International Day of Happiness

A few things came together this week, and so I'm writing about the International Day of Happiness - Monday, March 20th. It was established in 2011 by the United Nations General Assembly for the purpose of having everyone, everyone realize the importance of happiness in their lives.

And so it's fitting that we're discussing mental health, business success and happiness in an event Tuesday at Global Chamber, and ongoing... because every day is mental health day, business success day and happiness day.

Please take advantage of our first Positive Intelligence cohort starting this month, and read more HERE.

If you missed that one, there will be more. Jump in to better mental health, productivity and happiness.

Why this topic, why now? It's personal... and so here we go.

Behind all this is to have more people everywhere have a chance to be happy, every day.

Above that's me with my Grandfather, my 'Pops', Joseph William Brings. We share the same middle name, and he was my mentor all along the way, from that young age cooling off in Valley Stream, New York... through the last time I saw him in Toms River, New Jersey - then, me age 28, he was 87.

It was with pride that I shared with him that last time I saw him alive that I had discovered my life's passion... international business. I was back from a 2 week trip in South Korea and Asia, and to me it was life-changing and amazing... THIS WAS IT... what I wanted to do.

Those early days I was doing technical support and business development for Dupont, and the company later gave me two expat assignments and seemingly infinite opportunities to be serve clients, grow business and be happy.

My Pops was a successful entrepreneur because he worked hard, and solved problems, and cared about his clients... and I watched and learned during my growing-up years... setting the stage for my own entrepreneurial venture, Global Chamber. Years after his passing, he was the inspiration for a chamber of commerce that's everywhere... helping people grow their business anywhere in the world.

There's one key difference in our entrepreneurial journeys that I appreciated this week.

He was successful, though he didn't have any purpose other than to be successful, to provide in the early days for my mother and my Uncle, and for my grandmother Emma. That's a good purpose... and thank you, Pops... that enabled me to have my own new car at age 20 (!!) and my first house at age 22! He didn't have aspirations to change the world other than to provide solutions for customers that they couldn't get anywhere else in the greater New York City area - and since he was so good at diagnosing mechanical problems, he became known far and wide, that if it was a challenging problem, 'speak with Joe'. He was a problem solver! And I couldn't respect him any more for it.

So now here's the difference. Of course Global Chamber® is quite a bit different, though the fundamental goal is the same... provide our members something they can't get anywhere else... reach to anyone, anywhere... to grow their business within our trusted global tribe. We solve plenty of member challenges... and we love that! It gives us intense pride and happiness to support members in their success, and see them succeed and smile!

AND... we also want to make a difference beyond the economics, and I know this didn't matter much to my grandfather because we talked about it. He was pragmatic and focused on business success.

We want a world that is more honest, and truthful, and fair... that gives everyone a fair shot at success, and doesn't carry forward prejudices of the past. Those sadly still exist all around us. It never ends, AND we can make a difference if we say something, or do something. And we must.

When you're an entrepreneur you know that it can be stacked against you, too. And if you're different in any way from 'the normal' - people pick you apart and stand in your way, and that's wrong.

It shouldn't be that way, but it is, and so at Global Chamber® we inherently lean to the side of change, and progress... and supporting the little guy and gal... to enable and empower anyone to do what they want in life, to succeed within a structure that historically rewards status quo. Let's change that.

That all matters to me, and I've made some decisions along the way that have hurt the business, but were principled as the 'right thing'. Our values are shown HERE and they still feel pretty good.

The key is standing up to those value, even when it hurts.

A first example of that was a state organization that could have been helpful for Global Chamber® from our early days, but the leader of the group showed herself as corrupt, and we just said no.

A second example of standing up to principles for us was creating the Women in Global Leadership signature series of seminar, spotlighting the challenges and opportunities that women face, and getting men along to help - to create more fairness. And as most of us know, a gender balanced and diverse team will almost always be more innovative, fun and successful.

A third example of standing up to principles was saying good-bye to 3 members... all male... over a couple year time frame, each of them clearly demonstrating at minimum a complete lack of understanding about racism and misogyny. That's just not OK.

