Business strategist and author Philippos Aristotelous talks about his new book

In an ideal world, everyone would be happy in both their professional and personal lives. This is obviously not always the case, but what if there was a pragmatic framework and a robust conceptual guide available to help along in our pursuit of happiness?

Reflecting how ongoing experience shapes our perceptions, including his own, Philippos Aristotelous, a leading lawyer, business strategist and author has revealed refreshed insights for success and fulfillment in the recently released second edition of his highly popular book ‘The MARVEL of Happiness: Principles, Stories and Lessons for Living Fully.’

Speaking to CBN, Aristotelous was eloquent and happy to share more about his innovative approach and explains that while this publication may be the second edition of a book first published in December 2020, it is 30% larger and contains a wealth of fresh new information.

“I published the second edition because of the subject matter of the book, which is basically the good life. It is a big topic and I found that I have reevaluated some of my beliefs around this topic since the first edition,” he elaborated.

The substantially upgraded and expanded second edition represents a better, more up-to-date snapshot of the propositions Aristotelous puts forward in terms of what he believes, and what he is confident others can use towards achieving their own happiness.

“Whether you call it happiness or the good life or a life of purpose and fulfilment, these are all interrelated concepts in the bigger space of what we call the good life, which is a universal,” he continued, adding that it was his own experiences that led him both to writing the first edition and now its updated second version.

“This is of course linked to my own personal story. Basically, I exited a long and successful legal career in 2018 and I had been in the process of evolution, thinking about what makes for a fulfilling life. I published my first book, ‘The MARVEL of Engagement’ (which offers a practical resource for enhancing employee engagement) in 2019,” he recalled.

This book was the first time Aristotelous had conceived the acronym MARVEL, which refers to his keys to happiness and engagement – standing for Meaning, Autonomy, Relatedness, Values, Experience and Learning.

This prompted him to consider how the ideas encapsulated in MARVEL could be used in a wider concept for everyone, not just managers looking to enhance their team’s engagement. “Then I thought that perhaps would be a much more interesting project for me to write the book on happiness in general,” Aristotelous continued.

The second edition now available is something that even those with a copy of the first one in their libraries should consider adding to their reading list since, as well as updated content, it also takes a different approach.

In Aristotelous’ own words, “It is much more robust. The first edition is a bit more disruptive - ‘Let us change everything. Let us topple over the past. Let us become rebellious. Let us bring about change.’ But this one is a bit more robust than that.”

The author continues that he considers this second edition to be also introducing a few conservative nuances but not in the political sense. “It is in the sense that ‘OK, let us not change everything at once. Let us change what we need to change.’ So, let us not all quit our jobs and run in the open fields, seeking utopia,” he elaborated.

Another way to describe the second edition of book, Aristotelous suggested, would be to consider it as having a more mature approach, taking into account more of the wisdom and fundamental values of our ancestors and fundamental pillars such as but not limited to the rule of law and social institutions and how they can and do in fact contribute -often unbeknownst to us - to our sense of well-being. This does not mean that the second edition does not also consider the universal yearning for change and for what is new, it simply also recognises what should also be preserved.

The second edition of ‘The MARVEL of Happiness: Principles, Stories and Lessons for Living Fully’ is available on Amazon and from Kyriacou Bookshops in Limassol. Click here to learn more about Aristotelous and his work.