For several years I worked for a very large computer company. So big that it brought in over seven billion dollars each year. And for a while, a good chunk of that business was very profitable.

One of the things that made it profitable was the company’s ability to outsource certain parts of the business to outside people who could do it faster, better, and cheaper than we could.

And it isn’t just big companies that benefit.

For startups to be successful, they need to figure out which pieces they are going to do internally and outsource the rest. Otherwise, the startup would need so much up-front money that the company could never get off the ground.

But outsourcing can also lead to disaster.

That large computer company began outsourcing things it should never have, and before too long that seven billion dwindled to one billion, and fell fast from there. The company never really recovered.

In our own lives, we choose which things we will do ourselves, and which things we’ll outsource to someone who can do it faster and better than we could. For me, that is pretty much anything related to plumbing and painting. If I try to do any of that work myself, it’ll end up being a disaster and costing me much more than had I not hired a real pro to do it.

But there is one thing in every one of our lives that, if outsourced, will lead to disaster.

Happiness.

Outsourcing happiness? What does that even mean?

When we look to anything in the world for our happiness, then we’ve outsourced it.

Are you looking for your job satisfaction to improve in order to be happy? Then you’ve outsourced happiness.

Do you believe a better relationship will make you happy? Then you’ve outsourced happiness.

Looking for a bigger bank account or a healthier / prettier / stronger body to make you happy? Then you’ve outsourced happiness.

In fact, if you ever find yourself believing that something external to your inner-soul is needed to make you happy – or, conversely, that something or someone can make you unhappy – then you’re outsourcing happiness.

And when we outsource happiness, the ironic thing is that we’ll never be happy.

We’re seeking for something where it will never be found.

And all that results is sadness, despair, and the delusional belief that we just need to keep seeking. It’s an endless death spiral.

Until we realize that we don’t need to outsource happiness. That, in fact, we can find it in the only place it exists.

Within.

Within our core being. The essence of who we are. Our true nature as Being.

When we can tap into that infinite reservoir of happiness, we are overcome with an amazing sense of peace and joy.

We now “in-source” happiness, and our lives are completely changed.

Join me in Monday’s class where we’ll explore the nature of insourcing happiness and how we practice making that our reality. I look forward to seeing you then.