Don’t ever underestimate the power of a smile. Internally, it 
immediately sets good physiology into motion — muscles relax, 
your immune system perks up and you feel a surge of energy. 
 
Externally, others respond to your smile with encouragement and 
enthusiasm. As comedian Victor Borge once put it, “A smile is the 
shortest distance between two people.” 
 
All of this takes place even if you don’t feel like smiling. So 
force a smile on your face and keep it there. Just the muscular 
configuration will cause some changes in your favor. As they say in 
twelve-step recovery, it makes sense to “fake it until you make it.” 
 
Or to paraphrase comedian George Burns, when it comes to smiling, 
“Always be sincere, even if you have to fake it.” 12
 
 
Try it right now. Oh, go ahead. Nobody’s watching. Force a 
big smile on your face and hold it. Can you feel that subtle surge of 
energy and confidence inside? It never fails to materialize if you 
hold the smile long enough. 
 
Here is an exercise that will help you follow this 
commandment. If you are willing to practice this protocol at least 
once a day, I guarantee you will find it easier to smile more often. 
 
That’s because when you gently stretch your smile muscles, they 
become stronger and more available. Hence smiling takes less effort. 
 
(CAUTION: THIS EXERCISE INVOLVES MILD EXERTION OF 
CERTAIN MUSCLE GROUPS. BE SURE TO CHECK WITH YOUR 
PHYSICIAN BEFORE ATTEMPTING THESE MANEUVERS.) 

Exercise #1: 
 
(1) Raise your eyebrows as high as you can on your forehead. 
Try to touch your hairline with each eyebrow. Hold for a count of 
10, then release. 
 
(2) Close both eyes as tightly as you can without hurting 
yourself. You want to get your cheeks involved with this maneuver. 
Hold for a count of 10, then release. 
 
(3) Try to touch your earlobes with the corners of your 
mouth. This should produce the biggest, broadest grin you can 
muster. Count to 10, then release. 
 
(4) Now try to touch the corners of your mouth underneath 
your chin, producing a huge frown. Hold for 10, then release. 
 
(5) Gently bring your chin down towards your chest, then 
look up at the ceiling, then slowly bring your chin back down to 
your chest. Look up and down in this fashion for six repetitions. 
 
(6) Carefully touch your right ear to your right shoulder, 
then your left ear to your left shoulder, and gently stretch your neck 
from side to side six times. Try to bring your ears down to your 
shoulders, rather than raising your shoulders to meet your ears. 
 
(7) Roll your shoulders in vertical circles, stretching your 13
chest and the muscles between your shoulder blades, for a count of
ten. This should feel like a mini-massage.