Tiptoeing on the path to Happiness
While brainstorming a new X-Prize on Happiness, I offered the simple precept that happiness comes from finding purpose and meaning that transcends the mortal self. In other words, we all seek symbolic immorality — by creating something that will last beyond our short time on this Earth. We create art, companies, charitable organizations and acts of philanthropy, offspring, and the last resort, a belief in the afterlife. =)
I had to defend the summary of our brainstorm with the larger group. The Prize would have to be specific and clear, and although we thought the winners would have to think of viral crowd-sourced work deployable over smart phones, we did not want to constrain the solution space to that.
We were also told to end with our Elevator Pitch, so I imagined being in that elevator, and improvised a bit:
• First Floor (ding ♪) — Food, Shelter, and Clothing
• Second Floor — Women’s Fragrances
* Top Floor — Self-actualization and the symbolic immortality of meaningful work.
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