Happiness and Self-Help Related Posts

How to live a happy, peaceful, and fulfilling life. How to create a sense of joy, inspiration, enjoyment, wonder, excitement, peace, and passion in life.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026! A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2025!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Happy New Year everyone! 2025 was a pretty good year for me. I ended up exceeding each of the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the year, so I was happy about that.

Here are the year’s highlights (by the numbers):

12: The number of times I provided special gifts to people for“Make a Friend Smile Day.” That’s the special occasion I created 20+ years ago as the perfect excuse to offer guilt-free giving to people going through financial difficulties, hardships, and such but are just too proud to ask for or accept this help. The only catch is the friend must smile when using the gift because, well, there’d be no reason to have a “Make a Friend Smile Day,” if the friend didn’t smile. I helped multiple people out this year with rent, groceries, car problems, and other financial hardships. I pulled money out of my “Beneficiaries Reserve Fund” to do this which is the fund I use to help others. Most people who know me understand that whenever I have a good year in the stock market, I always set aside some of the proceeds to help others – it’s a promise I make every year to God, higher power, the universe, or whatever it is you believe in (I happen to believe in all the above).

23: The number of poems I wrote and published throughout the year. The top five (5) that people seemed to resonate most with were:

a. SHADOWS AND GHOSTS (ALONG THE ROAD BACK HOME): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-shadows-and-ghosts-all-along-the-road-back-home-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e%e2%98%86/

b. CONSUMED BY THE CRACKS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-consumed-by-the-cracks-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e%e2%98%86/

c. DEEP FREEZE (EVERY PART AND PIECE): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-deep-freeze-every-part-and-piece-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e%e2%98%86/

d. THE ESCAPE FAKE-N-FADE (SO CHARMING IN THEIR WAYS): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-the-escape-fake-and-fade-so-charming-in-their-ways-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e%e2%98%86/, and

e. A MOON TOO FULL (OF BLUE): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-a-moon-too-full-of-blue-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e%e2%98%86/

21,000+: The number of photos I took on travel this year. My biggest trip was Spain trip (6 weeks, 15 new places). My favorite places during this year’s travel were: Cadiz Spain (probably my very favorite overall in Spain although it’s very close), Valencia Spain, Barcelona Spain, Malaga Spain, Madrid Spain, Granada Spain, and Cordoba Spain. These were all such wonderful places to visit.

42: The percentage gain of my best performing stock this year from the tariff bottom back in April: Coinbase (COIN). My second-best performing stock from the same tariff bottom was a small cap index fund ETF (SPSM) which gained 34%. That’s about a 3-to-4-year gain on average over just a few months for these investments. Everyone that used my Market-Based strategy over that period in time would have done equally as well: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-well-did-my-market-based-strategy-work-this-year-how-about-a-40-gain-in-only-8-months/

339: The total number of places I have explored and spent quality time in to date (including the above travel).

8: The percentage I gained in the stock market this year which exceeded my financial goal for the year (you can read all about that here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/final-stock-market-score-joe-8-0-inflation-2-6/). Since I have far exceeded my overall financial goal, my primary financial objective is maintaining my spending power by beating inflation or at least not giving back the stellar gains I achieved over the past decade or so (my 12-year average annual gain through and including the losses from 2022 was 35% as you can see by scrolling through the following post: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/final-stock-market-score-joe-57-2-spx-24-2/). Core inflation was 2.6% year-over-year back in November – so I beat that number by a sizable margin (the December numbers have not yet been released). I updated my investment strategies this year as I try to do every year.

49: the number of people I helped live happier lives throughout this year – even internationally when I visited Spain.

23: The number of times I posted about my stock market activities and strategies to offer others a chance to capitalize on these. You can read about them here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities/

165: The number of posts I wrote and published, throughout the year, focused on helping people live happier, offering hope and inspiration, keeping people informed, and making people more successful in life.

224: The number of days I spent on Duo Lingo learning and practicing Spanish and Portuguese throughout the year. I’ve been learning various languages on Duo Lingo for 10+ years now including Spanish, Portuguese, and a tiny bit of Italian.

11: the number of hours I spent on fitness activities in a typical week between weight training, running, stretching, and yoga.

12: The number of books I read and shared my notes on throughout the year. I had only read 1 book back in 2024 since I had so much going on, and I made it my goal for 2025 to read more. So, I did. The books I read were primarily in the areas of finance/investing and self-help and self-improvement.

So, 2025 was a pretty good year overall. Going forward I plan to focus on continuing to read, write, and learn, doing more travel, writing new poetry, and possibly doing a video series on finance/investing to help people better understand some of the fundamentals. I’m looking forward to seeing what 2026 brings.

Happy New Year everyone! Normally, I would add something like: “May 2026 be the best year of your life, EVER.” However, like last year, I’d like to create a tiny challenge for everyone and change that to: “Do positive things to make someone else’s 2026 the best year of their lives, EVER.” So, decide who will be on your list of people for making that happen, and add that to your 2026 New Year’s resolutions list.

Thank you!

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace #joy #positivethinking #balance #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2025-2026!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Happy holidays everyone! One thing I used to do years ago for the holidays was hand out themed compilation CDs of music people couldn’t buy anywhere to give them something special and unique and wonderful to listen to over the holiday season (and beyond). They did not contain holiday music or anything which, for me, tends to get old after a short while – just unique music that is nice to listen to for something different. I was always very particular and intentional about the themes I came up with and always ordered the tracks in such a way to ensure they created a wonderful musical experience and a smooth flow from one track to the next. I used to do this year-after-year up until the widespread use of I-tunes, media players, Spotify and such. So, I started to realize CDs were probably a waste of time and effort. Well, the last few years I decided to recreate some of those CDs as Playlists on Spotify.

