"I believe that I am a person who's optimistic about change. Thanks for reminding me from your broadcast with Gayle King... I needed that." -Michelle
Read More Testimonials»

Our Being Happier Experts

Michael Anthony

Michael Anthony

Teacher and author of How to be Happy and Have Fun Changing...

Shared by First30Days View Profile»
Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferriss

Entrepreneur and best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek

Shared by First30Days View Profile»
M.J. Ryan

M.J. Ryan

Creator of the Random Acts of Kindness series

Shared by First30Days View Profile»

Meet all of our New Directions Experts»

News

The latest news on this change — carefully culled from the world wide web by our change agents. They do the surfing, so you don't have to!

Heavy Metal Monk

Heavy Metal Monk

It’s not every day that one seeks life advice from a monk who loves heavy metal and has his own band, but why not? Brother Cesare (aka Brother Metal) is a 62-year old monk living in Milan, and something happened about 15 years ago that changed his life: He attended a Metallica concert. “I was overwhelmed and amazed by the sheer energy of it,” he says. Check out the accompanying video to this BBC article and see his energy in action!

Heavy metal has long been associated with anger and even the devil, so a monk of any kind embracing it will be controversial to some. Brother Cesare’s general message and reason for sticking with heavy metal is, “I do it to convert people to life, to understand life, to grab hold of life, to savour it and enjoy it.”

In your own pursuit of being happier, Brother Cesare’s story is a reminder that happiness and fulfillment can be found in the strangest of places, but finding where your passions lie will surely lead you there. Do you have any quirky or surprising interests that bring you happiness? Tell us!

Posted: 7/22/08