My first experience with major depression felt like a chemical hijacking.

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It began as our moving van crossed the Cascade Mountains into western Washington. I had grown up in sun-drenched Utah, and apparently my brain did not know what to do with endless clouds, moss, mushrooms, and rain coming in sideways.

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For seven years in Seattle, I struggled with seasonal affective disorder.

When I was 15, I had received a patriarchal blessing that said:

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“You will bring light to those who sit in darkness.”

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At the time, I could not imagine how that promise could come true. I was the one sitting in the darkness.

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Then my husband found a job in Colorado.

Sunshine returned. My energy returned. And—presto chango—I began to feel like myself again.

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That experience led me to earn a master’s degree in counseling psychology. I taught psychology in the mornings, counseled clients in the afternoons and evenings, and drove six children to lessons, practices, games, rehearsals, and every other place children suddenly need to be.

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After I had taught at a university for nearly ten years, I was offered the opportunity to earn a doctorate while paying only for my books.

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There was one small complication: it was a doctorate in business management.

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I said, “That sounds wonderful, but I’m a counselor. What would I do with a doctorate in business?”

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The program director replied, “Your research can be about anything—as long as it relates to business.”

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That was all the invitation I needed.

I studied small-business owners and identified six behaviors that happy people tend to have in common. My work in counseling, psychology, happiness, and career development began coming together.