding each time, and the invisible would slowly turn into things that you will never forget seeing.
Whatever it was that snuck into my head, heart and soul when viewing this movie, was good. It came in quietly and swiftly, shook me around and woke me up to life. It defined what purpose was and reminded me that life was not a solitary or independent pursuit.
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May 5th, 2009
When one door closes, another opens. Change is good, change is life. And probably one of the most provocative human tests centers around how well we adapt to change. You know, Darwinism and such.
Along those lines, a friend of mine recently got laid off from her job. And although the possibility was there as her company faced a challenging time, she didn’t know what would happen until the moment she got called into her boss’ office. She was one of many that faced the same fate and it gave insight into human nature to see how folks handled the news. Not that one way over another was right or wrong, actually, because we have to each be true to ourselves. But after the initial shock and drama, what comes next is key.
Of course, change that we choose is always easier to digest and move on from. Having change thrust upon you is trickier. And it brings to mind the Serenity prayer which I believe are wise words no matter what your faith. Accepting what you can’t change, showing courage for what is in your control and knowing the difference between the two can help each of us navigate the world.
And I think another thing we tend to forget is it’s often as hard or even harder on the folks who make the decisions that affect others in times of upheaval. Of course, there is a lot of gray area here but in the case of the example above, the folks that determined the lay offs were as shell shocked and upset by these developments as the people affected. Now, we don’t always see behind the scenes enough to know this to be the case, but it’s an important perspective to keep in mind. Don’t assume you are the only one feeling pain when things change…because sometimes the people who remain after folks move on actually face a more arduous road. And after all is said and done, we make the decision on how we face the future…the road ahead may be bumpy but how we ride that out is up to each of us. We just have to persevere and have faith in ourselves and whatever gives us strength, no?
So, dear neighbors, how do you navigate change? What tools do you pull out of your handy dandy toolbox to face challenges? Do you believe in yourselves enough to know that the strength is within each of you to get through most anything? And do you ever find yourself coaching others through change but then forgetting to take your own advice?
As for music this week, I’ve got Secret World Live by Peter Gabriel playing in my car. The whole CD is great but I have Solsbury Hill in particular in my mind at the moment. Paz.
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May 5th, 2009
For press inquiries, please contact Eric Webber at Webber/McJ Communications.
Webber/McJ Communications
205 Brazos Street │ Austin, TX 78701
512.225.2600 office │ 512.658.5255 cell
eric@webbermcj.com │ www.webbermcj.com
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May 4th, 2009
Life can be inspiring and it can also make us yawn. As with beauty, what each of us feels drawn to is personal and it’s not good to judge the eye of the beholder. For myself, I find when someone has a true love for what they are saying or doing, no matter the subject, I can get drawn in…
For instance, I remember years ago when I worked in advertising in New York on the Amex account, one of my clients was named Jamie and he had such a passion for all the numbers involved so even if he was discussing APRs, I got into it and wanted to do my best when I worked on projects with him.
And the reason I’m writing this blof is because I just watched a documentary on the Statue of Liberty by Ken Burns. The film itself was great. And then in the special features, there was a piece on how Mr. Burns approaches “making history” and another was a conversation with him about his life and work. The excitement in his voice, the way he admitted the emotions that sometimes overcame him during the filmmaking process, the insatiable curiosity with which he tackles each subject, doing the research but then leaving things open to chance, not knowing exactly what his lens will capture. And all this personified by the sparkle in his eye as he spoke. Right on, man, right on! And interestingly, he spoke at one point about Jefferson’s “pursuit of happiness” word choice and said that “pursuit” was part of the beauty of those words. That it meant we, as Americans, were always in the process of “becoming.” Hmmmm…nice, eh?
I love when people let down their guard far enough to show their wonder and zeal because these characteristics capture a child-like trueness and not everyone is in touch with that part of themselves. Passion potential is within all of us, though, and speaks to our hopes and our dreams and the way we can motivate each other. Of course, we still need to moderate because passion can be a danger if too tightly fixed on any one thing, without listening and responding to the rhythms around us.
But the joy and enthusiasm with which we speak about different topics and throw ourselves into moments (especially when it’s at the risk of looking silly), well, it says something. And again to reference Mr. Burns, who likens himself to an “emotional archaeologist,” you can look at something like history, for example, as either a boring subject from the doldrums of your high school days…or, the expression and beauty of everything that has happened just previous to this very moment, right now. History “is” not “was” so what we speak of with passion can affect the past as well as the future and bring energy and love to the world. We each have that power.
So, tell us…whatever your passions are, is there a source that you can remember? And has someone ever sparked your attention on a topic that you don’t actually have an interest in, but their passion drew you in anyway? Famous or not, who inspires you with their heartfelt passion?
As for music, I’ve been grooving to some ELO recently…”hold on tight to your dreams…” Paz
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