We've all heard the sayings: Count your blessings. Give thanks. Be grateful.

Deborah Norville says it's better advice than you may think.

In her new book, "Thank You Power," Norville says learning to be grateful can help you overcome obstacles and lead a happier life.

In short, "thank you power" means learning to derive strength and power from focusing on what's right in life. Her book cites academic studies on happiness, and offers specific coping tools for focusing on gratitude.

Norville, 49, a mother of three, two-time Emmy award winner and host of "Inside Edition," spent more than two years researching the connection between gratitude and a person's ability to find inner strength and happiness. Here's what she found:

Q. Was there an epiphany-like moment when you decided to write this book?

A. I can't say it was an epiphany-like moment. But I did get to this point sort of in my personal search to see if there was any validity to the notion that my life went better when I focused on what was working.

Q. What sent you on that search in the first place?

A. I had had a sense that my life was better when instead of focusing on the inevitable that went wrong, I tried to focus on what was right. We all have things that are wrong in our life, but we all have things that are right, too.

Q. You mention in your book people who were able to overcome obstacles because of that gratitude. Does this coping mechanism come naturally?

A. I think that's maybe one of the most exciting pieces of information that I uncovered. Gratitude is something that one can develop.

I think that's really empowering information for someone who is in one of life's valleys and maybe thinking, "It's never going to get better." You probably can't think yourself out of a bad spot necessarily. But what you can do is use gratitude and the empowering and physically encouraging side benefits that come from that to get you out of that particular trough.

Q. Your career hit a particularly low point during the short time you were co-host of the "Today" show. What was that time like for you? What role did gratitude play?

A. I was raised to find the silver lining even in the darkest clouds. That was so much ingrained in me as a kid that it is something I have always tried to do. Having said that, I can be honest with you, and say I couldn't really find a whole lot of silver lining during that very public difficult professional period.

I was intensely grateful more than anything that my son who was born in the midst of all that turmoil was healthy...I actually had toxemia, which is pregnancy induced high blood pressure and was under a doctor's care daily and he actually ordered me on bed rest. Because of what was going on at work, I couldn't obey the doctor's orders. So the compromise was — I would literally lay down on my left side — because that's the least stressful for the heart — on a cot there at NBC.

Q. How were you able to bounce back?

A. I think it was focusing on what I had and not what had been "taken away from me." During that period of time, I was able to focus on the fact that I had an amazing husband. He was right there thick and thin.

The fact that my son was healthy was a huge, huge boost. I allowed myself to feel empowered by the fact, "You know what? You can sew. You can make drapes. You can make slipcovers."

I wasn't writing down my blessings (as her book advises), but I was holding them close to my heart. I was practicing "thank you power."

Q. We're richer; technology has made our lives so much easier, but as you mention in your book, the number of people who say they are "very happy" has dropped. How can "thank you power" reverse that trend?

A. "Thank You Power" emphasizes that it's not the things for which one says thanks. It's the moments. It's the people. It's the memories.