“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”
– Dalai Lama

Before we start, you probably already know that countries like the USA measure the prosperity of its people based on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of our nation.

If the GDP is high, they assume we are succeeding. However, at what cost?

For example, did you know that currently in the US, every year, over 658 MILLION vacation days go unused?

That’s mind-blowing!! didn’t know that until Marco shared it with me in this interview.

Now, I’m all for having a great work ethic. And I think as US citizens, we should be proud of it. However, I’m also not a fan of sacrificing holidays or vacation for the sake of work.

Life first. And your business or your job should work to support that. We work to live, we don’t live to work.

Here’s the big thing: a BIG GDP does not mean we are happy with your lives, enjoying well-being, and spending time on the things that we love and matter most.

In fact, often, places where GDP is high means a lot of people are over-worked, sick, sad, and dissatisfied.

That’s where I think we can learn a lot from Bhutan.

Who or what is Bhutan?

Bhutan is a tiny kingdom in the Himalayas, between Tibet, China, and India. It’s about the size of Maryland.

The Bhutan king’s father implemented a brilliant idea.

He and his ministers came up with GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS (GNH).

They developed a way to measure the happiness index of their country.

Now, by first world standards, we would say Bhutan is poor. Very poor. They don’t have oil, minerals, coal, or the conveniences we do in the modern world. They live off subsistence agriculture.

They live very basically, but they are also very happy with what they got.

But here’s the thing: I don’t think you have to live off a farm a deprive yourself of your material wants in life. I’m not saying that.

But what I’m saying is to focus on what makes you happy FIRST. Then, build your business and career around that!

Take a vacation and really get to the heart of what you love and what makes you happy.

For example, Marco shares with us the story of the gentleman from Colorado Jeff Lebesch, an avid bike rider who took a vacation to Belgium. He also happened to love beer.

He was touring on his bike in Belgium (part of his European tour) on a big fat tire bike. He was making steps all along the European country, visiting breweries, studying how they made their beer, and really getting into the beer culture there.

That gave him the idea to start a brewery back home!

From his garage, his company grew and grew into a boutique microbrewery called Fat Tire, which now sells beer all over the US.

So, here’s what you can do:

1. Make a list of the things you love to do.
2. Look at vacations that will help you do more of what you love.
3. Book your vacation.
4. Ask yourself the question, “How can I be paid to do what I love?”

And if you haven’t already, check out the previous episode Marco and I recorded. We talked about the 5 Ways A Vacation Can Earn You More Money and Gain Your More Life. 😊

Choose Gratitude Create Freedom

Steve Napolitan