For this year I am giving the gift of art! Art for the ears, art for the heart, art for the mind, and art for the soul! I have created a lengthy playlist of what has been my very favorite kind of music over the past few years – indie pop. This music sounds fresh, fun. and new each and every time you listen to it because none of it is mainstream or overplayed in any way. It is artistry at its finest. It always makes me smile when I listen to this or discover new songs, and I hope it will make you smile as well. Just give it a listen when you get the chance and continue on down the playlist wherever happen to leave off – or just use random play. It will be a wonderful musical experience for you overall. Here’s the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0tCdR6QZV0t6hbLuD8R3ff?si=0ad6fc80464441b2. The best indie pop stations I regularly listen to on streaming are WPRK 91.5 FM (Winter Park Florida – the Rollins College Radio Station) and Indie617 Boston – so, if you want to discover new music to add to your playlist the way I do, well, you can simply start with those.

My favorite artists I discovered during my indie pop phase are Darksoft (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5bLX9Ya3zZHPJfQa0Y4Gr9?si=9f86d0fb07514e8f) and Tame Impala (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ntTOD7Ffi5MNXjFZYme7t?si=43de693a2e6248bb). My favorite songs of theirs are contained in the above two playlists.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do. Feel free to modify the playlist to make it your own including adding some of your favorites.

Below is the complete set of playlists I have provided so far over the past few years (including the above one). So, feel free to check each of these out as well over the holidays (and beyond):

1. Classical Gems (nice and soothing classical music): Classical Gems – playlist by Joe Brennan | Spotify

2. Candlelight Classic Jazz I (mainly old classic vocal jazz): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1R0tZBB8MOZUJgA01LrK2C…

3. Candlelight Classic Jazz II (mainly old classic instrumental jazz): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/10ZO5Mrv5fF2Uns7QEzWVT…

4. New Age (Morningtide-Eveningtide): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5S0Re0yHvQma9WMai20w36…

People really seemed to love this one for helping them to relax and even sleep. One song (What a Beautiful Sunset by Angelwing) was not available on Spotify but I encourage you to check out this excellent song as well: https://youtu.be/pXgjQPgh4bM?si=ovRvGhgp3V_G47JI . You can add this wonderful track if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify.

5. Acoustic Tracks: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4rjwsNOCPfWZJFK72cKvji… This is a playlist that I love to listen to around the start of Autumn. For some reason the music really seems to fit at that time. None of the Joni Mitchell songs were on Spotify but tracks such as: the acoustic live version of “People’s Parties” (my very favorite: https://youtu.be/NktbeZiMYfA?si=dV0LcJEL6uo1aTbJ), “Urge for Going” (https://youtu.be/ZvSvTRhAJxg?si=hKeMtJUa95dTLGUk), “Little Green” (https://youtu.be/HTxUrDtoPP0?si=fo0yREfcqCIxaznn), “A Case of You” (https://youtu.be/0YuaZcylk_o?si=hwbPrgdwdmxUYHlM), “Court and Spark” (https://youtu.be/_1Z6I62yvfg?si=irKLbee4rBS5evAI), and “That Song About the Midway” (https://youtu.be/O9R82TThjdw?si=jA4wsRNPDVaNUJXo) are excellent. So add the above tracks if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify.

6. Smooth Sailing 50s/60s (old 1950s &1960s pop songs): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3x0UnPJDMQqXcgxDIemCep?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3RHM9yqOIQOjrOnqISFry887itxeznZ0d2wZ0XQrgwCmPqzIi_nOfYXyQ_aem_r18OoHjvhW4nyAOVmuw-ag I heard some old music on a radio station a couple of years ago when driving around in New Smyrna Beach and I loved it so much that, for something different, I made a whole playlist to share with everyone. So, check it out when you get the chance: Some of the lyrics are outdated for these modern times but the music is Wonderful. Also, the Sue Raney version of the second song (Till There Was You – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEoG1TYLBWI) is much better than the Peggy Lee version but Spotify didn’t have the Sue Raney version. I encourage you to check that out and replace the Peggy Lee version with the Sue Raney version if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify. It’s so much better than the Peggy Lee version and fits in well with this playlist.

7. Laid Back Lounge (chill-out lounge/cafe music): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5szvQk9eJlHix5KRs9TcL2?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1K6jE_L8fFaRFD7xH6y8sdSDw4mGtEJKQ47FhkGM9gOxQadwvITpHlJ5U_aem_bDKXVL4R48UPfwfUmu8oQQ. One song missing (not available on Spotify) is the Cafe del Mar version of Kalliope’s Lunar Landing (Here it is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X-Rg13QyTE ). I encourage you to check that out and insert it just after the track 13 (Blank & Jones: Desire – Ambient Mix) if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify. It fits in well with this playlist.

8. Indie Pop (fresh, new sounding music every time you play it): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0tCdR6QZV0t6hbLuD8R3ff?si=0ad6fc80464441b2 . Also, my favorite artists I have discovered during my indie pop phase are Darksoft (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5bLX9Ya3zZHPJfQa0Y4Gr9?si=9f86d0fb07514e8f) and Tame Impala (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ntTOD7Ffi5MNXjFZYme7t?si=43de693a2e6248bb). My favorite songs of theirs are contained in the above two playlists.

