Success is not happiness - or is it?

 

Here's a little spoiler: Of course luck plays a role. An important one, in fact. But not in the way you might think. So let's dive into the world of success and happiness. And let's start in Duckburg.

 

As a child, I was a huge fan of Disney's funny paperbacks. I loved spending hours reading them under the comforter and following the adventures of Mickey Mouse, Puss Karlo and Inspector Hunter. But I particularly loved the Duck family. There was Uncle Scrooge, who became the richest man in Duckburg with just one kreuzer of starting capital and spent his days strolling through his numerous money bins. The three shrewd nephews Tick, Trick and Track stirred up the Scout camp of the Little Fluffy Tail, and the beautiful Daisy turned the heads of her two admirers Donald Duck and Gustav Gans. 

 

The latter two characters in particular could not be more different. On the one hand, there was the likeable, albeit completely clumsy Donald, who seemed to be plagued by bad luck, while his arrogant and lazy cousin Gustav seemed to be pursued by one lucky streak after another. And I still remember today that I wished for nothing more than to one day be able to lead a similar lifestyle to the lucky duck with the quiff (Gustav Gans even has his own Duckipedia entry). 

 

In my mind's eye, I could already see myself lying in a hammock on my porch, earning a living by winning the lottery, finding diamonds or receiving letters with cash.

 

Today, almost thirty-five years later, I still think the Duck family is really great, but I have learned and internalized an important life lesson:

 

 

Everything that is consumed must first be produced. Everything you spend has to be earned first. And everything you want to take, someone else has to give. But what still fascinates me as an adult is the topic of happiness. After all, isn't the world full of Donalds and Gustavs? Don't you know people who seem to have bad luck stuck to their boots, while others have one lucky streak after another in their lives? We would therefore like to address an important question at this point: does the Happiness factor play a role when it comes to success in various areas of life? 

 

The superficial answer to this is a clear no. If you look at successful people, you can always observe the same ingredients that have led to the extraordinary results: Bold ideas, diligence, hard work, the willingness Error perseverance and the ability to inspire other people with your own vision. Even science cannot establish a correlation between success and happiness, which is why Wikipedia defines happiness „as a positive coincidence“. 

 

And one always speaks of chance „when no causal explanation can be given for a single event or the coincidence of several events“. Objectively speaking, it seems that luck only plays a subordinate role in personality development, and supposed experts like to use this insight to proclaim that success can be planned

 

But common sense tells us that something can't be right. After all, life cannot be designed on a drawing board, and of course there are a large number of people who owe their success to lucky coincidences. In old Gustav Gans style, they were simply in the right place at the right time, met the right people and had an idea whose moment had come. And at the same time, there are some factors that dramatically increase the probability of being lucky.

 

 

So how, Ilya? I thought luck was a random factor, so how can I influence it? Before I present you with four very specific methods, I would like to introduce you to another, less mathematical, but more practice-oriented definition:

 

 

Yes, it is indeed possible to create your own luck. The more active we are, the more we try things out, make mistakes and expand our network, the more likely it is that at some point the opportunity will come that we would call luck in hindsight. But the opposite is the case, because it is in fact just the reward for your tireless efforts. For this reason, luck is always with the brave, and FC Bayern Munich's famous last-minute goal is actually hard-earned. 

 

Because if you create twice as many chances per game as your opponent, then the probability of a ball luckily finding its way into the goal is also twice as high. Woody Allen summed this up wonderfully when he said: „80% of success in life is just showing up.“ 

And that's exactly how it is. If you sit at home on the couch waiting to finally get lucky, life will bitterly disappoint you. But if you set out, actively change and work hard for your dreams, you will inevitably experience moments that look like happiness from the outside. Unfortunately, you can never plan when that will be. In the following, however, I would like to introduce you to four factors that significantly increase the likelihood of it happening sooner rather than later. I call them the four happiness boosters, and here they are:

 

I am aware that it may sound strange, but in fact the greatest possible freedom lies in committing yourself. However, if you look around you, you will see the opposite pattern. Nobody wants to commit anymore decide, because you want to keep all your options open. This applies to relationships as well as to projects or your day job. True to the motto: I only invest eighty percent for the time being, because who knows if something better might come along. 

 

But the opposite is the case. The more you consciously decide to do something with all your skin and hair, the more you will experience an unexpected inner freedom experience. Because you commit yourself in this way and focus all your energy. I have a very simple system that helps me to clearly define my priorities.

 

Whenever I'm faced with a difficult decision, I choose between two options: Either I wholeheartedly say yes to a choice, or I decide to say no. There is nothing in between for me, because I said goodbye to all wishy-washy decisions a long time ago. My inner sense of freedom thanks me every single day. Because only those who commit themselves are truly free.

