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Oct 2019
28m 22s

17. Why Trying to Be Happy Will Make You...

SUZANNE VENKER
About this episode

Is there more to life than being happy? What gives your life purpose? Do you ever think about your legacy?

These are just some of the questions Emily Esfahani Smith asks in her book, The Power of Meaning. Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but what if there’s a more fulfilling path? Happiness comes and goes but having meaning in life—serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within you—gives you something to hold onto.

Emily is a writer, editor, and speaker in Washington DC. Her work draws on psychology, philosophy, and literature to write about the human experience—why we are the way we are and how we can find grace and meaning in a world that is full of suffering.

Emily is also an international speaker who has delivered dozens of keynote addresses and workshops around the country and world. In 2017, Smith delivered a talk called “ There’s More to Life Than Being Happy” on the main stage of TED, which was based on her book. It has been viewed over 8 million times.

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