Enjoy this music over the holiday season (and beyond) and feel free to share with anyone else who might enjoy these or could use a positive thought and a smile to brighten up their day.

And just in case it might be helpful to you (or others in your life), here’s a guaranteed way to improve and boost perspective: Nothing matters today other than the fact that you are here. So, rejoice, celebrate, love, appreciate, and cherish your life today (and every day), and do something special, wonderful, and amazing. Because you are here. And nothing else matters. The reason you are special because you have won the lottery of life – the odds are 1,000,000,000+ to 1 for you NOT being here at all (you can read about that here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/an-amazing-thought-guaranted-to-improve-perspective-you-are-special/). So, anytime you (or anyone else in your life) need a perspective boost, please remember this.

Lastly, from a financial perspective, be sure to get into the practice of saving a minimum of 20% of everything you earn. Here are some finance/investing tips which might be helpful to you and others in your life: 1) https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/financial-planning-management-and-investing-related-posts/ 2) https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-create-a-brighter-financial-future-for-years-and-decades-to-come/, and 3) https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-invest-well-and-create-a-brighter-future-with-minimal-effort/ . If you take these steps, you may still experience stress and negativity in your life, but finances won’t be one of them. And that can be a wonderful place to get to in your life. So, do this for yourself if you can.

I hope the above will be helpful to you or to others in your life.


Happy Holidays everyone! May 2026 be the best year of our lives EVER! 🙂

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace #joy #positivethinking #balance

HAPPINESS TIP: DEFEAT ANXIETY EARLY ON

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

I used to have a lot of anxiety. The one thing that really helped me was coming to the realization that 99% of the things we worry about never happen, and the 1% that do, we deal with much better than we expect or help comes from places we did not anticipate.

One important thing about anxiety is you want to try to deal with it while it is in the thinking stages by choosing more positive thoughts, using meditation techniques, or using some other positive/relaxation-based approaches. Once anxiety gets into your body, it will stay with you until you do rigorous physical exercise to get rid of it. So, don’t ruin your entire days by holding on to anxiety. Take steps to get rid of it – the sooner the better.

Here are three things which might be helpful for dealing with anxiety:

1. https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/happiness-tip-focus-on-what-you-want-instead-of-what-you-dont/,

2. https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/happiness-success-tip-instead-of-finding-ways-to-live-with-stress-and-negativity-change-the-thoughts-and-behaviors-which-lead-to-it/, and

3. https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-defeat-any-distress-without-dope-drinks-drugs-debt-or-doctors/

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help-oriented books and posts: 

PUBLISHED BOOKS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/

CREATING GREATER HAPPINESS-ORIENTED POSTS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/personal-improvement-development-and-growth-related-posts/

CREATING A BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURE-ORIENTED POSTS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/financial-planning-management-and-investing-related-posts/

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace

R-E-S-P-E-C-T IS THE KEY FOR RELATING TO OTHERS AND BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Aretha Franklin got it right. R-E-S-P-E-C-T is the key for being able to relate to others and building and maintaining strong relationships in life – whether friends, family, significant others, co-workers, acquaintances, or business associates. As a life coach, I frequently get asked for help on repairing old relationships, strengthening existing ones, and creating new, rewarding relationships. And mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T, between you and others, is the absolute key for every kind of relationship.

For example, someone I was recently helping was struggling with a past, longstanding friendship that started going badly and kept getting worse. She informed me that their conversations got to the point they were becoming toxic and energy depleting in nature, and asked if there might be any way to salvage such a friendship.

Well, it depends. The best you can do is your part for re-establishing communications which are positive and constructive in nature and see what happens. If you do this in a repeated, consistent fashion it might actually help. However, always remember that all you control is your contribution – not the result. And that’s okay no matter how things go, because at least you can feel good in knowing you did your part in trying salvage the relationship – that is, you did at least try.

A good practice to get into is monitoring the polarity of your communications with others and taking immediate action anytime these start moving into negative or disrespectful territory. There are always kind and respectful ways to communicate most everything. So, don’t share anything with others until you find a kind, respectful way to communicate it. If the offending party is someone other than yourself, then get into the practice of pausing and postponing discussions that start moving into negative or disrespectful territory – in a polite but assertive fashion. For example, you might say something like: “This conversation appears to be getting a little negative, disrespectful, and unproductive in nature. Let’s take a break and continue this discussion at another time, okay?” If you do this consistently when communications enter negative or disrespectful territory, the parties you are communicating with will eventually get the message you are not going to allow them to treat you in a disrespectful manner. And that’s a great way to establish a strong foundation for mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

So, mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T – between you and others – is the absolute key for all kinds of relationships and for being able to relate well to others. The above provided an example regarding communications. However, this also applies to actions, behaviors, intentions, and nonverbal communications. So, if anything you are doing reflects negativity or disrespect towards others, then pause and make adjustments. Likewise, if anything others are doing reflects negativity or disrespect towards you, then politely – but assertively – call them out on it, and let them know you don’t appreciate it and are not going to stand for it. If you do this consistently, the offending parties will eventually get the message you are not going to allow them to treat you in a disrespectful manner. And that’s a great way to establish a strong foundation for mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

So, the bottom line is always wait until you find a kind, respectful way to communicate something to others, and get into the regular practice of pausing and postponing discussions that move into negative or disrespectful territory. If you do this, you will develop and maintain strong, rewarding relationships with people you truly value, and create a warm and wonderful life for you and those you love and appreciate. So, do this for yourself (and others) if you can.

