That’s what many of my students say – I tell them I need their 100% attention during class and recognize that if they have to check for messages, they can do so by stepping out of the classroom.

Imagine being thanked for asking them to stow their phones (and by stow I mean out of sight because yes, there is research that shows even if a phone that is turned off sits within your sightlines, you will keep checking it no matter whether that it is off).

Learning to live with technology is where most of us are right now – asking for undivided attention is not a punishment — it can be a reward.

It doesn’t take long to discover that spending more time with people in our lives that we may be neglecting is not the short answer.

What people crave is more focus not necessarily more time – the world is busy, life is hectic, almost everyone has the same problem of needing more time.

Activities and conversations that are so focused not even a mobile device can interrupt it.

People feel guilty when they know they are struggling to spend more time with those who matter in their lives but less time and more focus is where the sweet spot is.

In one of my recent NYU Music Business classes we were discussing voice activated listening (Alexa) — a student discovered research about how senior citizens improved their loneliness by interacting with a smart speaker.

Keeping in mind that the number one use for smart speakers like Echo is to listen to music.

But the seniors in this study talked to their artificial “friends” and treated them as they would a human.  Even saying hello when they walked into the room with a smart speaker.

Imagine the power of humans listening and responding to each other if artificial intelligence is a potent but less adequate alternative.

My NYU music business students are always interested in discovering and unlocking the dormant powers they have and may not even realize.

Nothing can pick up your day today more than acknowledging all the hidden powers we all have that can help us get through the ups and downs of daily living.

The power to deal with adversity – no course necessary, everyone has a pretty place to start.

The power to get along well with others – a hint, make it about them.

The power to make others happy – which makes us happy in the process.

The power to care about others and get the negativity off of us.

The dormant power within is there ready to go – hit start.

Author, physician and resilience expert Amit Sood says pursuing happiness will make you miserable.

Better to focus on caring.

And the core building block of caring is resilience.

Therefore, chasing happiness through books, blogs, videos, courses and even psychologists is a useless task.

Patterning happiness in the brain begins with increasing our awareness of caring for others.

The popular singer known as Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) doubles down on being yourself:

“Maybe at the very beginning of my career, I tried to pretend I was someone that I’m not, but I learned that that’s the way artists lose themselves …It’s because they forgot about themselves – them as a person – and invented a fictitious personality.”

Courage to be you and not morph into someone you’re not.

Not just for a performer but anyone who loses themselves is playing to an audience they can no longer see.

In a recent survey a majority of young people crossing all races, classes and cultures value personal success (achievement and happiness) over caring for others.

Fairness doesn’t get a high grade, either, compared to other values.

And parents and teachers may be sending the message that achievement takes precedent over caring.

The Harvard Making Caring Common Project says “The power and frequency of parents’ daily messages about achievement and happiness are drowning out their messages about concern for others.”

Kids and adults still believe in caring and fairness but the messages being sent daily may have to change.

Here’s the study.

Once a radio program director always one so here I go.

Every format hour includes many elements among which are promos for contests and things to come and one-liners to promote and look forward to what’s ahead.

When my children were young and to their delight, I found myself promoting things that were upcoming even within the next hour or few hours.

The underlying truth is that all of us want something to look forward to.

Radio does it to keep listeners listening.

We should do it to keep the family engaged, our co-workers motivated and those we love optimistic.

When stations succeed, they get high ratings.

When individuals look up and promote good things ahead, they get high spirits to make life fun and rewarding.

I don’t know about you, but I was shocked to learn of a study where adults say they feel good only 47% of the time – about half their days, they feel bad.

Aches, anxiety, stress are some culprits – one in four experience anxiety at least once a week and what’s worse is that 61% say they have accepted all of this unhappiness.

As I tell my college students, we have hidden power.

To overcome, make others feel good, put the past behind and not waste the future.

To get along with difficult people, to pat ourselves on the back as needed and to turn crappy days into happy days.

I can prove it:  talk to anyone who has a close call with death or disability, amazing how they can reprioritize what’s important.

The hidden power within us is stronger than the challenges from outside that drag us down.

You are good enough – probably even misjudging your competence.

Trying new things is how we got to where we are – add something new and challenging in every day.

Fear of losing something makes us less willing to face challenges – you only lose when you let fear keep you from trying.

Waiting to feel more confident is a long wait – act first, feel second.