>> welcome back. >> thanks. >> only yesterday you were gracing me with your presence. you're here. you have this great new book. every day is a friday. how to be happier seven days a week. i'm thinking to myself, you are the two happiest people i've met anyway. how could you get any happier? >> i think we all can, we've learned what to ignore, certain battles not to fight. we can all be improving and growing and being happier. >> why fridays? when i came to new york in particular, i was horrified that on fridays my staff all came in dressed like, you know, people on the street. because it was apparently dress-down friday. and i was like, what does that mean? and it means you dress badly and wear jeans and old t-shirts an things. i associate friday with this unkempt sort of misery. why have you selected friday as a day of great joy and happiness? >> for the most people, the study shows people are happier on fridays. >> why? >> people are looking forward to the weekends, relax, done with work. there are more heart attacks on monday than any other day. >> stress of going back to work. most people don't like their jobs. i don't really like fridays, everything winds down, everything slows down. you're not really working as hard, i don't really like it. >> i'm the same way. we work weekends. i enjoy what we do. but not everybody is like that. just the thought is in general, you heard that thank god it's friday. we have the right perspective, we don't have the thread going to work. even if it's not the perfect job. you have the right perspective, i'm alive, healthy. you can enjoy each day. maybe not jumping up and down, but you can enjoy it. >> the theme is you make your own decisions about your life and your life will be happier. is it as simple as that. a lot of people through circumstance are not in a position to do much about their lot in life. it's an easy thing to say. and the critics will say, what about you, joel, you're worth $100 million. what about the poor guy trap in a factory job or something or no job through lack of opportunity, a bad circumstance, is unhappy because he can't get out of that. >> well, piers, to me, faith is all about learning to be happy where you are. it doesn't take any faith to be happy when everything is going your way. when the economy is great, when you get good grades. but there are many people in a situation, it seems like they're stuck. but my belief is if you put your trust in god, you can have peace, you can be happy right where you are. i say this, if you don't get happy where you are, you probably won't get to where you want to be. these are tests you have to pass, as far as i'm concerned, you have to pass the test, god, i'm in a job, i don't like it. i've got medical problems. i'm going to be good to somebody. i'm going to put a smile on my face anyway. to me, you're releasing your faith. >> do you believe fundamentally money can make people happier? >> you know? >> you're shaking your head, why? >> it helps. but i've seen people who are very wealthy and they're unhappy. they don't have good relationships or bad health. >> i met more unhappy rich people than poor people. i say that, i went to south africa, i went to the soetto townships, living in complete poverty, some of the happiest people i met. their spirits were alive with happiness. i didn't understand it. it was a fact. i saw it with my own eyes. why is that? you must have been in many of these places over the years. why can poverty-stricken people sometimes find joy in their lives. >> i think there's not so many distractions, i think they have their priorities where they love their family, they're with their family. they don't have a million things getting them offcourse. they take every day for what it is, just the simple things in life. getting up enjoying family time. not allowing us to fight our battles. >> is he ever angry? content happy chap? >> angry? no, is he content? yes. i think he chooses it. i think there's things that's stressful. >> what flips him out? what gets his goat? >> he doesn't really flip out. he likes things to be right. i watched him when things aren't right. he chooses to see the best in the situation. he's great about finding what is right. you know? because a lot of people have a tendency to -- >> what's the last time you had him -- >> never. >> you never heard him snout. >> no, he's never shouted. if you live with me and you don't shout, you're pretty good. >> you're a live wire. i remember from our last interview. i imagine you can be quite lively. >> i like to keep things hopping. >> do you have a temper? >> do i have a temper? i've grown out of my temper living with him. >> so he really is this bastion of calm and serenity. >> infectious. >> ever shout at anybody? >> no, that's not your personality. i've been like this my whole life. >> you never shout in your life? >> well, i probably have, you know -- >> when was the last time? >> i can't remember. >> he doesn't shout. he doesn't really shout. he does have a look when he'sing a aggravated. >> that's when you know. >> that's blind fury. >> kids, let's go. be right. >> what could ruin your friday? >> i don't know if they ruin my friday, but i like things to be right. i like -- you know, i like organization. you know, i just -- i like to -- i expect excellence, but not in the wrong sense. but i believe we're supposed to be excellent. if we put things into place and people aren't doing their jobs, there are times when people think, come on, guys, let's get going. i choose to use that energy to make