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help-oriented books and posts: 

PUBLISHED BOOKS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/

CREATING GREATER HAPPINESS-ORIENTED POSTS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/personal-improvement-development-and-growth-related-posts/

CREATING A BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURE-ORIENTED POSTS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/financial-planning-management-and-investing-related-posts/

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace

AN AMAZING THOUGHT GUARANTEED TO IMPROVE PERSPECTIVE: YOU ARE SPECIAL!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Love and appreciate your life. You are SPECIAL. Do you know why?

Well, everything had to happen and align PERFECTLY over hundreds of thousands of years for you to even be here:

Your parents had to meet, have a relationship that worked, and want kids. And so did each of their 2 sets of parents (4 people). And so did each of their 4 sets of parents (8 people). And so did each of their 8 sets of parents (16 people). And so on, and so on, and so on, for hundreds of thousands of years. Hundreds of thousands of years where there were many wars, premature deaths, violence, disease, starvation/famine, persecution, etc., etc., etc. Any one, small, trivial change in all those hundreds of thousands of years and you would not be here. Any one broken link, for whatever reason, in those hundreds of billions of links and you would not be here.

So, the odds of you not being here is something on the order of one trillion to one (and just to emphasize the numerical magnitude of that – one trillion is 1,000,000,000,000). So, yes, you are special and your life is a gift – because when you were born you won the lottery of life against overwhelming odds: you are that 1 out of 1,000,000,000,000 that is here today living and breathing.

As such, there’s no reason to be stressed or otherwise negative about your life. And there’s no reason to treat others badly. Your life is a gift, and you are special because you are here – and that goes for everyone else that is here today as well. So, don’t forget it. And make it a point to always remember this.

Do something special, wonderful, and amazing with your life. And love, appreciate, and cherish your life each and every day. Because you are here. And nothing else matters. 

I wrote a similar post back in 2018 – but when I shared this with my new Spanish friends, I simplified things a bit and think this version might be better. They really seemed to like it, so I thought I’d share this version with you as well.

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help oriented books: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/ and posts: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/personal-improvement-development-and-growth-related-posts/

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025! A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2024!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Happy New Year everyone! 2024 was a pretty good year for me. The three best surprises for me this year were the following:

a. Indie 617 Boston streaming radio station: I’m a big fan of indie pop music and usually listen to WPRK in Winter Park – however they frequently play off-genre music that I don’t like as much, so discovering Indie 617 Boston was an excellent find. I found this streaming radio station while road-tripping on the west coast. Two of my favorite songs of the year were burning up the airwaves on this radio station over the summer (and beyond): Neverender by Justice and Tame Impala (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47YNsf-7Y7c) and Starburster by DC Fontaines (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHocVRUlvkk). Other favorite indie pop tracks for me this year were Image by Magdalena Bay (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfcWOPpmw14) and Sadie by Goth Babe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhS52bvzkec). I discovered each of these songs via Indie 617 Boston.

b. Seville Spain, Portugal (especially Porto, Sintra, and Lagos, Sintra), Seattle WA, Eureka CA, and Astoria OR. These were such wonderful places to visit.

c. High performing stocks I owned this year: COIN (126% gain), VMEO (64% gain), and GNK (51% gain).

In addition to the wonderful surprises above, I ended up exceeding each of the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the year. One of my longstanding goals was to populate my life coaching website (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/) in such a way that it largely reflects my life work (outside of work) as a legacy/leave behind. This life work matters much more to me than anything I did that was job-related over the years. And now it is all in one place – my website.

I started out 20+ years ago focusing on self-help and happiness, and coaching in/writing about those areas. I later realized that since I was also a finance/investing expert, that I should coach in and write about those areas as well and populate my website with that information.

My latest goal for this year was to expand my website further by focusing on the creative aspects in terms of my poetry and such. My 2024 year-end goal was to digitize my first book of poetry, “A Farewell to Reason,” since the hard copy was out of print. Not only did I achieve that, but I also published the second book of poetry that I wanted to publish back in 2004 but never did: “Burning . . .  Burning Blue,” and have populated the poetry section of my website with not only the top poems I have written over the past 33 years but also all 370 poems I have written over those years and color-coded them by mood/interest (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/poetry/).

Here are the year’s highlights (by the numbers):

16: The number of times I provided special gifts to people for “Make a Friend Smile Day.” That’s the special occasion I created 20+ years ago as the perfect excuse to offer guilt-free giving to people going through financial difficulties, hardships, and such but are just too proud to ask for or accept this help. The only catch is the friend must smile when using the gift because, well, there’d be no reason to have a “Make a Friend Smile Day,” if the friend didn’t smile. I helped multiple people out this year with rent, groceries, car problems, and other financial hardships. I pulled money out of my “Beneficiaries Reserve Fund” to do this which is the fund I use to help others. Most people who know me understand that whenever I have a good year in the stock market, I always set aside some of the proceeds to help others – it’s a promise I make every year to God, higher power, the universe, or whatever it is you believe in (I happen to believe in all the above).

