This excerpt is from Money Isn’t Everything, Everything is Money By Tom Shepard

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC, Investment Advice offered through Flagship Harbor Advisors, a registered Investment advisor. Flagship Harbor Advisors, Currency Camp and Shepherd Financial are separate entities from LPL Financial.

The opinions voiced in this book are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

Up to a point, Money can buy happiness, but happiness isn’t that easy to quantify. For instance, various studies have shown that beyond a certain limit, earning more money doesn’t make people happier. Other studies show that buying experiences rather than $tuff leads to happier outcomes. Furthermore, studies on longevity and happiness often assume that the statistical fact that people live longer in some countries means their residents must be happier and more content than others. What all these studies miss is that their conclusions probably don’t apply universally. Such relationships between wealth, happiness, and longevity might be right for some people and wrong for others. Would you be at all surprised if I told you that there are seven ways to be happy and one that really resonates with you?

Come on! Let’s go! 

Sydney Madison Shepard

My work over these many years has helped me see a pattern that you now have used over and over again in this book. So, when happiness was raised as a topic recently, I was intrigued enough to fly down to Costa Rica to UPEACE to attend a conference on global happiness. There, I discussed with others the fact that the measure of our success here on this planet is partly a function of pursuing happiness. We don’t all pursue happiness the same way and certainly aren’t always looking for the same experiences as we do so. In fact, pursuing happiness the same way, over and over, causes it to lose its effectiveness. Being happy is like chewing gum for too long. It loses its flavor. So, here’s a quick little bonus piece on buying happiness.

The nature of the reactor/Taker, is that of looking for activities that are exciting. Often, Takers are most happy when things are on the edge. They enjoy a combination of passion and fun. The endorphins come from the rush of excitement.

The Spender/feeler is more likely to be happy when things are fun and funny. Too much work or excitement waters down or drowns out the good and happy feelings.

Earner/worker/thinker types are most often happy when experiencing the satisfaction of a job well done. For them, having solved a problem releases its own success hormones.

Saver/relaxers are often happiest when comfortably held in the arms of their favorite chair or hammock. For them, a bath or nap might be just the thing to turn a tough day into one with a happy ending.

The Investor/creator may seem to crave excitement, but this person’s happiness comes in the flavor of joy. The enjoyment of being part of a creative process is a means to finding great happiness for these types. Creativity is not theirs alone, but alone, that state of creative flow is all that’s needed.

The Lever/uplifter is happiest when things are easy. The absence of difficulty may not trigger some to be happy, but for this Nature, hard work is not a prerequisite to getting the uplifting feeling of happiness.

Giver/leaders often find happiness in outward expressions of their inner feelings. Passion is, above all, one of the keywords of this Nature. We would do well to be aware of how important it is for some very giving people to have outlets for their generosity.

So, there it is: the seven Natures lead to seven types of happiness. The number seven appears again, helping us to accept the way others perceive and pursue happiness in different ways. Opening ourselves up to the variety that life is trying to share with us is a great way to discover and rediscover ways to be happy. In the end, this is my wish for you: that you see all four currencies as a way to “buy” happiness and therefore fall in love with what they can do for you.

"Tis not too late to seek a newer world" -Heraclitus

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