 

 

As I write these lines, I am on a cruise ship that is currently anchored in Lisbon. And one fact strikes me every single day on board. Although the sea is simply beautiful, the food is amazing and the weather is fantastic, most of the people around me are in one of three different modes. They are talking about past trips, planning next year's or complaining about the conditions on the current one. 

 

It goes without saying that these nagging contemporaries completely fail to enjoy the present. And I probably only notice it so much because I'm traveling with the two biggest role models I know: my two daughters Emma and Elisabeth. You can't imagine the curiosity, joy and gratitude with which the two of them enjoyed every single moment of the trip. One day, when Elisabeth came into our cabin beaming with happiness once again, I asked her: „What's wrong with you, why are you beaming like that?“ Her answer was as naive as it was exemplary: „Just because, Dad!“ This brings me to an important question:

 

 

Just because they can. What, you can't remember that? Then you should change that as soon as possible, because your ability to feel good for no reason is crucial to your general quality of life.

 

 

Really never (Or have you ever made a good decision out of a bad state? You see). If, on the other hand, we decide on the basis of joy, abundance and gratitude, then the results will look accordingly. So learn to feel good. As often as possible. By not living in the past or the future, but always enjoying the present moment. The more you are able to do this for no reason at all, the more you will be able to enjoy the situations in which an external factor makes your life more beautiful, more intense and happier.

 

Do you remember the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood? In it, the little girl is on her way to her grandmother with a basket full of food. She actually has a clear destination and knows exactly which way to go. But then the wicked wolf suddenly appears along the way in a variety of disguises and distracts her. The ending is well known, because a short time later Little Red Riding Hood is eaten by the wolf disguised as her grandmother. 

 

And if you're wondering why I'm telling you another fairy tale after the Duck family, here's the answer. Even in their everyday lives, the evil wolf is constantly lurking by the wayside. What, you've never noticed that before? No wonder, he doesn't have gray fur and sharp teeth, but appears in a wide variety of disguises. I'm talking about the many time wasters, distractions and supposed shortcuts that so often divert you from your actual plan. 

 

Because hand on heart, how often are you just busy with unimportant things instead of being productive and focused on your important work? Goal to work? How often do you work on a project and your mind is somewhere else? How often have you wanted to tackle an important task but then checked your Facebook feed again? How often have you been unable to give your children the attention they need on an outing because you were answering work emails on the side? 

 

In all these cases, the evil wolf tries to lure you from the side of the road in order to eat you in the end. To increase your personal happiness, you should learn to identify the wolf in your everyday life and not allow yourself to be distracted. Eliminate your time wasters, focus and do one task at a time. I love the following sentence, which I first heard from my English colleague Nigel Risner:

 

 

Or translated: If you are in the room, then be in the room. And that's another one of those sentences that's worth thinking about a little longer.

 

There is nothing I believe in as much as the power of a positive attitude. No wonder, after all I wrote a whole book on the subject. And do you know of a single negative person who has ever made a positive difference? You see.

 

 

Of course, this doesn't mean that you should walk through life with rose-tinted glasses like one of those light-and-love gurus, simply ignoring problems and making light of the challenges of everyday life. Quite the opposite, because problems are part of life. But the decisive factor is how we deal with them. The rule of thumb is: Problems and at the same time think about the best way to solve it. 

 

In this way, you always think in terms of possibilities and never in terms of limitations. You act from a mentality of abundance and show scarcity thinking the red card. Above all, however, you change yourself instead of hoping that external circumstances will change. Please never forget one thing: your Attitude is nothing trivial. It is everything. Because it determines your basic attitude, your ability to recognize opportunities and, above all, your satisfaction in life. I would therefore hope that you will never forget the three golden rules of a successful attitude:

 

The world is full of negative, frustrated and grumpy people. But it's always the positive changemakers who unhinge it every day and make a real dent in the universe.

 

With the four happiness boosters, you will be able to boost your personal happiness in all areas of life. But of course, happiness is not just something that you have or that comes to you. Above all, it is also a state. Possibly even the one we humans strive for the most. However, the majority of people make the crucial mistake of seeing happiness as something that is determined by external factors. 

 

What a mistake. Because happiness is never a goal that you achieve when certain things happen, you possess others or experience something. Happiness is something completely different. It is a fundamental attitude towards life. A conscious choice. A happiness attitude. Try it out today and be happy. For no reason at all. Simply because you can.

 

And of course, I am now interested in one thing in particular: “Success is not luck”. What do you think of our initial statement after reading this article? I look forward to your comments.