15: The number of poems I wrote and published throughout the year. The top four (4) that people seemed to resonate most with were:

a. BLISTERS, BURNS, AND BLURS (A SCREAM BEHIND THE DOOR): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-a-blisters-burns-and-blurs-a-scream-behind-the-door-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-%e2%98%86/,

b. CHASING THE WAVES (OF THE L.A. HAZE): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-chasing-the-waves-of-the-la-haze-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-%e2%98%86/,

c. THE FALL OF WINTERTIME: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-the-fall-of-wintertime-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e%e2%98%86/, and

d. CURIOSITY CLEARLY SEES (AND WARMLY BELIEVES): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/%e2%98%86%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e-curiosity-clearly-sees-and-warmly-believes-%e2%96%aa%ef%b8%8e%e2%98%86/

28,000+: The number of photos I took on travel this year. My biggest trips were my Portugal/Spain trip (5 weeks, 24 new places) and my summer road trip on the West Coast (14 new places over 4 weeks: Washington state, Oregon, and Northern California). My favorite places during this year’s travel were Seville Spain, Porto Portugal, Sintra Portugal, Lagos Portugal, Monterey/Pacific Grove CA, Seattle WA, Eureka CA, and Astoria OR.

126: The percentage gain of my best performing stock this year: Coinbase (COIN). Regarding COIN, if I had stuck to my more usual investing strategies, I probably would have sold all of my shares back in February and not realized all of the gains I achieved. COIN ended up being my top performing stock this year by far gaining 126% [my second and third best performing stocks were VMEO (64% gain), and GNK (51% gain)]. Towards the end of 2023, I somehow got the insight to treat COIN differently than my other investments. The strategy I used for this highly volatile stock was to sell 1/3 of my shares when COIN gained 33%, and buying more shares whenever COIN dropped 33%. This strategy really worked well and allowed me to experience much higher gains than I ordinarily would. I plan to stick with this strategy in 2025.

324: The total number of places I have explored and spent quality time in to date (including the above travel).

13.1: The percentage I gained in the stock market this year which far exceeded my financial goal for the year (you can read all about that here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/final-stock-market-score-joe-13-1-inflation-3-3/). Since I have far exceeded my financial goal, my primary financial objective was maintaining my spending power by beating inflation or at least not giving back the stellar gains I achieved over the past decade or so (my 12-year average annual gain through and including the losses from 2022 was 35% as you can see by scrolling through the following post: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/final-stock-market-score-joe-57-2-spx-24-2/). Core inflation was 3.3% year-over-year back in November – so I beat that number by a sizable margin (the December numbers have not yet been released). I updated my investment strategies this year as I try to do every year. When I traveled through Portugal back in spring, people I met there became very interested when they found out I was a life coach – asking me for help with finances and investing so they could create a brighter future for themselves. This inspired me to write the Joe Brennan 6-Step Process to Financial Success with minimal effort post: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-invest-well-and-create-a-brighter-future-with-minimal-effort/. I followed this post up with a second post designed to help people even further with finance and investing: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-simple-lesson-in-finance-why-investing-invigorates-and-debt-devastates-your-finances/. So, I encourage you to read these two posts when you get the chance. You’ll become a much better investor if you do.

41: the number of people I helped live happier lives throughout this year – even internationally when I visited Portugal and Spain.

18: The number of times I posted about my stock market activities and strategies to offer others a chance to capitalize on these. You can read about them here: https://www.brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market…/

149: The number of posts I wrote and published, throughout the year, focused on helping people live happier, offering hope and inspiration, keeping people informed, and making people more successful in life.

205: The number of days I spent on Duo Lingo learning and practicing Spanish and Portuguese throughout the year. I’ve been learning various languages on Duo Lingo for 10+ years now including Spanish, Portuguese, and a tiny bit of Italian.

11 – the number of hours I spent on fitness activities in a typical week between weight training, running, stretching, and yoga.

1: The number of books I read and shared my notes on throughout the year. I had so much else going on in 2024 that I didn’t do much reading. So, I suppose I should seek to read a little more in 2025. The books I read were primarily in the areas of self-help and self-improvement. I’ve been reading books on the “100 Best Self-Help Books of All Time” list (over the years I’ve currently read the top 90 books on this list of 100 so 10 more to go!).

So, 2024 was a pretty good year overall. Going forward I plan to focus on doing more reading, doing more travel, and writing new poetry. I’m looking forward to seeing what 2025 brings.

Happy New Year everyone! Normally, I would add something like: “May 2025 be the best year of your life, EVER.” However, this year I’d like to create a tiny challenge for everyone and change that to: “Do positive things to make someone else’s 2025 the best year of their lives, EVER.” So, decide who will be on your list of people for making that happen, and add that to your 2025 New Year’s resolutions list.

Thank you!

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace #joy #positivethinking #balance #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2024-2025!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Happy holidays everyone! One thing I used to do years ago for the holidays was hand out themed compilation CDs of music people couldn’t buy anywhere to give them something special and unique and wonderful to listen to over the holiday season (and beyond). They did not contain holiday music or anything which, for me, tends to get old after a short while – just unique music that is nice to listen to for something different. I was always particular and intentional about the themes I came up with and always ordered the tracks in such a way to ensure they created a wonderful musical experience and a smooth flow from one track to the next.

I used to do this year-after-year up until the widespread use of I-tunes, media players, Spotify and such. So, I started to realize CDs were probably a waste of time and effort. Well, the last couple of years I decided to recreate some of those CDs as Playlists on Spotify.