things right and not yell at people. >> you ever had a fistfight? >> never had. >> not even when you were a kid. >> my brother -- >> that doesn't count, brothers deserve it. >> you would wrestle, not fistfight. >> no. >> been punch in the face? >> no. >> never? >> never have. >> incredible life you've had. >> been blessed. >> have you been punch in the face? >> yes. >> you have? >> many times, yeah. it was all part of life's rich tapestry. i think i've missed out here. a life of total serenity. >> we all have challenges, we all have to -- the scripture calls it fighting the good fight of faith. god is in control. and i used to get frustrated when things weren't happening the way i wanted it to. i had everything worked out. my plans didn't go the way i wanted them to. god, here's my plans for today, if it doesn't work out, you're in control, you're opening the right doors. we don't hear a lot that god closes a door on purpose. i used to think, god, that was a good opportunity, why didn't it work out. god knows what's best. >> we had the tenth anniversary of 9/11. it's extraordinary being in america. i was in new york city after it happened, i came back here after the anniversary. it's hard to tell god-fearing people who prayed all of their lives, it's hard to tell people when they lost relatives in that kind of thing, there's a merciful god. they want to -- many of them, if they're devout christians or muslims or all of the denominations that parished on that day, what do you say to them? how do you explain that a just god can allow these kinds of atrocities to happen, ruining so many lives? >> it's difficult, piers, but the world we live in is not a perfect world. we're living in a fallen world. to simplify it, god's given us all a free choice. we can do what we want to do. unfortunately, some people choose to do evil. god didn't make us as robots. it's hard to explain god is good. god could have stopped it, he didn't. but there's much about faith that i don't understand. >> but does your faith ever get dent? >> it -- >> it sounds really unequivocal. i watch you on sunday mornings, it's fantastic. you're an inspiring speaker. i wonder, i had relatives to renounce their catholic belief and their faith in god after the holocaust. who lived through the war and couldn't understand how any god could allow 5 million jews to be -- have their lives taken with such a ghastly manner. i find it difficult. what do you say to people who say, again, i can't continue to have this faith. some appalling thing has happened? >> you know what? that happens from time to time. but, again, i go back to the fact that, you know what, having faith means you're going to have unanswered questions. that's what faith is all about. so i can't explain why parents won't come to me and their child has cancer. i still believe god -- >> what do you say to them? >> i say god's got you in the palm of his hand. none of this is a surprise. you may be hurting, our hearts break with you. we're going to pray for you and god's going to give you a strength that you never felt before. turn to your faith and don't get bitter and blame god and everybody else and give up our your dreams, somehow, some way god can bring good out of it. he can bring you a new beginning. you'll never get your loved one back. god can make you fulfilled. >> have you had your faith dent? >> never had. like what joel is saying. we want to see everything happen. but god is a supernatural god. he can bring grace and comfort in your life by a state of peace and joy. >> moments for example when something bad is happening in your life and something that's affected you badly. you prayed to god to have that situation end in a happy way and then it hasn't. your prayers haven't been answered. in that circumstance, do you not feel slightly let down? >> you know what? i can't tell got what to do. i can ask god what to do. i can ask him to do things for me. i know many my core, he's got my best interest at heart. it may not look good, but somehow, some good can come out of it. you know what, you can't bring people back. you can't bring things maybe that you lost back sometimes. but god has a way of somehow getting you out of yourself and into a new place in your life. >> take a break and come back and talk to you about executions which is a burning issue right now. many people believing that america could join the rest of the world and abandon executions. daddy, come in the water! somebody didn't book with travelocity, with 24/7 customer support to help move them to the pool daddy promised! look at me, i'm swimming! somebody, get her a pony! [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone. >> i am what it says i am. i can do what it says i can do. today i will be taught the word of god, i will be cob vinced, my line is alert, my heart is receptive, i will never been the same. >> do you ever watch yourself back on tv? >> i do, i still edit my sermons. >> do you? >> i still edit them. i did that for 17 years for my dad. so after i speak my sermon, i like to edit it. i like to see where i messed up, where i can do better. >> almost word perfect. you have an extraordinary style. how do you develop that? >> my mother has a great memory. i started, my dad spoke extemporaneously and would go. i couldn't do it. i had to write out what i say. mine, i go over it two or three days and it can come out good now. >> huge pressure, so many people tuning in to watch the sermons, you can't get it wrong. every word gets analyzed. >> you do, you have to -- it makes me very