You’ve Made It! Are You Happy?

How Happy Can Money Make Us?

“Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it.” — David Lee Roth

Various studies cite specific numbers ($105,000 and $500,000) at which quality of life caps as a result of income. The number depends on environment, family size, and other such factors, but the theme is the same: there is a limit to life quality that wealth can bring us.

Examining Dan Bilzerian, a man who is the modern day equivalent of the question, ‘Can Money Buy Us Happiness?’ offers an illuminating case study.

When asked “So Money doesn’t buy happiness?” His response was:

“Oh Fuck No. Chasing money and girls is not what makes you happy.  I think happiness comes more from having good friendships and doing things with your friends.”

Quotes from Dan Bilzerian:

• “Money and girls is like a black hole, I feel like there is never enough.”
• A man who at the time of this quote had around 44,000,000 Instagram followers “Dude, I’m just so over social media.  I think it’s the worst thing to happen to society, honestly, it just takes out, like a lot, of interpersonal connection.  Like, I feel like people don’t live in the moment as much.”
• “A lot of these things I recognize, but I still keep fucking doing them.  I realize that chasing money and girls is not what makes you happy, but I still do it.”
• What makes him happy: ‘adventure, building things, connecting with people, helping people out, surfing, sex does too, being out in the sun, more simple shit, friends, a lot of stuff that doesn’t require money, working out’
• Talks about being younger and was so sure that a million dollars would make him happy and that it would be enough, and then 5 million, and then 10 million.  “I was so sure that the million would be enough.” And then you just realize that it’s not the money that’s gonna make you happy, but I still chase it.”
• When asked the positives of money, he said ‘the freedom, the power, the flexibility, stuff like that, but it definitely comes with a lot of headaches too.’  
• The thing about money, the reason it makes you unhappy is because it raises the bar, ‘I’m dating the hottest chicks, I’m wearing the nicest watches, I’m eating at the best restaurants.’  He talks about the challenges of finding joy in less flashy things, now that his bar is so high.

The Pluses and Minuses of the American Dream

“Yet there is no country and no people, I think, who can look forward to the age of leisure and of abundance without a dread. For we have been trained too long to strive and not to enjoy.” — John Maynard Keynes, Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren

First, let’s define this dream, the dream that many Americans spend their life chasing.  The American Dream “is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.”  OR the opportunity to have a better life than we were born into. The challenge with this dream is knowing when or if we are achieving it. Does working at a job five years before a promotion equal the American Dream? Once we’ve bought a house and have a good car, are we permitted to be ‘happy?’

This American Dream is neither good nor bad, our view determines its utility. So let’s examine a couple of the highs and lows of this dream.

Benefits:

• It gives an individual an endless goal/pursuit to devote their lives to.
• This Dream unites America around a shared ideal.
• Freedom and Equality: The American Dream “promises freedom and equality. It offers the freedom to make both the large and small decisions that affect one’s life, the freedom to aspire to bigger and better things and the possibility of achieving them, the freedom to accumulate wealth, the opportunity to lead a dignified life, and the freedom to live in accordance with one’s values—even if those values are not widely held or accepted.”

Drawbacks:

• What is the top rung?  How will we know when we’re there? It’s too vague a dream to ever become a reality for most.
• Life Enjoyment: “Yet there is no country and no people, I think, who can look forward to the age of leisure and of abundance without a dread. For we have been trained too long to strive and not to enjoy.” —, John Maynard Keynes, Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren
• The perceived reality of this dream: “The U.S. is one of only four high income economies amongst 50 economies with the lowest rates of relative upward mobility.”

Even if we do catch this dream, the pursuit of happiness is still a hindrance to having it.  Wait, why? It defines happiness as something outside of our lives that we don’t already have.  The pursuit of happiness encourages us to find meaning in the things or circumstances that make us feel “good.”
While the American Dream may contain a few great virtues, it doesn’t carry a secret to happiness. The firefighter or veterinarian that we dreamed of becoming when we grow up might hold more potential for fulfillment and joy than we think.  Meaning, as it turns out, is what brings people the greatest amount of life fulfillment.

So What Can Money Do For Happiness?

“If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.” —Edmund Burke

Saying that ‘money produces happiness up to a certain point’ is true, but also incomplete. In fact, having more money enables more happiness in almost every way.  What do we mean “enables”?

Enablers allow us to live with more purpose, intention, and joy.  Money is an enabler, and its presence provides opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise have.  What are some common enablers that money provides?

The list goes on and on. With care and intention put into the how’s and why’s of money, it can be a resource that we funnel into other means of joy in life.

Purchasing Happiness

While money alone does not guarantee Happiness, it can be used as a tool to purchase each of the 4 Types of Happiness.  

While each type provides a different quality of happiness, most of us are after a life that includes all 4 Types.  Let’s explore how to use our dollars as a tool to have a greater sense of happiness.

1. Type 1 Happiness: Ephemeral Pleasures – This type of happiness is short lived and can be purchased through things like ice cream cones, nights out with friends, new clothes, nice dinners, or fun experiences like concerts.  This is the most common and easiest means of buying happiness.
2. Type 2 Happiness: Flow – This type of happiness is found in doing activities that engage us.  We can purchase this type of happiness through experiences like rock climbing, horseback riding, skiing, or activities that enable us to get “lost in the moment.”  
3. Type 3 Happiness: Perspective – This type of happiness is found in achieving a deeper sense of peace, acceptance, and self-awareness.  We can purchase this type of happiness through things that give us a new sense of perspective like peak experiences, relationship workshops, meditation retreats, or personal growth seminars. 

Purchasing Meaning and Joy

While the fourth type of happiness is the hardest to tap into through money, the return on investment is the largest.  This type of happiness is deeper, longer-lasting, and referred to as joy.  While tapping into joy, we are also creating a more Meaningful life that leads to us feeling a deeper sense of fulfillment.