tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post8772804607424338639..comments2024-03-14T11:09:32.759-05:00Comments on Falkenblog: Arthur Brooks on HappinessEric Falkensteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07243687157322033496noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-86080344307950149262010-06-10T17:20:27.263-05:002010-06-10T17:20:27.263-05:00Being good enough at what you enjoy to get paid fo...Being good enough at what you enjoy to get paid for it is really an ideal that not all can enjoy, for at least three reasons that I can think of: 1) Some people enjoy virtually unmarketable skills (eg: counterstrike, smoking weed, scrap booking). Sure there are variations on those skills like programming, testing, or selling, but those are limited positions and not the same as the passion/skill itself. For instance a lot of people love their iphones, but very few would enjoy designing or selling one. 2) Many people are passionate about things with a VERY small work force by percentage of prospective applicants to the field (eg: basketball player, actor, the clarinet). Sure you can fall back on being a coach, trainer, or teacher but there's bound to be a very different level of perceived success. You could say, "well then be better at it!" but my point is that the number of "successes" in certain fields vs the number of people who really enjoy it makes for lower percentage success fields. Hence why we don't all try to be pro athletes. 3) The culminating point of the first two points is there's very often a difference between a hobby and a profession, and you really do need to at some point decide which your passion will become.<br /><br />On a separate note, I came across this post because I am very curious about Arthur Brooks's idea of "Earned Success." I think it's intuitive to the point of being obvious, so the question becomes, what's the plan for proliferating earned success. There's a lot of complaining about welfare/entitlement programs, and I agree, but what's the alternative? What's the proposed method for encouraging people to earn their success?YASUhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16083684560590422434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-48641647971916700082010-06-10T16:10:19.193-05:002010-06-10T16:10:19.193-05:00John Kenneth Galbraith vs. Ludwig von Mises
But w...John Kenneth Galbraith vs. Ludwig von Mises<br /><br />But which is which? Doesn't it relate solely to the ideological drift of the economics profession, and couldn't it easily drift back the other way?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-56528745760182696722010-06-10T05:39:18.193-05:002010-06-10T05:39:18.193-05:00I am good at taking IQ tests and pointing out othe...I am good at taking IQ tests and pointing out other people's mistakes, but not much else - can I do that for a living?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-25300413549508577222010-06-09T08:24:59.789-05:002010-06-09T08:24:59.789-05:00Great post, Eric, but bittersweet for this followe...Great post, Eric, but bittersweet for this follower of your blog. Having once been a free-lance musician, I am self-centeredly fascinated with the fact that Arthur Brooks used to be a french horn player. I now work in finance, but I was a much better clarinetist than I am finance person. However, given how brutal the arts are, I had little choice but to give it up. I was a good musician, but not a great one. Being very good in the arts doesn't bring you much in the way of income. Even being great doesn't cut it. (I assume this is the kind of thing you meant when you referred to the "large opportunity cost" in your post). I know that I will never be as good at anything as I am at music, but that is little comfort as I spend my day analyzing mutual fund returns (ugh). Still, even if I never find my niche, at least I live in America, and at least I can do something that allows me to enjoy my time outside of work.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04521597937232113169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-38948532362852425032010-06-08T08:22:21.511-05:002010-06-08T08:22:21.511-05:00David: if you can be replaced by an H1-B visa, cle...David: if you can be replaced by an H1-B visa, clearly someone unfamiliar with the parochial needs and personalities of your group, you are not 'really good' at what you do. <br /><br />But I do think it's hard for bureaucrats, because society needs them, and excellence is not well rewarded there. The key for those people is to really develop your interpersonal skills, because even workers at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles appreciate people with good attitudes (and they are rare!).Eric Falkensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07243687157322033496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-52792757370070727562010-06-08T00:27:37.902-05:002010-06-08T00:27:37.902-05:00Nice post. This sounds a lot like Csikszentmihalyi...Nice post. This sounds a lot like Csikszentmihalyi's "Flow" concept, doesn't it?Yetinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-53643315614065498252010-06-07T21:27:26.111-05:002010-06-07T21:27:26.111-05:00I hadn't known that Brooks had become AEI pres...I hadn't known that Brooks had become AEI president. Interesting. <br /><br />Your advice about being the best you can be at something is good, but I don't know if it's enough to make someone happy. The dependable programmer at the paper company could get canned in favor of an H1-B replacement. Not every field rewards alpha, or even recognizes it above a certain benchmark. <br /><br />At the same time, who you know can be a source of alpha, and one a diligent though not socially facile worker may have difficulty acquiring.DaveinHackensackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01313169814904229272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-3438665553834696532010-06-07T18:34:39.939-05:002010-06-07T18:34:39.939-05:00Deep Stuff Falken!Deep Stuff Falken!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com