For this year I recreated my Laid-Back Lounge CD as a playlist with a few extra tracks. So, check it out when you get the chance: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5szvQk9eJlHix5KRs9TcL2?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1K6jE_L8fFaRFD7xH6y8sdSDw4mGtEJKQ47FhkGM9gOxQadwvITpHlJ5U_aem_bDKXVL4R48UPfwfUmu8oQQ

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do. Also, one song missing (not available on Spotify) is the Cafe del Mar version of Kalliope’s Lunar Landing (Here it is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X-Rg13QyTE ). I encourage you to check that out and insert it just after the track 13 (Blank & Jones: Desire – Ambient Mix) if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify. It fits in well with this playlist. Also, feel free to modify the playlist to make it your own including adding some of your favorites.

Below is the complete set of playlists I have provided so far over the past few years (including this one). So, feel free to check each of these out as well over the holidays (and beyond):

1. Classical Gems (nice and soothing classical music): Classical Gems – playlist by Joe Brennan | Spotify

2. Candlelight Classic Jazz I (mainly old classic vocal jazz): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1R0tZBB8MOZUJgA01LrK2C…

3. Candlelight Classic Jazz II (mainly old classic instrumental jazz): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/10ZO5Mrv5fF2Uns7QEzWVT…

4. New Age (Morningtide-Eveningtide): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5S0Re0yHvQma9WMai20w36…

People really seemed to love this one for helping them to relax and even sleep. One song (What a Beautiful Sunset by Angelwing) was not available on Spotify but I encourage you to check out this excellent song as well: https://youtu.be/pXgjQPgh4bM?si=ovRvGhgp3V_G47JI . You can add this wonderful track if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify.

5. Acoustic Tracks: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4rjwsNOCPfWZJFK72cKvji… This is a playlist that I love to listen to around the start of Autumn. For some reason the music really seems to fit at that time. None of the Joni Mitchell songs were on Spotify but tracks such as: the acoustic live version of “People’s Parties” (my very favorite: https://youtu.be/NktbeZiMYfA?si=dV0LcJEL6uo1aTbJ), “Urge for Going” (https://youtu.be/ZvSvTRhAJxg?si=hKeMtJUa95dTLGUk), “Little Green” (https://youtu.be/HTxUrDtoPP0?si=fo0yREfcqCIxaznn), “A Case of You” (https://youtu.be/0YuaZcylk_o?si=hwbPrgdwdmxUYHlM), “Court and Spark” (https://youtu.be/_1Z6I62yvfg?si=irKLbee4rBS5evAI), and “That Song About the Midway” (https://youtu.be/O9R82TThjdw?si=jA4wsRNPDVaNUJXo) are excellent. So add the above tracks if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify.

6. Smooth Sailing 50s/60s (old 1950s &1960s pop songs): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3x0UnPJDMQqXcgxDIemCep?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3RHM9yqOIQOjrOnqISFry887itxeznZ0d2wZ0XQrgwCmPqzIi_nOfYXyQ_aem_r18OoHjvhW4nyAOVmuw-ag I heard some old music on a radio station a few months ago when driving around in New Smyrna Beach and I loved it so much that, for something different, I made a whole playlist to share with everyone. So, check it out when you get the chance: Some of the lyrics are outdated for these modern times but the music is Wonderful. Also, the Sue Raney version of the second song (Till There Was You – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEoG1TYLBWI) is much better than the Peggy Lee version but Spotify didn’t have the Sue Raney version. I encourage you to check that out and replace the Peggy Lee version with the Sue Raney version if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify. It’s so much better than the Peggy Lee version and fits in well with this playlist.

7. Laid Back Lounge (chill-out lounge/cafe music): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5szvQk9eJlHix5KRs9TcL2?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1K6jE_L8fFaRFD7xH6y8sdSDw4mGtEJKQ47FhkGM9gOxQadwvITpHlJ5U_aem_bDKXVL4R48UPfwfUmu8oQQ. One song missing (not available on Spotify) is the Cafe del Mar version of Kalliope’s Lunar Landing (Here it is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X-Rg13QyTE ). I encourage you to check that out and insert it just after the track 13 (Blank & Jones: Desire – Ambient Mix) if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify. It fits in well with this playlist.

Enjoy this music over the holiday season (and beyond) and feel free to share with anyone else who might enjoy these or could use a positive thought and a smile to brighten up their day.

Lastly, just in case it might be helpful to you (or others in your life):
As a first step when I take on new life coaching clients, I usually assign the following as a homework assignment: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-defeat-any…/
Why? Because this is the entry level step for putting them into a more positive place and ensuring we are working towards actual, instead of perceived, problems. It can be a substantial waste of time, effort, and energy working towards solving non-problems and taking this step (and Step 2 below) can be instrumental in avoiding that. After 3-4 weeks of consistently addressing the external factors indicated in the post above, many people feel much better about themselves and about their lives and are better able to focus on what they really want in life instead of spending time, money, and energy trying to solve problems which are really not problems at all.

After Step 1 has been completed, Step 2 is here which offers a guaranteed way to live increasingly happier : https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/happiness-tip-clear…/

I hope the above will be helpful to you or to others in your life.
Happy Holidays everyone! May 2025 be the best year of our lives EVER! 🙂

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace #joy #positivethinking #balance

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024! A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2023!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Happy New Year everyone! 2023 was a pretty good year for me (much better than 2022). Here are some of my highlights (by the numbers):

9: The number of times I provided special gifts to people for “Make a Friend Smile Day”. That’s the special occasion I created 20 years ago as the perfect excuse to offer guilt-free giving to people going through significant financial difficulties and hardships but are just too proud to ask or accept this help. The only catch is the friend must smile when using the gift because, well, there’d be no reason to have a “Make a Friend Smile Day” if the friend didn’t smile. I bought someone a computer, bought someone a smart phone, paid someone’s rent, and gave out several Publix gift cards and prepaid credit cards this year to people!

