This book is a landmark contribution to the burgeoning literature on leading fuller, happier, more fulfilling lives. With a scholar’s sensibility, Raj brilliantly marshals extensive research evidence that supports his simple yet profound prescriptions for better living. I have no doubt that this book will come to be regarded as a classic in the field; it will help change countless lives for the better, as Raj’s online course is already doing.
If you’re so smart, why aren’t you happy?
About the book
Could the same traits that drive your career success also be keeping you from being happier?
Fifteen years after getting his MBA, Raj Raghunathan spent some time with his old classmates. He noticed that though they’d all done well, there didn’t appear to be much correlation between their academic success and career success. What Raj found even more curious was the even smaller correlation between career success and what he calls life success. The greater the career success, the more unhappy, out of shape, harried and distracted his friends were.
If intelligence helps with decision-making, smart people should naturally make better life choices. So why are so many of the smartest, brightest, most successful people profoundly unhappy? Raj set out to find an answer to this problem, and extensively researched happiness not just of students and business people, but also stay-at-home-parents, lawyers, and artists, among others.
The book takes readers on a fun and meaningful tour of the best research available on how some of the very determinants of success may also come to deflate happiness. Raghunathan explores the seven most common inclinations that successful people need to overcome, and the seven habits they should adopt instead.
The correlation between wealth and happiness is much smaller than you’d expect it to be. Generosity is not only a key to happiness, but a determining factor of long term success. Appreciating uncertainty, rather than seeking full control of outcomes, is necessary for happiness.
If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy? will give you a powerful new perspective on your work, personal goals and relationships, whether you’re already successful or just starting out.
Praise for the book
Raj Sisodia
Co-author of Everybody Matters and Conscious Capitalism
Tell a man a joke and he’ll be happy for a moment. Give a man Raj’s book, and he’ll be happy forever! While you are at it, get yourself a copy of this excellent, well-researched book. It will make you smarter and happier.
Peter McGraw
Director of the Humor Research Lab and co-author of The Humor Code
A compelling and highly profitable read. Get this book, mark it up with highlighters and practice, practice, practice. Your life WILL improve.
Srikumar Rao
Author of Happiness at Work, TED speaker and consultant.
Raj’s book presents a clear perspective on what it takes to lead a life of happiness and fulfillment. What I like most about the book is that it proves, using rigorous science, something that I have long held: the recipe for a happy life is also one for a life of service and success. This is a book that everyone, and particularly the smart-and-successful, should read and assimilate.
John Mackey
co-CEO of Whole Foods Market
This book highlights how some of the very things that make us smart and successful can also undermine our happiness. It’s a practical, engaging read on how to lead a fulfilling life.