How can any of us go through life and ignore what others must endure, and do nothing? We know too much and we're better than that... and life is too short not to engage with problems. We shouldn't retreat to our gated communities and not care what's on the other side of the gate.

Our goal is to surround our global tribe with capable people that we can trust. And if someone ignores truth, are they trustworthy?

We seek more global business, more successful members and a better world... that is safer, more honest, with accountability and respect. A world that allows people to succeed on the basis of their ideas that may run crossways with the powers that be.

So it's not OK to support Vladimir Putin - he's an international terrorist who is killing people in Ukraine. And so trading with Russia in support of his world-destabilizing is absolutely wrong. It's not OK to take money from Russia and then ignore Putin's crimes.

We support a world that enables everyone, everywhere to live free from tyranny, and not be bought off.

And trump - he's always been a racist, criminal, grifter and bully his entire life. How anyone voted for him as U.S. President is problematic. Anyone voting for him twice hopefully is in therapy. Anyone still supporting him is not welcome in the global tribe because we can't trust their honesty and values.

We are focused every hour of every day to help our members grow their business. AND we support a better world, where we all can live more free, with success and happiness... unbullied by Putin and other terrorists who use their power for their own gain, and so continue the cycle against the underprivileged and those who historically have not benefited from the world's wealth.

So thank you to my Pops for seeing the entrepreneurial path. And we want more.

And that's the legacy that I see from Global Chamber® over the next decades... a unique, global business organization that is everywhere, that seeks prosperity for members, and a better world for everyone, everywhere. And we appreciate that taking a moral high road can slow our own economic benefit, but we prefer this path, while protecting members ability to succeed everywhere, too.

So sometimes we'll say something that may not please the power of the hour, but we need to collectively make more progress. And that means that sometimes we need to say or do something. 

Ignoring it with a cocktail in the comfort of a gated community, isn't the right answer.

Ultimately the correct actions can make millions more happy... and it'll put more smiles our faces, too. We'll keep seeking input from our members on which issues to speak out on and champion.

Make sense? Let's be part of something bigger... global is good. Let's change the world, too.

Thank you members for being our daily inspiration to support you, and be better.

Thank you Shirzad Chamine for Positive Intelligence, and making us better, happier.

Thank you Pops for giving me the courage to be an entrepreneur, and take it one step further.

Doug Bruhnke - Global Chamber®

ps... So what does this have to do with happiness? In the past few months I discovered more happiness through my passion of helping members succeed, and being able to make a difference however slowly in these issues that need to change around the world. The Positive Intelligence® approach developed by Shirzad Chamine has been a key for me. Included in that is realizing that my main saboteur is 'hyper-achiever'... which has helped me succeed BUT it also carries some weight. And in my grandfathers's case, who undoubtedly also had this saboteur, he committed suicide one week after my visit to him, described above. I was so full of enthusiasm and life, with a lifetime of opportunity ahead. He didn't understand how much we all counted on him, loved him, and were inspired by him. I loved my Pops, and I didn't understand how this all fit together at the time. So now I recommit to be better, and help others be better... more successful, more empathic and happier.

Doug Bruhnke - CEO of Global Chamber®

Doug is a global entrepreneur, speaker and author dedicated to helping members of Global Chamber® reach new markets across metros and borders. He is a two-time expat with Dupont in Tokyo and Singapore with 36+ years of global business experience in nearly all countries and segments. Doug is a member of the Arizona District Export Council and dozens of collaborating global business organizations. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah, an EMBA from Michigan State University and is co-inventor on 5 patents. Born in Mount Kisco, New York, Doug is a German-Polish American who lives with his Greek-American wife of 40+ years in Scottsdale and Palo Alto, and they are proud grandparents of baby Luca. Connect with Doug here.

Global Chamber® is a growing and collaborating community of CEOs, executives and leaders in over 525 metro regions around the world, connecting member businesses to new opportunities for advancing growth and success. It's the only chamber of commerce in the world operating in hundreds of locations that helps exporting, importing and investing for members to connect through warm introductions to clients, partners, projects and resources. 

Global Chamber® has been a registered trademark for Global Chamber LLC since 2014.