$68k: the amount I added to my “Beneficiaries Reserve Fund” due to my investment gains and budget projections based on these. This is the fund I use to help others. Most people who know me understand that whenever I have a good year in the stock market, I always set aside some of the proceeds to share with others to contribute as my gift to them – it’s a promise I make every year to God, higher power, the universe, or whatever it is you believe in (I happen to believe in all the above). You can read more about that here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-guilt-free-way-to…/

21: The number of poems I wrote and published throughout the year. The ones people seemed to resonate most with were: To Ignite a Life (A Determined Drive): https://www.facebook.com/joe.brennan.1806/posts/pfbid0QNUBeFVm9Jw6Gtp943UsnXD4AzEjHCtnwXSTtTgM4Nq6D1gZZPZ6CGbtAaNeT8nhl , The Wingman: https://www.facebook.com/joe.brennan.1806/posts/pfbid0dsPxyBC4dGeCbouj1Q5HXigmr6saJHMHS3K4HigYauRzdnt4Uj5eHecfzuc4trfBl , and Regret Sings Relentlessly (The Haunting Tunes of Truth): https://www.facebook.com/joe.brennan.1806/posts/pfbid08ynYbeHxehSAGsNdqtdRfoSDKik4Q3cSsnmgZFYMUiXd4TWVbU48hy9AJrTNdMHxl

4300: The number of photos I took on travel this year. My biggest trip was my summer road trip (1400 miles, 3 weeks which, 13 places). My favorite places during this year’s travel were Dunedin FL, Tarpon Springs FL, and Sebring FL.

391: The percentage gain of my best performing stock this year: Coinbase (COIN).

279: The total number of places I have explored and spent quality time in to date (including the above road trip).

57: The percentage I gained in the stock market this year which more than made up the 24% loss I experienced last year (2022 was my first down year in 11 years). Over the past 12 years my average annual gain is 35%. So, that’s not too bad. This is about a 5 year gain on average for every year over the past 12 years. I improved my investment strategies this year as I try to do every year. https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-lose-your…/ and https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-break-in-the…/ are two notable examples. You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing. So, use any downtime you might have to your advantage by gaining this knowledge and learning these skills and techniques (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and…/). Also, you can read all about my stock market activities here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities

34: the number of people I helped live happier lives throughout this year.

59: The number of times I posted about my stock market activities and strategies to offer others a chance to capitalize on these. You can read about most of them here: https://www.brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market…/

93: The number of posts I wrote and published, throughout the year, focused on helping people live happier, offering hope and inspiration, keeping people informed, and making people more successful in life.

12: The number of books I read and shared my notes on throughout the year. These were primarily in the areas of self-help and self-improvement. Each of these were towards the top of the “100 Best Self-Help Books of All Time” list I’ve been reading from (So, over the years I’ve currently read the top 89 books on this list of 100 so 11 more to go!).

212: The number of days I spent on Duo Lingo learning and practicing Spanish and Portuguese throughout the year. I’ve been learning various languages on Duo Lingo for 10 years now including Spanish, Portuguese, and a tiny bit of Italian.

11 – the number of hours I spent on fitness activities in a typical week between weight training, running, stretching, and yoga.

So, 2023 was a pretty good year overall. Going forward I plan to focus on creating an electronic version of my first book of poetry (“A Farewell to Reason”) which has been out of print for several years now and some of the poetry I’ve written since then.

I’m looking forward to seeing what 2024 brings! Happy New Year Everyone! May 2024 be the best year of our lives EVER!

selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace #joy #positivethinking #balance #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

A GUILT-FREE WAY TO GIVE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE’S LIVES

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Most people who know me understand that whenever I have a good year in the stock market, I always set aside some of the proceeds to share with others to contribute as my gift to them – it’s a promise I make every year to God, higher power, the universe, or whatever it is you believe in (I happen to believe in all the above).

Well, this year I earned a 56% gain so far which is about an 8-year gain on average in just one year (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities)! So, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I could do for the holidays to contribute to people I care about.

What I ended up deciding on is providing a 0% “loan” (“wink wink”) to people which they can use at any time, in any way they choose, and for whatever payment terms they choose (which can be adjusted at any time). If the “loan” is paid off within 2 years, then they owe only 90% of the loan total.

The reason I provided a 0% “loan” is many people feel much more comfortable with that than receiving a large sum of money as a gift – it tends to be more guilt-free in nature as a lot of people are uncomfortable receiving larger amounts of cash as gifts. However, I have given them each the option of paying the “loan” back (or not). I provided everyone with three choices regarding this gift:

1. Accept the “loan” at any time up until 30 November 2024 as their gift from me and pay it back on whatever terms they like (which they can adjust at any time). This would especially be a great option if they have debts they would like to at least partially pay down or any new purchases they would like to make without having to pay any interest. Again, they are not required to pay the “loan” back. However, if they do then I will offer their “loan” to the next person. So, it does not affect me in the least if they are not able to pay back the “loan” for whatever reason. Because even if they do, I gain no benefit since I’m just going to just offer the “loan* to the next person. And if they end up not being able to pay it back, then as far as I’m concerned it just means they needed the money more than the next person. Lastly, if they do end up paying the “loan” back within 2 years then they only pay 90% of the loan total (a 10% discount).

