It’s personal and it’s a language only you can define. The great thing about happiness is that it has no ceiling.ĭefining happiness, however, is a complicated matter. And, in all honesty – it get’s lonely on top, because you’re constantly surrounded by vultures who want a piece of you. I always knew that happiness would come from a higher purpose in life, a higher cause, a higher effect.īut when you rise to the top of the business world you’ll find there’s not much further you can go. Not that I ever personally expected that to be the case. But that doesn’t have much connection with authentic happiness. Al though, these businesses did bring financial rewards for sure. I never did either for accumulating wealth or power. I am currently in the early stages of launching my fourth. I’ve been blessed with the ability to create and build three hugely successful companies. You certainly don’t need power to be happy. Money can’t buy love and it can’t buy you happiness, either. Many people think that happiness automatically results from the accumulation of wealth or the acquisition of great power, but it doesn’t. Perhaps it’s such an elusive goal because our culture today gives us a false idea of what happiness is. But how many people truly achieve that magnificent, awesome, blissful state? How many can honestly say they are truly happy in their social, business, and family circles? Every one of us possesses an innate God-given ability to be happy and enjoy that privilege. It can’t be measured, it can only be felt.
In one of my favorite movies of all time, Will Smith plays Chris Gardner and says that to his son. Not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. When people can’t do something themselves, they’re gonna tell you that you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Go ahead and use this one whenever you like.“ Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. It's hard to be pretentious when you're saying that everyone has the right to be happy. If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10. Time magazine devoted an entire issue of their magazine to the idea.There's also a science website dedicated to the study of happiness.
The movie The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith, is about how tough the American Dream can be to achieve.Hamilton, and Jefferson's ready to throw down.
Maybe you've even heard Thomas Jefferson himself rap it during a cabinet meeting in the Broadway musical Hamilton. This phrase is super famous, so chances are, you've heard it in popular culture. Some people say the idea of the "American Dream" is based on this phrase, which totally makes sense. But he certainly had a talent for coining a phrase. He was inspired by the writings of a lot of other philosophers. Whether it's chicken farming, basket weaving, or stamp collecting, Jefferson thinks we should have a chance to chase our dreams.īy the way, Jefferson wasn't the first person to come up with this idea. Jefferson is saying that all of us are born with certain rights, one of which is going after the things that make us happy. You know the story, right? The Declaration was their manifesto of freedom, and Jefferson had the task of writing it. The British Colonies were tired of being bossed around by Britain.
This line was written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776). Government Wisdom Life Freedom Society Happy Thomas Jefferson Leadership The Declaration of Independence History War Context