Til a few years back, there wasn't even a field of research on happiness.
And now It's huge.
There are many factors that have contributed to this tremendous growth of
this field of positive psychology and happiness.
But perhaps the most important factor is that a critical mass of everyday people,
people like you and me as opposed to kings, queens, presidents, and
dictators, have become much more interested in happiness than was the case,
say, even 20 years back.
This is because a much larger number of people now know as a matter of personal
experience too.
So rather than some abstract concept the more money, more fame,
more power, most etc, etc., don't necessarily lead to more happiness.
A few decades back if you had told people, you know, money can't buy you happiness,
they would have said yeah, maybe you're right.
But you know what?
Let me try and figure that out myself.
But now, I think people have figured it out for themselves.
It's this massive growth of the segment, the smart and successful and
yet not as happy as they could or should be segment, that is a big reason for
the tremendous growth in the interest in happiness.
And while I'm on this topic of the happiness, or should I say, unhappiness,
of the smart and the successful, I'd like to put in a little plug for
my forthcoming book, If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?
The book will be out in the Summer of 2016, and
you can sign up to receive updates for it on www.happysmarts.com.
In the book, I will cover much of the material we discussed in the course,
and much, much more.
I would like to add that the book is not so much for you now that you have taken
this course and you are super happy, as it is for somebody else that you may know,
someone who's smart and successful but not as happy as you know they can be.
So do sign up on my web site and gift them the book.
And, of course, while you're about it, keep a copy for yourself.
With that, let me turn to the most important
group of people that I need to thank, which is,
of course you guys, you guys have been absolutely incredibly awesome.
Without your support I wouldn't have had the energy to pull this off and
I sincerely hope that you got something useful out of this course.
I also hope that we continue to stay in touch.
This brings me to something I said at the beginning of the video.
Which is, I hope this is not the end or even the beginning of the end, but
rather the end of the beginning.
I guess what I'm trying to say is better captured by the lyrics of the song,
A Beatle Party.