The Next Big Idea ARTHUR C. BROOKS: Success Won’t Make You Happy — Here’s What Will
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Sep 4, 2025 
Arthur C. Brooks, an economist and Harvard Business School professor, shares his journey from corporate despair to happiness guru. He discusses how prioritizing connections over status leads to fulfillment. Brooks reveals why smart individuals often struggle with happiness and introduces a simple test to uncover personal weaknesses. He advocates for viewing life as a startup, encouraging proactive choices and genuine relationships. Dive into the paradox of generosity and its role in happiness, alongside insights on how exercise and diet impact mood.
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Life As A Startup
- Treat your life like a startup with you as founder and CEO to pursue a bolder, more meaningful adventure.
- Entrepreneurs trade short-term safety for long-term possibility, which can increase happiness when applied to life.
Pilgrimage To Clarify Mission
- Arthur described walking the Camino de Santiago to renovate his life's mission and discover his ordered objectives.
- He used that pilgrimage to clarify what to count for the rest of his life.
Order Your Life Objectives
- Write down your life objectives and put them in order so lower priorities never trump higher ones.
- Use that ordered mission to refuse pursuits that would sacrifice your top objectives.
