C

I live in Hollywood. You may think people in such an attract ive, fun—filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.

    Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The troth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more long—lasting emotion. Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.

    I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells “happiness”. But in memoir（回忆录）after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drag addiction, broken marriages, troubled children, and long—time loneliness. The way people hold on to the belief that a fun—filled, pain—free life equates happiness actually decreases their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But, in fact, the opposite is tree: More times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

    As a result, many people avoid the very efforts that are the source of tree happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, charitable work and self—improvement.

Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into actions. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are out main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register（收款机）with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash (现金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next

day.

I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Change it to me, ” was all he said.

What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my

pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.

The world is filled with smart，talented and gifted people．We meet them every day．A few days ago，my car was not running well．I pulled it into a garage，and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes．He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine．I was amazed．The sad truth is，great talent is not enough．

I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn．I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100，000 ayear．A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially．It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase，“They are one skill away from great wealth．”

There is an old saying that goes，“Job means ‘just over broke”．And unfortunately，I would say that the saying applies to millions of people．Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence，most workers“ live within their means”．They work and they pay the bills．Instead I recommend young people to seek work for what they will learn，more than what they will earn．

When I ask the classes I teach，“How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands．I then ask，“So if most of you can cook a better hamburger，how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems．The reason why so many talented people are poor is that they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems．The world is filled with talented poor people．They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger．

（A）

       I remember the first time that I was extremely happy. I was about 8 years old when for the first time, there was a computer in the classroom. I remember that my teacher allowed each student to take turns to play various educational games on the computer. One day, I found the source code(编码) for one of these games. Without knowing or being taught any programming language, I was able to figure out some of the BASIC code. I just gave myself an infinite number of lives in the game, so I could continue playing it forever. This was also my first introduction to code, and I didn’t even know it at the time. This was a decisive moment in my life. I was quite excited because of what I was learning and what I was able to do. As a result, I was enthusiastic for the rest of my life about self learning and computers, and I was quite happy doing them too.

       I’ve noticed that people who are truly content with life are enthusiastic about what they do. This enthusiasm, along with good health, is the key to being happy. It also leads to self-confidence and content in life too. It may also lead to success, wealth, and achievements.

      Success, wealth, or achievements can also bring some people happiness, yet I know plenty of rich people who are unhappy. I know many people with successful businesses that are not happy with what they are doing. I know people who continuously buy themselves new toys, such as cars, computers, and televisions, yet never seem content for too long. Please remember, happiness is the journey of life, not the destination.

Someone sent me an email pushing me to acquire a lot more resources, suggesting that I could do so much more good if I had an 8­or 9­figure net income instead of 6.He claimed to have acquired a great deal of wealth himself and found it highly beneficial to fueling his path with a heart.

As I consider his suggestion, I find myself not having much clarity(清晰的思维) as to what Iˈd do with 1 million dollars or 10 million dollars more. I focus so much attention on creativity, fulfillment, exploration, etc. that I find it difficult to imagine how more financial resources could provide extra fuel for that.

Lately Iˈve been considering what it would be like to deliberately reduce my income for a while and see if I could live on much less, just for the experience. That isnˈt such a big deal to me, though, since I already went through a period of low income like that during the 1990s, and I learned that I could still do what I love regardless of income.

Iˈve never worked in a business environment because I am a writer—the only job Iˈve ever had was working for $6/hour in a video game store while I was in college. So Iˈve never seen how larger operations allocate resources. Thatˈs probably why I havenˈt pushed myself to acquire more.

Iˈm not interested in building an empire. What interests me is exploring personal growth and sharing what I learn along the way. In some ways I feel that acquiring and allocating more resources could become a big distraction (让人分心的事情)．Iˈm already doing what I want to be doing, so why risk distracting myself to acquire more resources, especially when I lack the idea of what to do with such resources?

B

    My teacher, Mr. August J. Bachmann, was the most influential teacher I ever had.

    I had gotten into trouble in his class: Another student had pushed me for fun, and I became angry and began to hit him. Mr. Bachmann stopped the fight, but instead of sending me to the office, he sat me down and asked a simple question: "Penna, why are you wasting your life? Why aren't you going to college?"

    I didn't know anything about colleges or scholarships. No one had ever considered that a fatherless boy from the poorest neighborhood had a future. That day, instead of rushing off for lunch, he stayed and explained possible education options to me. At the end of our talk, he sent me to see a secretary who had a child at a state college. This was in 1962 at Emerson High School in Union City, New Jersey.

    Well, 53 years have passed, and what have I done with the knowledge he gave me? I gained a PhD from Fordham University when I was only 29. I taught English and social studies and then moved up the chain of command from teacher to principal(校长).

    I've sat on the board for Magnet Schools of America and represented that organization at the United Nations. I've won a number of great educational awards. But where would I be if a truly caring teacher had not taken the time out of his lunch period to speak to me? It was without question only his confidence in me that helped me forward.

    I have repaid his kindness hundreds of times by encouraging misguided youngsters to aim higher. If I have saved any children, it is because of him. If I have been a successful educator, it is because I had a great role model in Mr. Bachmann.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

       Dreaming about whether you would want to read minds, see through walls, or have superhuman strength may sound silly, but it actually gets to the heart of what really matters in your life.

     Every day in our work, we are inspired by the people we meet doing extraordinary things to improve the world.

They have a different kind of superpower that all of us possess: the power to make a difference in the lives of others.

We’re not saying that everyone needs to contribute their lives to the poor. Your lives are busy enough doing homework, playing sports, making friends, seeking after your dreams. But we do think that you can live a more powerful life when you devote some of your time and energy to something much larger than yourself. Find an issue you are interested in and learn more. Volunteer or, if you can, contribute a little money to a cause. Whatever you do, don’t be a bystander. Get involved. You may have the opportunity to make your biggest difference when you’re older. But why not start now?

Our own experience working together on health, development, and energy the last twenty years has been one of the most rewarding parts of our lives. It has changed who we are and continues to fuel our optimism about how much the lives of the poorest people will improve in the years ahead.

A couple of weeks ago, a few friends and I had an opportunity to attend a dear friend’s wedding in New York. After the wedding and reception, rather accidentally four of us gathered in a hotel room and began to explore the deeper meaning of life and death. What does it mean to live truly? If we are all getting closer to death, is all the material accumulation worth it? It is not exactly the type of conversations one has at a wedding.

While the answers varied from person to person, I was left with more questions than answers and a feeling of gratefulness to be surrounded by friends who were asking the "right" questions. As the clock kept ticking past 3 am, one of the roommates suggested we watch a short film titled "Last Days of Zach Sobiech". The premise of the film is about a teenager’s journey through the last days of his terminal illness. The film brought up a lot of mixed emotions but one quote that stood out for me was Zach’s simple explanation of happiness, "What makes one happy is seeing someone else smile because you put it there." By 4 am, there was this energy in the room that had to be shared! With a few packages of post-it notes and sharpies, we hit the halls of the hotel. We decided to leave short inspirational words on guests’ doors, so when they open their doors few hours later a smile would turn up.

We ended up tagging all the doors until we ran out of post-it notes. The note on the door of the newly-weds properly said, "Where there is love, there is life."