But is he happy?

TO the moderate wage earners among us, it sounds a bit rich when multimillionaire self-help guru Paul McKenna starts spinning a line about how money and material goods don’t buy you happiness.

For the DJ-turned-hypnotist who is currently considering buying Michael Jackson’s palatial Los Angeles home for £19m, it’s a rather ironic statement considering his latest book, I Can Make Your Happy, is going to make him even more cash.

But the 47-year-old, whose wide circle of celebrity friends and clients includes Simon Cowell, the Beckhams, David Walliams, Sophie Dahl and Robbie Williams, is adamant the theories in his latest advice manual are correct.

In one study, he notes, researchers found the richest people in the US Fortune 500 were no happier than Masai tribesmen in East Africa. “I personally know plenty of people who have all the houses and possessions, toys and security that money can buy, and none of that makes them happier than other friends who earn a perfectly ordinary wage,” he writes.

McKenna is like a walking advert for his own publications – thin, rich, supremely confident and happy – all subjects on which he has guided the masses. He veers between DJ-speak and psychobabble, one minute joking about the media interest in his bid for the Jacko house, the next launching into monologues on scientific studies and Zen masters.

He can talk the hind leg off a donkey about the subject of happiness and what makes people in general happy, but seems unable to say in a nutshell what does it for him. It isn’t the mansion or the fast cars, although they give him pleasure – but pleasure’s a transient thing, he says.

The book is aimed at three types of people: hard core miseries, people who become depressed from time to time and those who are happy but want to feel even happier.

“I’m in the last category,” he says. “I’m pretty happy. Rarely would I feel down about things. But being happy is not about being up all the time. I don’t feel up all the time, I feel pretty good most of the time. Simon Cowell said to me recently that I’m the most positive person he knows.”

McKenna’s current home is a sumptuous five-bedroom house in the Hollywood hills, where neighbours include Britney Spears, Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy.

After his initial success in the UK he set out to escape the British taxman and conquer America several years ago – and with a reported £15m TV deal and sales of zillions of books, he’s done it. There, he is making waves in reality TV and currently working on The Fixer, in which he helps people with various problems, from a stutterer to a woman with a rage disorder.

He has remained happy in La La Land, he reflects. “I hear lots of people who’ve never been to LA slagging it off, but I like it – the weather, the people and the challenge the life I opted for has given me.

“Part of the cultural ethos is ‘better thyself’ and don’t be ashamed of it. In England, we don’t like to wash our emotional dirty laundry in public, although that’s changing. Look at Jeremy Kyle.”

In the UK, love him or hate him, you can’t escape the fact that McKenna has outsold every non-fiction writer. “Yes, that’s true,” he says. “I know I rule at the moment. That makes me feel brilliant. Crikey, for a ruthless overachiever, that’s exactly what you want to hear.”

Yet he has never found a permanent partner, although he has romanced some beautiful women over the years, including former TV presenter Penny Smith and models Liz Fuller and Clare Staples.

Would he like to settle down?

“Arguably I have,” he says, slightly defensively.

“I’ve had many girlfriends over the years, some relationships for a shorter amount of time and some for much longer. I remain friends with many of my ex-girlfriends. I’ve never cheated.”

MCKENNA, the son of a builder and home economics teacher, had an unremarkable childhood in Enfield, Middlesex.

He didn’t excel at school and was seen as a bit of a geek.

On leaving, he began DJ-ing in Topshop at Oxford Circus and went on to work for Capital Radio, where he interviewed a hypnotist who fuelled his interest in the field. The rest is history.

But the feelings of being a geek endured.

“There was a lack of self-acceptance. I didn’t like myself entirely. If I felt geeky, the solution was to overcompensate, to be richer, more famous, date more beautiful girls, have a bigger car, have a bigger house.”

Today, he says that he would be as happy as he is now even if he wasn’t a multimillionaire.

“What I’m saying is, that in itself, money won’t make you happy. It will bring you transitory pleasure but a longer lasting meaningful life comes from within.”

So, is he going to buy Jacko’s house? “I’ve looked at a number of properties in Los Angeles.

If I do buy it, I’ll certainly be changing doctors,” he quips.

His success hasn’t quelled his ambition, he says. “I’m still a bit of a man with a mission.

It’s not a bad thing because it’s how we get things done and yet, at the same time, if your ambition is so overwhelming you never actually stop to enjoy just being. “ To relax he practises this ‘faaabulous technique’ he’s learned about called “Big Mind”, a state of absolute bliss which he says he can do in less than 20 minutes.

“I’ve had to work hard at relaxing, but I’m much better now. I make time nearly every day to go into a positive, relaxing, guided meditative state.”

And, of course, he doesn’t have to worry about the bank balance.

■ I Can Make You Happy by Paul McKenna (Bantam, £10.99)

The cure for tired legs

THE TV series Dancing on Ice has been so popular, that the National Ice Skating Association has seen a huge increase in participation. Now World Champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are once again coaching the stars and putting them through a gruelling training regime.

Ice skating can burn up to 500 calories an hour and helps to strengthen leg muscles, so it’s a great New Year workout. Dr Hilary Jones, media GP and contestant on Dancing on Ice 2010, says: “I'll be watching this series with huge respect for the skaters because on top of the challenges of the skating itself, I know from personal experience how tough the training is and how hard that ice is when you fall on it.

“Most of us last year suffered from tired muscles at some stage or another so large amounts of arnica was being handed around to complement the sessions on the physiotherapy couch.”

Nelson's Arnicare Cooling Gel containing natural arnica with menthol and grapefruit oil was used on the contestants. It costs £4.95 for 30g and is available from pharmacies and health food stores nationwide.

■ arnicare.co.uk

Health assessment

IF your New Year’s resolution is to get healthier, then logging on to boots.com might be a step in the right direction.

Following an assessment of the nation’s health by Boots that two thirds of people in the North-East don’t think they’ll make their 80th birthday, the company has launched a new online tool that evaluates an individual’s current health, while providing top tips and advice on how they can improve their health status. The health assessment tool also provides a visual and easily identifiable representation of their health.

The assessment reviews age, family history, vital statistics and lifestyle to develop a personal Q Score, measuring current health against potential optimum health. Boots then provides a downloadable personalised action plan highlighting the steps needed to achieve personalised health goals.

■ boots.com