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3rd August 2023 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

“The quest for happiness is a universal, scientific, fact. We can measure happiness, we can assess it, and we can devise strategies to make ourselves happy and fulfilled human beings.”  This is the assessment of Professor Gad Saad, one of the world’s most sought after experts on psychology, marketing & evolutionary behaviour. Professor Saad, who has been described as ‘…the Lionel Messi of public intellectuals’ is author of the sensational bestseller The Parasitic Mind and the irrepressible host of The Saad Truth podcast. In his latest book, The Saad Truth About Happiness, he roams through the scientific studies, culls the wisdom of ancient philosophies and religions, and draws on his extraordinary personal experiences of coming to Canada as a refugee from war-torn Lebanon, and becoming an academic celebrity. In this interview on happiness, I speak to Professor Gad Saad, evolutionary behavioural scientist, and one of the world’s foremost public intellectuals. We discuss the fundamental nature of what happiness is, the evolutionary basis of happiness, and strip back layers of culture to better understand what it takes to be happy, and live a good life.   

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03-08-2023 11:55:24
Thought Economics

8th June 2023 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

The Harvard Study of Adult Development is an extraordinary scientific endeavour that began in 1938 and is still going strong. For over eight decades, the study has tracked the same individuals and their families, asking thousands of questions and taking hundreds of measurements—from brain scans to blood work—with the goal of discovering what really makes for a good life. Leading this study is Dr. Robert J. Waldinger. His work has given us unparalleled depth of insight into the factors that contribute to a fulfilling life. The Harvard Study has illuminated the profound importance of relationships, health, and personal satisfaction in shaping our well-being. The study’s findings have not only redefined our understanding of happiness but also inspired a shift in societal attitudes towards mental health and personal fulfilment. Now, Waldinger is sharing his insights in his new book, “The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Study on Happiness”. This compelling read distills decades of groundbreaking research into an engaging exploration of what truly matters in life. Waldinger’s book is not just a testament to the power of science in illuminating the human condition, but also a guide, offering readers practical wisdom on how to cultivate their own ‘good life’. In this interview, I speak to Dr. Robert J. Waldinger, the Author, Zen Priest and Professor, who leads the Harvard Study on Adult Development. We discuss what a study of thousands of people, from birth through to old-age reveals about what really matters to lead a ‘good life.’  

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08-06-2023 12:45:55
Thought Economics

2nd December 2022 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

Richard E. Grant emigrated from Swaziland to London in 1982, with dreams of making it as an actor, when he unexpectedly met and fell in love with renowned dialect coach Joan Washington. Their relationship and marriage, navigating the highs and lows of Hollywood, parenthood and loss, lasted almost forty years. When Joan died in 2021, her final challenge to him was to find ‘a pocketful of happiness in every day’. His honest (and frequently hilarious) memoir is written in honour of that challenge –  Richard has faithfully kept a diary since childhood, and in these entries he shares in raw detail everything he has experienced : both the pain of losing his beloved wife, and the excitement of their life together, from the role that transformed his life overnight in Withnail & I to his thrilling Oscar nomination thirty years later for Can You Ever Forgive Me? In this interview, I speak to Richard E. Grant on finding happiness, companionship, joy, and how we can all find that Pocketful of Happiness.

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02-12-2022 9:42:34
Thought Economics

17th July 2022 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

Jenn Lim is the founder and bestselling author of Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact, and the CEO of Delivering Happiness (DH), a company built to create happier company cultures for a more profitable and sustainable approach to business–a company she and Tony Hsieh [the late CEO of Zappos.com] cofounded. Delivering Happiness started as a book (NYT and WSJ Bestseller, which sold one million copies worldwide) and evolved into a business consultancy and global movement that has impacted and inspired hundreds of companies and organizations worldwide. 

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13-09-2022 20:43:36
Thought Economics

6th June 2022 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

Arthur C. Brooks is the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. Prior, he was the president of the American Enterprise Institute for ten years, where he held the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Free Enterprise. He has authored eleven books, including the bestsellers Love Your Enemies and The Conservative Heart, and writes the popular How to Build a Life column at The Atlantic. He is also the host of the podcasts How to Build a Happy Life and The Art of Happiness with Arthur Brooks. He is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on happiness. His new book, from Strength to Strength, was described by The Dalai Lama as a book that ‘…helps people find greater happiness as they age and change.’ In this interview, I speak to Professor Arthur C. Brooks on how we can find purpose, meaning and success as we age. We talk about how to understand and fight our demons, and how to overcome the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies ageing. In our conversation, he helps unlock happiness in a meaningful, and beautiful way.

