Is Happiness Elementary? Leslie Bradshaw [INBOUND Bold Talk]

What if happiness was actually way simpler than we thought, and closely aligned with doing your best, most productive work? Leslie Bradshaw, COO of Guide, and co-founder of Jess3, has chalked up a daunting list of accolades from Fast Company (Most Creative; Most Influential Women in Technology), Inc. (30 Under 30), and Mashable (Female Entrepreneurs to Know).

Elementary Happiness presents a reimagined version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs -- sleep, food, play, curiosity, and expression -- and shows how getting these basics right takes you from exhausted faux productivity to exuberantly doing the best work of your life.

Using Childhood Lessons to Find Work-Life Balance

"Now it's up to us to change our behavior. Not through advancement, but by getting back to the basics."

Since the dawn of man, we have wrestled with how the work we do to make a living impacts our happiness, our health, and our relationships. While laws and technological advancements have greatly improved working conditions in the United States, many of us are faced with coordinating across time zones and being available after hours to get work done. Burnout is rampant, happiness is dampened, and work-life balance seems impossible.

Rewind to when you were in elementary school: You were sleeping more, eating in a more balanced way, communicating and expressing yourself through creative mediums, constantly curious, and, on the whole, you were just happier.

Watch Leslie Bradshaw's video below to see how returning to the fundamentals of childhood have enabled her to be sustainably at the top of her game professionally. 

Leslie's Slides: