Happiness Comes Before Success

There you go. May not be the most foolproof experiment. Happiness leads to success.

Video Notes: What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness by Robert Waldinger

What keeps us healthy and happy as we go through life?

If you were going to invest in your future best self, where would you put your time and energy?

Project tracked lives of 724 men for 75 years.

Clearest message: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier.

3 big lessons about relationships:

1. Social connection is really good for us; Loneliness kills.
2. Quality of close relationships e.g., family, marriage matters. 
3. Good relationships protects our bodies and our brain.

Happiest people in the study:

• Replace work mates with new play mates. 
• Lean into relationships with family, friends.

A Toddler's Joy

Watching my second kid going through her toddler years was a good reminder. I have been reminded to search for my own child inner self. Picasso said that we can find creativity in every child. The problem is how we can carry the creativity to adulthood. I have lost many of my child-like temperament as I treaded through the path to adulthood, many eroded by the stigma that societies have on maturity and adulthood. We are not allowed to be silly. We are not allowed to be ourselves always. We are not allowed to speak loudly. We are to follow rules. What exactly are the toddler's ways?

I create my own happiness!
The surrounding can be plain. The people I am with may be boring. There may not be any toys around. I still choose to be happy. I can play act. I can turn anything around me into toys. I can be happy if I want to!

It is my right!
I cry when I can't get the things I want. I try and try when I can't get what I want.

I am daring!
I don't know therefore I am not afraid. I will jump into the water. I will climb up that furniture. I will look out from 70 stories high.

Parents, we, stop them, because we want convenience, because we need a peace of mind, we want our kids to sit still on that chair. We want to feed our kids so that they won't mess up their clothes. We want to stop them from playing near that glass door because there could be danger.

Accepting And Making the Best Out if Life: Aimee Mullins

Aimee Mullins is an athlete, actor, model and activist. With her many accomplishments and her leading a fulfilling life, it is hard to imagine that she is wearing prosthetic legs. She did not merely accept her condition. She even made good use of her disability to make her life more exciting and eventful. She is not just optimistic. She is entrepreneurial in her thinking.

In this other video, she spoke about how she overcame her disability as a kid. I mean, I would feel unjust if I were her. I am not sure if I would fall despondent and give up on life. It is a tough mental shift, especially as a kid, when all the other kids would joke and mock at her disability. She also mentioned that her doctor helped tremendously by not letting those labels get the better of her from a young age. I guess support from the love ones around her is important. And her love ones must not have limiting beliefs and given up themselves.

Parenting Need Not Be So Difficult?

Times have changed. And we this generation of parents live in this awkward era. We are more affluent. Internet is prevalent. Literacy level of parent is higher. And average number of children per family is dwindling at an alarming rate. So children are treated like gems.

Saw this from a sample life purpose statement when I was researching for my life purpose:

Provide limitless love to my children and my other family members. Allow them to grow and develop unhindered of what I think is best; but allow them to painfully discover what is best for themselves. Set wide boundaries within which they may develop, wide enough where they can make decisions they will anguish over but close enough that they will know how much I love them and that I will always morally support them. Say yes, unless there is a very good and explainable answer for no. Allow them to color in their own future, not striving for any perceived expectations of my own or other people in their lives.

I sort of agree with the para. It is not just about providing them with everything and the best. It is about teaching them the necessary survival skills. The right values and beliefs and attitudes. How many of our children can be CEOs of listed companies? By the way, the traditional parenting techniques merely teaches our child to be great employees. Not so much of a entrepreneur. Following Pareto, I believe 20% of our children can be at the top.

The children at Blue Sky Healing Home are striving to just live normally. Came across some large Singaporean families with many kids and also learnt about Larry Shine on Oprah. Well, I don't think those families are thinking about sending their children to piano classes or Shichida. But Larry Shine's children tell us that they are having a wonderful childhood!

I always tell my wife that I wish our children to grow up self-confident, independent and street smart. I work a lot on my children's internals, teaching them how to see the world but at the same time not to contain them in their growth. Teaching them that the sky is the limit while not all clouds are pretty. Haha.

Warren Buffett and Happiness

There is also this interview by Charlie Rose.

Warren Buffett's down-to-earth style has really won my admiration:

• Happiness - Utimate Luxury (or happiness) is doing what you really want to do. He really loves his work. He don't need to be pushed to go to work. He

  tap dances to work everyday

  Seeing some real passion here for a person age 81.
• Don't need too much money - He ties his pay to the stock price at some point in time! This company CEO really has the company interest at heart. Well, Berkshire Hathaway's shares trades above US$100,000. But still, is a meagre sum compared with what the other Wall Street CEOs are getting.
• Satisfied with life - The same old restaurant, burger, Cherry Coke, suit, car (he finally changed it after his daughter found him a good deal)

These we can learn and, more importantly, can we also learn his money-making ways?   

Spreading Happiness Around the World

Just want to share this video. I feel very happy while watching it! Matt is certainly spreading happiness around the world!

The wackiest of ideas can make one money!

How many of us wish to travel around the world, to the littlest known parts of the world, to experience life in the raw form, doing the things that you like to do and share happiness with others at the same time?