The Good News About Your Inevitable Decline | Arthur Brooks

About this episode

<p>The unavoidable truth is that our skills change as we get older. We invest so much in our professional success, and then at some point, things change. But there's good news. While certain abilities and mental capacities erode with age, others get stronger. With some foresight, planning, and good habits, you can make the second half of your life way better than the first.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>Arthur Brooks is the author of a new book called <a href= "https://arthurbrooks.com/book/from-strength-to-strength/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life</em></a><em>.</em> Arthur has seen the themes of this book play out in his own life. He started his career as a classical French horn player, then got his PhD in public policy analysis, and went on to run a think tank called the <a href= "https://www.aei.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">American Enterprise Institute</a>. He then left that to be a professor at the <a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harvard Kennedy School</a> and <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/Pages/default.aspx" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harvard Business School</a>. He also does work with <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a> , where he writes a <a href= "https://www.theatlantic.com/author/arthur-c-brooks/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">column</a> and hosts a podcast called <a href= "https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/how-to-build-a-happy-life/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How to Build a Happy Life</a>.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>This episode explores: success addiction, and how to avoid it while still being successful; what it means to "live like Bach;" fluid intelligence vs. crystallized intelligence; what investments we can make now to increase the likelihood of more happiness later; the four most important habits of the happiest people; a workable definition of happiness; and how he feels about his own shifting capacities, having researched the subject for many years.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href= "https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/arthur-brooks-419</a></p> <p><br /></p>