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06-06-2022 16:39:54
Thought Economics

5th May 2022 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

Fearne Cotton is one of the best known and most popular broadcasters in the UK and is most recently known as the Founder of the wellbeing brand, Happy Place. Fearne’s podcast, Happy Place, has featured guests including Ellie Goulding, Hilary Rodman Clinton, Java Pickett Smith, Russell Brand, Gary Barlow, Alicia Keys and Elizabeth Gilbert and has over 53 million downloads, continuing to top the charts. Fearne has spent much of the last decade seeking the insight and advice of wise minds to explore what they can teach us about achieving happiness, connection, and hope. She talks about this journey in her book Bigger Than Us where she explores everything from intuition and energy to manifesting, ritual, prayer and signs. Fearne’s hope is that by following her journey of peeling back layers of her own anxiety and self-limiting beliefs, that we can all find contentment and deeper meaning. In this interview, I speak to Fearne Cotton about why our world feels so messy, the power of love, compassion and acceptance, the importance of ritual, why we need to confront the darker aspects of ourselves and what it truly takes to be happy.

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05-05-2022 20:00:29
Thought Economics

15th March 2022 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

It’s time to start asking the right questions about happiness. The West is facing a happiness crisis. Today, less than a quarter of adults (in the west) rate themselves as very happy—a record low.  False views of happiness abound, and the explosion in “happiness studies” has done little to dispel them. Why is true happiness so elusive, and why is it so hard to define? In this interview, I speak to philosopher, Professor J Budziszewski, one of the world’s foremost experts on human happiness and fulfilment, on what it means to be happy, what we misunderstand about happiness, whether wealth and fame can ever make us happy, and how we best need to understand the differences between pleasure, fulfilment, and happiness.

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23-03-2022 13:23:07
Thought Economics

15th March 2022 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

We are all experiencing unprecedented levels of stress and burnout. Exhaustion is at an all-time high. Leaders are depleted, employees are burning out at an alarming rate, and parents met their breaking point long ago. We are struggling and in desperate need of a new path forward. In this interview, I spoke to Nataly Kogan, author of The Awesome Human Project, about burnout, stress, and balance. We discuss how to strengthen our emotional fitness, create a more supportive relationship with ourselves, reduce self-doubt and become the boss of our brains! As Nataly says, “There is an Awesome Human within every single one of us.”

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22-03-2022 15:59:19
Thought Economics

10th December 2021 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

In The Sweet Spot, pre-eminent psychologist Paul Bloom explores the pleasures of suffering and explains why the activities that provide most satisfaction are often the ones that involve greatest sacrifice. He argues that embracing this truth is the key to a life well lived. Drawing on ground-breaking findings from psychology and brain science, he shows how the right kind of suffering sets the stage for enhanced pleasure, and how pain itself can serve a variety of valuable functions: to distract us from our anxieties or even express them, to help us transcend the self or project our identity, or as a gateway to the joys of mastery and flow. In this interview, I speak to Paul Bloom on the role of suffering in our lives. Paul argues that, deep down we all aspire to lives of meaning and significance, and that means some amount of struggle, anxiety, and loss. After all, if the things that mean most to us were easy, what would be the point? Paul’s conversation gives an unexpected insight into the human condition.

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10-12-2021 15:24:31
Thought Economics

28th October 2021 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

All of us face challenges, rough patches and struggles in life. During these times we are often our own worst enemy, experiencing unwelcome emotions, thinking and behaviours. Professor Steve Peters is author of the bestselling book, The Chimp Paradox, which has sold over 1.4 million copies since release in 2012. In his latest book, A Path Through the Jungle, he has created a practical self-development program to help readers and listeners attain psychological health and wellbeing and to find empowerment, robustness and resilience. In this interview, I speak to Professor Steve Peters on The Chimp Paradox, A Path Through the Jungle, how we can focus and empower ourselves, be better leaders, and find a path to robustness and resilience.

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03-12-2021 8:12:21
Thought Economics

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