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.
Weiner, a longtime NPR correspondent, claims not to be a naturally happy guy. In fact, he describes himself as downright grumpy, which does make for some of the funnier parts in the book as he travels the world to visit a collection of the happiest and least happy countries. His dour approach was greatly appreciated, as who wants a happiness tour guide who is already “Perky Polly?” Blech.
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 (which I enjoyed listening to as an audio 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.
On the other hand:
- Moldova. The extreme poverty bred envy and mistrust, which is the antithesis of bliss.
- Quatar. Too much money and lack of national culture can be a problem. It can cause isolation and envy (and isn’t isolation a response to mistrust of others?). I found it telling that Weiner talked about how the more money we have, the bigger lots of land we buy, the bigger walls we put up, all in a quest to prevent our having to interact with other people (i.e., a typical wealthy American suburb). Yet this is in direct contrast to the recipe for happiness found in almost all of the countries above.
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. On the other hand, if you have all those happiness basics in the rest of your life, perhaps entrepreneurship can add factors to further increase your bliss. For me, it’s the creativity, ability to help others and total freedom of schedule that counteract the isolation. So, yes, I am a happy entrepreneur, but it takes some work. However, I might have to plan a visit to Reykjavik real soon.
Top Shelf Bottom Line. The Geography of Bliss provides some interesting insights into happiness, and I found Weiner amusing and the travelogue interesting, much as I did Eat, Pray, Love. However, if you’re at a point in your life where things don’t seem to be making you happy, it’s almost like a self-help book (without the touchy-feely parts) to get you thinking about whether any of the “happiness” factors he found in other countries could be something you could incorporate into your life. Otherwise, it’s time to book a one-way ticket to Bhutan.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 9:24 am and is filed under Nonfiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.2 Responses to “Chasing Happiness as an Entrepreneur”
Leave a Reply
March 31st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I love this post. As an entreprenuer, it is so important to bring things that are non-business related into your life. EAT PRAY LOVE was my escape
March 31st, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Chasing Happiness as an Entrepreneur
Bookmarked your post over at Blog Bookmarker.com!