2. Decline the “loan” anytime up to 30 November 2024 and receive $150 as their gift from me. If they decline the “loan,” then I will offer it to the next person. So, I gain no benefit if they decline the “loan.” As such, I encourage them to use the “loan” if it might be helpful to them.

3. Allow the “loan” to expire on 30 November 2024 without using it and receive $150 as their gift from me. If the “loan” expires, I will offer it to the next person. So, I gain no benefit if the “loan” expires.

Any “loan” (or any portion of any loan) not paid off within 2 years is automatically forgiven. Thus, the recipient(s) will owe nothing after 2 years.

So, the above is how I decided to contribute this year. Perhaps the above will be helpful to some of you in figuring out how to contribute when good things happen for you. I hope it does.

Have a wonderful holiday season everyone!

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace #joy #positivethinking #balance #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! A TINY GIFT FOR YOU!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

One thing I used to do years ago for the holidays was hand out themed compilation CDs of music people couldn’t buy anywhere to give them something special and unique and wonderful to listen to over the holiday season (and beyond). They did not contain holiday music or anything which, for me, tends to get old after a short while – just unique music that is nice to listen to for something different. I was always particular and intentional about the themes I came up with and always ordered the tracks in such a way to ensure they created a wonderful musical experience and a smooth flow from one track to the next.

I used to do this year-after-year up until the widespread use of I-tunes, media players, Spotify and such. So, I started to realize CDs were probably a waste of time and effort. Well, the last couple of years I decided to recreate some of those CDs as Playlists on Spotify.

I might continue the above practice next year, but for this year I decided to create a new 1950s/1960s playlist. I heard some old music on a radio station a few months ago when driving around in New Smyrna Beach and I loved it so much that, for something different, I made a whole playlist to share with everyone. So, check it out when you get the chance:

Smooth Sailing 50s & 60s: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3x0UnPJDMQqXcgxDIemCep…

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do. Some of the lyrics are outdated for these modern times but the music is Wonderful. Also, the Sue Raney version of the second song (Till There Was You – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEoG1TYLBWI) is much better than the Peggy Lee version but Spotify didn’t have the Sue Raney version. I encourage you to check that out and replace the Peggy Lee version with the Sue Raney version if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify. It’s so much better than the Peggy Lee version and fits in well with this playlist. Also, feel free to modify the playlist to make it your own including adding some of your favorites.

Below are the five playlists I provided in previous years so feel free to check these out as well over the holidays (and beyond):

1. Classical Gems (nice and soothing classical music): Classical Gems – playlist by Joe Brennan | Spotify

2. Candlelight Classic Jazz I (mainly old classic vocal jazz): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1R0tZBB8MOZUJgA01LrK2C…

3. Candlelight Classic Jazz II (mainly old classic instrumental jazz): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/10ZO5Mrv5fF2Uns7QEzWVT…

4. New Age (Morningtide-Eveningtide): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5S0Re0yHvQma9WMai20w36…

People really seemed to love this one for helping them to relax and even sleep. One song (What a Beautiful Sunset by Angelwing) was not available on Spotify but I encourage you to check out this excellent song as well: https://youtu.be/pXgjQPgh4bM?si=ovRvGhgp3V_G47JI . You can add this wonderful track if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify.

5. Acoustic Tracks: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4rjwsNOCPfWZJFK72cKvji… This is a playlist that I love to listen to around the start of Autumn. For some reason the music really seems to fit at that time. None of the Joni Mitchell songs were on Spotify but tracks such as: the acoustic live version of “People’s Parties” (my very favorite:

https://youtu.be/NktbeZiMYfA?si=dV0LcJEL6uo1aTbJ), “Urge for Going” (https://youtu.be/ZvSvTRhAJxg?si=hKeMtJUa95dTLGUk), “Little Green” (https://youtu.be/HTxUrDtoPP0?si=fo0yREfcqCIxaznn), “A Case of You” (https://youtu.be/0YuaZcylk_o?si=hwbPrgdwdmxUYHlM), “Court and Spark” (https://youtu.be/_1Z6I62yvfg?si=irKLbee4rBS5evAI), and “That Song About the Midway” (https://youtu.be/O9R82TThjdw?si=jA4wsRNPDVaNUJXo) are excellent. So add the above tracks if you create your own playlist outside of Spotify.

Enjoy this music over the holiday season (and beyond) and feel free to share with anyone else who might enjoy these or could use a positive thought and a smile to brighten up their day.

Lastly, just in case it might be helpful to you (or others in your life):

As a first step when I take on new life coaching clients, I usually assign the following as a homework assignment: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-defeat-any…/

Why? Because this is the entry level step for putting them into a more positive place and ensuring we are working towards actual, instead of perceived, problems. It can be a substantial waste of time, effort, and energy working towards solving non-problems and taking this step (and Step 2 below) can be instrumental in avoiding that. After 3-4 weeks of consistently addressing the external factors indicated in the post above, many people feel much better about themselves and about their lives and are better able to focus on what they really want in life instead of spending time, money, and energy trying to solve problems which are really not problems at all.

After Step 1 has been completed, Step 2 is here which offers a guaranteed way to live increasingly happier : https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/happiness-tip-clear…/

I hope the above will be helpful to you or to others in your life.

Happy Holidays everyone! May 2024 be the best year of our lives EVER! 🙂

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace #joy #positivethinking #balance