A prescriptive on how to re-discover joy and live with it in our personal, professional, and creative lives, written by a top music executive who guided the careers of legendary hip-hop, R&B, and pop singers.
In her thirty years working as a music industry executive at Island Def Jam and Jive Records, Grace Harry has lived her many creative lives at the intersection of music, art, and the passionate pursuit of joy—a long forgotten, but vital birthright. Many of us have no idea what joy truly is, and capturing it is often easier said than done.
In The Joy Strategist, Grace takes readers on a journey to explore all dimensions of joy: how we find it, how we can re-discover it, and how we can incorporate it into our daily lives.
Sometimes lighthearted and always real, The Joy Strategist shows readers how to break through creative or emotional ruts that keep them from tapping into their innate ability to feel true and unfettered joy. Grace coaches readers with meaningful autobiographical anecdotes and her toolbox of playful activities, which include:
--Reconnecting with your “inner GPS,” the pilot light that guided you toward joyful experience without inhibition as a child.
--Ceasing the war you’ve waged against your Heart and heal the wounds preventing you from giving and receiving love.
-- Cultivating your “Starting Five,” or the community of people closest to you that will show up and support you on your journey, and how to best show up for them as well.
--Breaking free from your Ego and dismantling the limiting beliefs that keep your deepest hopes and aspirations out of grasp.
A mix of memoir, prescriptive self-help exercises, and cultural commentary on joy, The Joy Strategist will equip readers to define what exactly brings them joy so that they can live lives imbued with wonder, self-love, and creative abundance.
“History shows often that for every revolution, there is a person who plants the seeds of that revoluton in the minds of the people who matter. In the last few decades, Grace Harry has been planting the seeds of her ideas in the minds of the most influential leaders in culture, business, and politics. The beautiful thing about these seeds is that they don’t need to be planted too deep. They are actually simple. Grace has always conveyed to me the importance of prioritizing joy and play so that life doesn’t get too drab or serious. She has always reminded me that the curious mind of an eight-year-old is unstoppable, and that we need to do our best to get back to that. Having personally used the contents of this book as my GPS for the last five years, I highly recommend to each and every soul to not make “joy” a four-letter word. Prioritize it. Practice it. Protect it, and let it protect you.” —Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson
"The Joy Strategist is tremendously enlightening, I’ve read many books that deal with self love and roads to happiness but Grace Harry has a very special powerful way for us to reach our best selves and actually achieve joy in our lives." —Common
"This book is a gem — and one that couldn't come a moment too soon. Grace has written a manifesto for modern times, a way for all of us to reclaim the thing that gets chipped away amid inboxes, schedules, busy-ness, streams, apps, and crazy-making information overload. That thing is joy, and Grace's book is a ringing reminder of its importance in our lives and a roadmap for how to reclaim it. A timely, consequential, thoughtful book, and one that deserves as wide an audience as possible." —Jimmy Soni, best-selling author of THE FOUNDERS
Grace Harry is an artist, entrepreneur, creative muse, pleasure instigator, and speaker. After an illustrious 30-year career in entertainment, Grace, “The Joy Strategist,” found her calling leading what she calls “the Revolution of JOY.” Through her popular playdate community “Play with Grace,” she helps everyday people welcome joy back into their lives. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, HelloGiggles, Vogue Online, The Times UK, The London Evening Standard, and many more.
A prescriptive on how to re-discover joy and live with it in our personal, professional, and creative lives, written by a top music executive who guided the careers of legendary hip-hop, R&B, and pop singers.
In her thirty years working as a music industry executive at Island Def Jam and Jive Records, Grace Harry has lived her many creative lives at the intersection of music, art, and the passionate pursuit of joy—a long forgotten, but vital birthright. Many of us have no idea what joy truly is, and capturing it is often easier said than done.
In The Joy Strategist, Grace takes readers on a journey to explore all dimensions of joy: how we find it, how we can re-discover it, and how we can incorporate it into our daily lives.
Sometimes lighthearted and always real, The Joy Strategist shows readers how to break through creative or emotional ruts that keep them from tapping into their innate ability to feel true and unfettered joy. Grace coaches readers with meaningful autobiographical anecdotes and her toolbox of playful activities, which include:
--Reconnecting with your “inner GPS,” the pilot light that guided you toward joyful experience without inhibition as a child.
--Ceasing the war you’ve waged against your Heart and heal the wounds preventing you from giving and receiving love.
-- Cultivating your “Starting Five,” or the community of people closest to you that will show up and support you on your journey, and how to best show up for them as well.
--Breaking free from your Ego and dismantling the limiting beliefs that keep your deepest hopes and aspirations out of grasp.
A mix of memoir, prescriptive self-help exercises, and cultural commentary on joy, The Joy Strategist will equip readers to define what exactly brings them joy so that they can live lives imbued with wonder, self-love, and creative abundance.
Praise
“History shows often that for every revolution, there is a person who plants the seeds of that revoluton in the minds of the people who matter. In the last few decades, Grace Harry has been planting the seeds of her ideas in the minds of the most influential leaders in culture, business, and politics. The beautiful thing about these seeds is that they don’t need to be planted too deep. They are actually simple. Grace has always conveyed to me the importance of prioritizing joy and play so that life doesn’t get too drab or serious. She has always reminded me that the curious mind of an eight-year-old is unstoppable, and that we need to do our best to get back to that. Having personally used the contents of this book as my GPS for the last five years, I highly recommend to each and every soul to not make “joy” a four-letter word. Prioritize it. Practice it. Protect it, and let it protect you.” —Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson
"The Joy Strategist is tremendously enlightening, I’ve read many books that deal with self love and roads to happiness but Grace Harry has a very special powerful way for us to reach our best selves and actually achieve joy in our lives." —Common
"This book is a gem — and one that couldn't come a moment too soon. Grace has written a manifesto for modern times, a way for all of us to reclaim the thing that gets chipped away amid inboxes, schedules, busy-ness, streams, apps, and crazy-making information overload. That thing is joy, and Grace's book is a ringing reminder of its importance in our lives and a roadmap for how to reclaim it. A timely, consequential, thoughtful book, and one that deserves as wide an audience as possible." —Jimmy Soni, best-selling author of THE FOUNDERS
Author
Grace Harry is an artist, entrepreneur, creative muse, pleasure instigator, and speaker. After an illustrious 30-year career in entertainment, Grace, “The Joy Strategist,” found her calling leading what she calls “the Revolution of JOY.” Through her popular playdate community “Play with Grace,” she helps everyday people welcome joy back into their lives. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, HelloGiggles, Vogue Online, The Times UK, The London Evening Standard, and many more.