responsible in what i'm going to say because people are going to, you know, some people are making decisions based off of what you're saying. you have to say, how is this coming across? this is how i mean it, but how is it coming across. >> there's a recent survey i found fascinating. "new york times" named you the most influential figures worldwide on twitter. you beat lady gaga, justin bieber, rachel maddow, big tweeters themselves. they deemed your influence assessed by number of your tweets that were re-tweeted exceeds all of them. you have proper influence and help. >> i felt honored when i heard that. we found that people come to us for inspiration. for the little quotes. so we tried to stay focused on what can i speak to people to help improve their day. my tweets are not about what they did that day. it's about what they can use. and if you give people good material, they like to pass it on, but the fact is, there's a lot pushing us down, a lot of negativity. you tell somebody, go out and be good, make someone's day and god will make your own day, we give small tidbits. >> the forgiveness of sins is one of the central tenets of christianity. you're by nature a very forgiving man. i watched you give the sermons. what's your view of state executions. and the troy davis thing which happened recently by common consent, there was enough doubt that that man really could not be 100% said to have committed the crime. and certainly no dna evidence. what do you think of the whole issue. >> it's a complicated issue, piers, i haven't thought much about it. i'm for second chances and mercy. yet the flip side is there's consequences to what we've done. so i don't know what my stance is. >> a life for a life? >> i don't know -- i don't know that that's -- it's hard for me -- >> i don't think you can say that. i've had this debate before about these things. you can't be the man who influences millions of people and sit on the fence about key moral issues like that. key moral stroke ethical issues. >> i think the thing is we have a justice system. i believe in our system of justice, number one. part of me, the human part of me, the merciful part of me is, wow, let's give everybody a chance and if there is any -- you know, it's hard for me to say, yeah, let's kill this person because he's so bad. they can be redeemed and forgiven, but they may have to be put to death. that's hard for me. i don't know what's the right thing. there are people smarter than me that make the laws. i do stand by -- >> two-thirds of all executions in america take place in five states, southern states near where you're from, including texas, texas is well known, may even be the highest in terms of executions for any state in america. so i guess the part of your issue unless i'm wrong is a lot of your brethren that come to watch you presumably would support the death penalty. >> i think so. i think -- i don't know for a fact, but i think many of them -- many people do. just, again, i don't know the right answer. it's hard for me to tell somebody to be put to death. >> if you came out particularly in somewhere like texas. you came out and said, enough? i don't think we can continue with this based on the facts, joel, my problem with the whole death penalty debate and the statistics these days are alarming. over 100 people in america on death row have the sentenced commuted because of new evidence. 17 of them because dna evidence proved they didn't commit the crime. when you hear that, surely you begin to think this isn't right. and you have a lot of influence in your state. people have been watching this thinking, what does he think? is he in favor of state killings? or is he against it? they may take a lead from you. >> i don't know if i'm the one to give the answer. >> i'm not studied on it. i stayed focus on what i'm called to do. i'm careful about there's a more complicated herb shoe than that than to throw something out there and create a lot of waves. >> if i asked you about abortion, what would you say? >> abortion? i feel stronger about. >> what's your view. >> my view is that every baby should live, that god's created that life. i feel strongly about. >> there's a contradiction between the sanctity of life within abortion and the sanctity of life for somebody who may or may not have committed a crime. >> sure. >> should there not be a more consistent view? >> i think there could be if you say may or may not. that's the troublesome thing if we don't know for sure. you know, and i -- >> how can you know for sure really? very few cases are completely clear-cut. and really it comes down to a general principle, whether we're in a civilized society, in a country with many, many people, tens of millions go to church every sunday. they look to religious leaders to say, what should we be thinking. they'll be a bit confused. so i know i do this when you come. i feel you need to be more definitive. >> yeah. if i could, i would. let me study it and i'll come back with a great answer some day for you. >> i have to go to a break. i'm going to pin you to the floor on another issue where i tried to pin you on the floor before and see if your views have changed about homosexuality in light of the fact we have five states in america who support same-sex marriage. let's get chinese. should we order panda blossom, panda moon... how about chinese at home with wanchai ferry? you can make it in just 14 minutes. mmmh, orange chicken. great. i didn't feel like going out anyway. 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