The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
What are you chasing?
I overheard someone the other day tell a friend, “I just want to be happy.”
I think maybe we’ve all said that a time or two.
But sometimes what we want the most can be the most elusive.
Happiness.
What would make you happy? Money, success, freedom, control?
It’s different for everyone.
But what if happiness was actually an outcome instead of the goal itself?
A by-product of a bigger pursuit.
What if you focused on being useful, honorable, and compassionate?
What if happiness was waiting for you disguised as something else?
What if happiness and contentment were hidden in the everyday moments when you are given the choice to truly make a difference? To have lived and lived well? Moments when you can serve others with a compassionate heart. To do good things.
To have done things that mattered.
Perhaps you’ve been chasing the wrong things.
I want to challenge you this week to be useful, honorable, and compassionate. I want to encourage you to find ways every day to do things that matter, to serve others, and make life better for those around you.
For it is there that I believe happiness awaits.
Enjoy reading Kevin’s newsletter? Forward it to your friends and colleagues with a recommendation they subscribe as well. Here is the subscription link.
Kevin D. Brown is a branding and culture expert. He’s an award-winning motivational speaker, bestselling author, and the creator of The Hero Effect®. Follow him on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.