Success Won’t Make You Happy. Here’s What Will.
This week, Arthur C. Brooks, Sanjay Gupta, and other big thinkers pointed us toward a better way of living.
In case you didn’t know, being smart won’t necessarily make you happy. But that’s actually good news—because humans may not hold the title of “smartest species on the planet” for much longer. But happiness? That’s still our competitive edge. So if you’d like to invest as much in your joy as you do in your brainpower, here are some of the best ideas we explored this week.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Podcast
Success won’t make you happy. Here’s what will.
Arthur C. Brooks is an unlikely happiness guru. Not a psychologist or mystic, but an economist who once ran a powerful think tank—until the work made him miserable. Realizing he’d privileged status over joy, he left the C-suite and reinvented himself as a Harvard professor teaching the science of happiness. In his new book The Happiness Files, Arthur argues that your life is your most important startup, and you’re the founder and CEO. Treat it with the same vision and discipline, and you’ll build something meaningful. On this episode, he shares why smart people are often less happy, how diet and exercise affect mood, and why we should live in “day-tight compartments.”
Listen now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Book Bite of the Week
What happens when AI beats us at everything?
I know you’re probably sick of hearing about it, but we’ve got to talk about AI. Right now, we’re in the fun stage of this new technology: ChatGPT can write your emails! Midjourney can make you a birthday card with a cat in a monocle! Everyone’s having a good time, and the stakes are pretty low. But according to author James Barrat, this party might be taking place on the edge of a cliff. In his just-released book The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything, James warns that we could be sleepwalking into a future where machines rapidly outpace human intelligence—a time fast approaching when we’ll no longer be the ones calling the shots.
Pick up a copy of the book on Amazon or check out James’s summary.
This week, Book of the Day is brought to you by The Devil Emails at Midnight, a sharp, funny guide to spotting—and stopping—bad-boss behaviors before they derail your team. Pre-order your copy today.
First Look Club
Get free books before they’re published, and share your opinions.
For over 10 years, the Next Big Idea Club has connected curious minds with the most exciting new books and authors. Now, the First Look Club takes that mission even further — putting advance copies of upcoming books in the hands of the people who can help them shine before they hit the shelves.
If you’re willing to share your honest opinions on platforms like Amazon, Goodreads, or your own social channels, we’ll send you free advance copies of exciting new books.
Whether you’re a passionate reader or a fellow author, your voice can help launch the next big idea into the world.
Happy Pub Week!
This first week of September was a big one. We’ve got a solid dozen new NBIC Must-Read titles to tell you about: The Arrogant Ape by Christine Webb, The Shape of Wonder by Alan Lightman and Martin Rees, The Intelligence Explosion by James Barrat, 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World by
, Move. Think. Rest. by , Food Fight by , Mission Driven by Mike Hayes, It Doesn’t Have to Hurt by Sanjay Gupta, Smarter by , The Fractured Age by Neil Shearing, The Collective Edge by , and The Big One by Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker.