Forum - Does wealth and success bring happiness?
Does wealth and success bring happiness?
Wed, 26/08/2009 - 11:00 — Mark Williams
Did anyone see the fascinating BBC 4 programme about Reading FC chairman Sir John Madejski last night (Rich Man, Poor Man – a Knight's Tale)? If not, you can view it on BBC iPlayer [http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mbtgy/sign/Rich_Man_Poor_Man_A_Knights_Tale/], it's well worth a watch...
It certainly made me think whether entrepreneurial success, fame and great personal wealth does truly make you happy. Sir John is said to be worth more than £250m (source: Sunday Times Rich List). According to Wikipedia:
"While on holiday in Florida in the mid 1970s, Madejski saw a car sales magazine that included pictures of the vehicles on sale. He immediately realised the potential of the idea, and founded Thames Valley Trader in 1976. Initially the magazine sold anything and everything, from houses to cars and even aircraft, but it soon concentrated solely on vehicles, and was renamed Auto Trader. Madejski partnered with the Guardian Media Group in 1982 to give the title national exposure. By 1998, 52 titles were being published with a combined circulation of more than 700,000. In 1998 he sold his company Hurst Publishing for £174 million."
The programme followed Madejski over many months, and showed his reaction as the recession began to bite. Now owner of 18 companies, Sir John came out with an interesting piece of personal wisdom guided by his experiences: "Small company, small worries. Big company, big worries...".
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The world has changed a lot since the 80s,as Margaret Thatcher's alleged remark illustrates so well. (Funny how that decade of striving for material success has retrospectively acquired a kind of innocence - nobody worried about pollution, congestion, climate change or diminishing resources, just how quickly they could get their hands on a better car!)
And it's going to change an awful lot more in the years to come, which will mean a big rethink in our definitions of terms like wealth, success and happiness. I imagine they will become a lot less tied to money and consumption and have a lot more to do with personal fulfilment and engagement with the community.
Sometimes you have to differentiate between happiness and survival. Money can increase your chances of survival ie you can have a better house, better car, better food, better medical care etc etc. Having wealth certainly enables that. On the other hand there are many miserable wealthy people around. Many criminals have loads of money but are they happy? I don't think so. Money can also bring one a certain amount of freedom.
Happiness comes from achieving goals and overcoming obstacles to those goals. The guy who climbs Everest is incredibly happy when he achieves that goal. But then he would have to set new goals and reach them to continue being happy. There is a certain amount of happiness to be gotten from thinking about past achievements but it's not lasting. So it's not so much the acquiring of money that makes one happy more the journey one takes achieving it.
To earn a million pounds and sit back thinking now I'm happy will most likely last only a short time and then things will slip back. Rich or poor if one is working on achieving realistic goals and making progress towards them one is more likely to experience happpiness.
It does not bring happiness but it does make a great difference to your lifestyle if you let it. I agree with what someone just said here about people who have none say that it doesnt bring happiness.
Truth is wealth although is great - it doesnt bring happniess but it certainly enhances quality of life - if you are happy in life then the additional wealth will make that happiness go a whole lot further.
As long as you love your friends and family and are happy then wealth can only make it better.
Was it Bridget Bardot who said she'd prefer to cry in a Rolls Royce than in a mini?
I know Margaret Thatcher is said to have remarked that anyone over the age of 30 who used a bus could consider themselves a failure...
There may be a link, but I suspect that most would agree that there is a level beyond which wealth becomes either irrelevant or possibly even obscene.
Try this article for some insight into the overwhelming wealth of the fortunate few at Goldman Sachs
http://hrcasestudies.blogspot.com/2009/11/doing-gods-work-at-85-broad-st...
I am a touch surprised by some of the comments on this tbh!
I have always believed that:
Happy & wealthy = happy
Miserable & wealthy = miserable
Happy & poor = happy
Miserable & wealthy = miserable
And the below section of this article seems to echo that. http://www.extrahappiness.com/happiness/?p=254
Winning the lottery
The initial excitement of a lottery win can result in happiness, but is it long-term? It appears not. Professor Martin Seligman, Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, says lottery winners eventually revert back to the usual level of happiness they had before their win. Matthew Herper, from Forbes, reported that they return to this level after five years.
How "provable" is it?
Dunno!
...but makes sense to me. I have friends, colleagues and family that if you gave them £1m would be as miserable as they were yesterday, and others that would be just as happy for that person, that they received £1m.
Yes
Have you ever met someone poor and happy? People that are poor will say there is more to life than money, it's because they don't have it. It's like someone ugly will tell you it's what's inside that counts. Not having to worry about money, having options, choices, the ability to see and do what you want, would those things make you happy? Of course some poor people are happy, but mostly those that live in a non capitalist society and have have learned to adjust mindset & conditions to being poor.
There are of course rich people that aren't happy, so poor people will say, "see it doesn't bring happiness!" - I believe they are unhappy because they haven't taken time to enjoy the other great things life has to offer, love, family, friends. Some people are so driven by the pursuit of wealth they forget there is more to life! In my mind rich, successful and with a firm eye on a balanced, well rounded life, that's true happiness.
I think it can do, but doesn't necessarily. Wealth and success make life more comfortable generally, but there are some things they can't compensate for.
Thanks Mark I'll catch it on iplayer.
You might enjoy the programme called 'The Secret' (One of the main participants is the guy who created the 'chicken soup' series.) You'll be considering the question: Does happiness bring wealth and success? :-)
I've always been amused by statements like "Wealth doesn't always bring you happiness".
Now I'm certainly not wealthy, but I'd imagine it's better to be miserable and rich than miserable and poor!
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