How this all started
At the end of 2012, I went to a personal growth seminar (this one, for those who are curious). I’d been to things like it before, and have been to more since, but this particular one changed my life.
What happened was that I got in touch with how deeply I care — and realized that I was no longer willing to wall myself off from other people, pretending that I didn’t.
The Gift of Happiness was born because I wanted to find ways to be good to people (myself included), even when I was scared, angry, or hurting. And I wanted to help other people do that, too. Because that’s what creates the kind of loving, joyful, connected world I want to live in — and that I think other people want to experience, too.
My first product was a “Giving Kit”: a collection of greeting cards, stamps, candy, money, and posters that I gave to family members for Christmas. My hope was that that they would use the contents to make people smile, and experience the joy that comes from those small, unnecessary acts of generosity. And some even did!
Connection Cards came soon after, the result of a brainstorming session with a friend about what else could go in a Giving Kit that wouldn’t cost much but could still have a big impact. My friend suggested a little card that simply said Reminder: You are Awesome, and I printed some out and started giving them away that very day. People loved getting them! Six years later I have a collection of more than 150 different messages, and instruction guides for how to use them in all sorts of settings, from classrooms to workplaces to families.
Signs of Kindness are a natural extension of the more personal connection cards. They include many of the same messages, but instead of going to one person at a time, they can be seen by thousands of people a day, and impact not just individuals but entire communities. I’d daydreamed of signs like these years ago, but only in late summer 2019 did I find a way to easily print and ship them across the country. It’s been full speed ahead ever since!
Through all of this, what keeps getting reinforced for me is that all of us can use extra love and encouragement from time to time — and we can also be the source of it, whether through cards, signs, or some other means.
I don’t think being good to each other is as risky or difficult as we sometimes imagine. And the payoff is huge. I hope that what you find here will help you create more of that goodness in your life.
Media Coverage
April 2020: 50-minute interview with Joshua Gonzales on his Love is podcast. Complete with timestamps, so you can jump right to the parts that sound most interesting.
March 2020: 45-minute interview with David Yas on The Boston Podcast, where I almost got a perfect score on his happiness quiz. :)
February 2020: 40-minute podcast interview with Becky Bast, the Declutterista
February 2020: 10-minute interview with Janet Dwinells from the Personal Growth Network, who basically just let me share all the fun things I’m up to!
December 2019: Live interview with Scott Rotondo on 990WBOB.com (my 10-minute segment starts around 17:16)
December 2019: 2-minute feature and write-up as Loren’s “Badass Chick of the Week” on 103.3 AMP Radio’s The TJ Show
September 2019: Interview for Tina van Leuven’s Joy Evolution Summit where I talk about my “journey to joy,” why your happiness is a gift, and why I’m so exited about my new Signs of Kindness project
December 2017: Metrowest Daily News article about giving out free hugs with Giulietta Nardone
July 2017: NBC Boston story about offering Urban Confessional-inspired free listening on Boston Common
April 2016: Interview with the Mighty Married Moms where I explain the early origins and philosophy of The Gift of Happiness
Formal Bio
Anne Lafleur, MSW, is a consultant and facilitator with a passion for helping people build and strengthen relationships at home, at work, and in communities. She has a Bachelor's degree in psychology and religious studies from Brown University, a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Boston College, and over a decade of experience working in Human Resources at MIT. Since 2013 she has been helping people experience moments of authentic joy and connection through workshops, conversations, and products that literally spread words of kindness and encouragement across the world. She lives in Natick, MA with her husband and two school-aged children.