Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Arthur C. Brooks Shares Happiness Recipe: ‘Enjoyment, Satisfaction and Meaning’

Friday, November 15, 2024, By Cort Ruddy
Share
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

Bestselling author and Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks began his talk at Syracuse University by asking the audience of hundreds a simple question: “What is happiness?”

Then he shared that when he poses that question in his classes, hardly anyone raises their hand. When he calls on students, they inevitably describe the feeling they have when around family or when doing something they like, he said.

Brooks tells them: “‘That’s beautiful. That’s lovely. That’s wrong!’”

Arthur Brooks delivers a lecture on happiness on the Syracuse University campus

New York Times bestselling author and former Maxwell professor Arthur C. Brooks discussed the secrets of happiness at an event held on Oct. 30 in the National Veterans Resource Center.

“And it’s good news that it’s wrong,” he explained. “Because if you’re looking for a feeling to get your happiness, you’re going after a vapor. You’re consigning your happiness to forces out of your control. You’re going to go to bed at night saying, boy I sure hope I feel happy tomorrow. And point of fact, that’s how a lot of people live.”

Brooks’ talk, “How to Get Happier in an Unhappy World,” was held in the K.G. Tan Auditorium in the National Veterans Resource Center on Oct. 30. It was hosted by the Maxwell School and sponsored by the D’Aniello Family Foundation, the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business-Government Policy and the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Leadership.

Brooks taught at Maxwell from 2001 to 2009. In addition to serving on the faculty at Harvard, he writes the popular weekly “How to Build a Life” column for The Atlantic and he is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of 13 books, including “Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier” (Penguin Random House, 2023), co-authored with Oprah Winfrey.

Brooks’ focus on the scientific study of happiness began as he ended his time as the president of the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. His Harvard class on the subject typically has a waiting list of several hundred students.

“It’s the most oversubscribed elective at the business school,” Brooks told the Syracuse audience, “which is weird, when you think about it. I mean, it’s a business curriculum and I’m teaching about happiness.”

But Brooks contends it’s popular because he is teaching students the business of their lives.

“I reinforce the idea that their lives are an entrepreneurial endeavor and they’re the founders,” said Brooks. “They’re the people who are building this incredible enterprise. The fortune they’re trying to accumulate is in love and happiness, and that’s what I want to help them get better at.”

So, what are the secrets to happiness?

“What we know in this field, based on both behavioral science and neuroscience, is that the happiest people have in both balance and abundance three things,” Brooks said. “They are enjoyment, satisfaction and meaning. Those are the three parts to happiness. You want to be a happier person? Those are things to pursue.”

Brooks spoke in depth about each of the three and how individuals can work to improve the ingredients of happiness in their own lives. He also shared his four pillars for happiness: Faith, family, friendship and work. Faith, he explained, doesn’t require religion, but can also come from something as simple as taking in a beautiful moment in nature.

Brooks’ lecture ended a daylong visit that included lunch with Maxwell and Arts and Sciences leadership scholars, as well as meetings with faculty, staff and University leaders.

“It was such a pleasure to have Arthur back on campus, to not only speak to this audience, but to interact with our students and see many old friends,” said Maxwell Dean David M. Van Slyke. “His insights into achieving happiness are helping people around the globe, and I am hopeful everyone who heard his remarks and spent time with him learned something about this important subject and about themselves.”

Brooks’ work on happiness can be found at ArthurBrooks.com.

  • Author

Cort Ruddy

  • Recent
  • Doctoral Candidate Wins Grant for Research on Infrastructure, Violence and Resistance in Pakistan
    Friday, August 1, 2025, By News Staff
  • Co-President of Disability Law Society Eyes Career in National Security Law in Washington
    Thursday, July 31, 2025, By Jordan Bruenger
  • Lender Center New York Event Gathers Wealth Gap Experts
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • After Tragedy, Newhouse Grad Rediscovers Her Voice Through Podcasting
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Chris Velardi
  • Back-to-School Shopping: More Expensive and Less Variety of Back-to-School Items
    Tuesday, July 29, 2025, By Daryl Lovell

More In Campus & Community

Doctoral Candidate Wins Grant for Research on Infrastructure, Violence and Resistance in Pakistan

Bramsh Khan, a Ph.D. candidate in social science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has been awarded a prestigious Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant. The Wenner-Gren Foundation, established in 1941, is dedicated to advancing anthropological knowledge throughout…

Co-President of Disability Law Society Eyes Career in National Security Law in Washington

Kaitlin Sommer L’26 is always planning ahead. Throughout her life, she has continuously asked herself, “Is there a better or more efficient way to do this?”, “Am I advocating for what I need?”, “How can I figure this out by…

National Grid Summer College Scholars Program Invests in Energy Literacy

National Grid and Syracuse University’s Office of Pre-College Programs have partnered to inspire the next generation of innovators through the National Grid Summer College Scholars Program. The program will support selected Syracuse City School District high school students for the…

Bowlers Wanted for Faculty and Staff Bowling League

Do you enjoy bowling? Would you like to try bowling? Are you looking for a fun activity with your colleagues? The Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) Faculty and Staff Bowling League is seeking new…

Lender Center New York Event Gathers Wealth Gap Experts

Nearly 30 Syracuse University faculty and postdoctoral researchers and nationally known thought leaders who study the wealth gap in America explored the issue at a recent event in New York City hosted by the Lender Center for Social Justice. The…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.