Diane Danielson at Entrepreneur:
I picked up Eric Weiner’s book, The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, because I needed a break from business books. I figured that, as an entrepreneur, business is my life most of the time, so a little insight into happiness might be a good thing.
I definitely found the book thought-provoking and, in some cases, reassuring. But I also discovered that many things about being an entrepreneur are the antithesis of bliss. Here are some of the quick insights I pulled out of the book.
- Switzerland. Happiness for the Swiss is being content with your lot in life and current situation. They also enjoy the minor things (like trains running on time) and, of course, the major things like chocolate! However, he also noted that they do not throw their money around because they fear that it could provoke envy in others. As stated frequently throughout the book, envy appears to be the greatest enemy of happiness.
- Bhutan. Make happiness a national priority because happiness is relational and not personal. In addition, Weiner was also told in Bhutan that to be happy, you need to set aside a few minutes a day to think about death. I suppose this is so that one can appreciate the little things in everyday life.
- Thailand. In Phuket, one does not think about death. In fact, they’ve perfected a society where “not thinking at all” is bliss.
- Iceland. The cold inspires people to cooperate, which leads to limited envy, no stigma for failure, an increase in optimism and, ultimately, bliss.
- India. Despite extreme poverty, they are more able to accept contrasts, i.e., that no one or nothing is perfect. This is one of the secrets to their bliss.
So, back to my question about whether being an entrepreneur is the happiest career choice. I’m not so sure it really is, for the following reasons:
- If we were content with our situation or the way the world worked, we wouldn’t be entrepreneurs.
- As for focusing on happiness as a metric or not thinking, neither concept is part of the entrepreneurial equation.
- Nothing is more isolating than being an entrepreneur.
- If you are a perfectionist or fear failure, it’s probably not the best career choice for you, as it will definitely make you unhappy.
Hmmmm. Looks like I may be in the wrong business for happiness. And for the most part, the wrong country. One of the points Weiner makes is that countries other than the U.S. place higher values on the basics that make people happy–relationships and the small things in everyday life.
Photo by Grand Central Publishing.
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