Happiness Makeovers

Before her diagnosis, Carr was struggling emotionally but viewed changing her life as difficult, even impossible. Her good salary as a commercial actress didn't allay feelings of frustration and insecurity, given the grueling nature of auditioning. "For women, it's a line of work that is focused on physical appearance rather than substance. I was always being judged, and always waiting for permission from casting directors to do what I wanted to do. I probably got more rejections in one week than most people get in a lifetime. "Yet to give up on performing, her childhood dream, didn't seem an option.

A true nature lover, Carr had nevertheless been living in New York City for more than a decade. Thoughts of moving to the country popped into her head from time to time, but she quickly shot them down; a rural existence couldn't be reconciled with the life of an actress.

Carr's social life was further fueling her insecurities. "I was dating guys who were basically vampires, just sucking the life out of me and then disappearing. I would think to myself, 'This guy treats me bad, but there's something exciting about him.' I was addicted to drama."

The shock of the diagnosis and the prospect of a much shorter life than she had ever imagined transformed Carr's inner voices into stentorian commands. She immediately sold her apartment and moved to Woodstock, a lush and funky community two hours north of the city."I was like a plant moving toward the sunshine," she says. She ditched her cavalier boyfriend du jour and eventually married Brian, the sweet cameraman with whom she made her film. "In my pre-diagnosis life, I wouldn't have noticed Brian, because I wasn't responding to nice guys."

Carr's health today is remarkably robust—the tumors have not progressed. And her new career as a health advocate is flourishing: Her sassy, defiant voice brings resolve and comfort to many cancer patients, especially young women who don't want to sacrifice their vitality and attractiveness to the disease. Her latest book, Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor: More Rebellion and Fire for Your Healing Journey, includes dating tips, raw food ideas, meditation tips, and advice on acceptance and forgiveness.

"I'm much happier now that I listen to my gut more, and now that I have the courage to think that my voice matters," Carr says. "In my old life, I was always trying to see if people liked me, if they accepted me. Now I speak from my heart."

When she goes to conferences about nutrition for cancer patients, "I'm the only person there without letters after my name," she says. "I have to trust that I'm smart and capable. Before, I would second-guess myself into inaction. Now I'm more willing to take risks."

Living with cancer is in itself not hard for her, she says, even though it is presumably a constant reminder of how fragile life is. "I'd rather have one phenomenal year than 90 mediocre ones. When you are really living, it really doesn't matter how long you're here."

Less is More

In 2005, Leo Babauta was a speechwriter for the governor of Guam, the U.S. territory where he'd grown up and still lives. He spent long hours at a stressful job he didn't really like, his kids were growing without him, and he was overweight and tired. "I just wasn't happy," Babauta says. Despite his prestigious position,

"I was an underachiever. I was smart enough to do well, but I never felt motivated. None of what I was doing really excited me."

He did achieve one thing during that time: He quit smoking. "I did a lot of online research on changing habits," Babauta says. "I had always wanted to be disciplined, but I never was. I would start to get organized or to wake up earlier, but the efforts would always fall apart. It's not that I was a total loser; it was just difficult for me to stick to things. That's why it was so exciting to learn how."

Soon Babauta applied his new habit-cultivating skills to running, a pursuit for which he developed a burning passion. (He's currently training for his third marathon.) Then he began to eliminate his debts, to simplify his daily routine, to wake up earlier, and to rid his diet of meat.

Babauta concluded that achieving goals is the key to happiness, and that the key to reaching them is the cultivation of good habits through daily practice. "It is my belief that you must practice a habit, as focused as possible, every day for a month," enough time for the new behavior to take hold. "I also learned that you can get over your urges to engage in your old habits by riding them out and focusing on something else."

And, finally, he started his blog, Zen Habits (zenhabits.net). With more than 70,000 subscribers, the blog, which discusses productivity, motivation, and healthy eating, among other hot topics, is supporting Babauta, his wife, and his six children.