1: Is this person supportive? Ambivalent? Or demeaning?

How often do I interact with them—frequently or infrequently?

These are the two questions Sahil Bloom suggests we ask, as outlined in his book, The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.

We begin by making a list of the key relationships in our lives.

“These can include family, friends, partner, or coworker relationships,” Sahil writes. “For … continue reading

1: Apple founder Steve Jobs once stated: “Almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

“Remembering that we are going to die,” Steve said, “is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking we have something to lose. We are already naked.”

So, let’s imagine our funeral.

“Close … continue reading

1: “If you’ve ever seen a picture of your mother or father as a young adult, you know how startling it can be,” Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz write in The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.  

“They seem like people we might have met along the road rather than the parents who created us,” the authors observe.  “They often appear less burdened, more … continue reading

1: The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest in-depth longitudinal study of human life ever done.  The study has followed the lives of 724 individuals beginning when they were teenagers, and now spans over three generations and includes an additional 1,300 of their descendants.

“For eighty-four years (and counting), the Harvard Study has tracked the same individuals, asking thousands of questions and taking hundreds of measurements to find … continue reading

1: Marc Schulz has been a professor at a prestigious women’s college for over twenty-five years.

He also serves as Associate Director of The Harvard Study of Adult Development, the world’s longest scientific study of happiness.

Every year, “a new cohort of bright, excited students ask to participate in his research on well-being and how people’s lives evolve across time,” Marc and Robert Waldinger write in their book The … continue reading

1: “When Alan Silva was 14 years old he was in love with the movies,” Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz write in  The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.

Alan was one of 456 inner-city Boston boys selected to participate in what became known as  the Harvard Study of Adult Development.  

“They were children who grew up in some of Boston’s most troubled … continue reading

1:  Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz get asked many questions.

Bob and Marc are the Director and Associate Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the world’s longest scientific study of happiness.

People often approach them with worried looks and ask: “If I’m shy and have trouble making friends, is the good life out of reach?”

Or, “If I had a bad childhood, am I just totally screwed?”… continue reading