Flamin’ Hot Cheetos & the Myth of Happiness

This week we have a counter-narrative video on capitalism, the inspiring story of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos millionaire, my thoughts on “happiness,” and some great quotes to ponder.

Videos I am Watching

I found these two videos profoundly interesting. Capitalism is not perfect, but the narratives told by the media do not tell the whole truth.

1. A few weeks ago I shared with you my favorite John Stossel Videos. Well, this week he released his first in a series of videos on capitalism myths. Capitalism Myths Part 1 definitely had me rethinking some of the stereotypes and rhetoric stated by the media.

2. Another great capitalistic/career growth story is the making of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Millionaire. Richard Montañez has been pioneering his way from janitor for Frito-Lay, to a top-level executive, author, and motivational speaker, and it is beyond inspiring!

A Feeling I am Contemplating

Happiness. There are a lot of ideas surrounding “happiness” as a concept. It is often treated as a destination. A great book about looking inwards and being satisfied with the present is The Untethered Soul. You can read my summary of the book here.

I also posted this recently on my personal Facebook page. Happiness is a journey, not a destination:

“We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, or have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough, and we’ll be more content when they are. After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We’ll certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, or when we get a nicer car, or are able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire. The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now.

If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said, ‘For a long time, it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But, there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.’

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special enough to spend your time…and remember that time waits for no one.

So stop waiting until you finish school, or until you go back to school… until you lose ten pounds, gain ten pounds… until you have kids… until you get married… until you get divorced… until Friday night or Sunday morning… until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off… until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter… until you are off welfare… until the first or fifteenth… until your song comes on… until you’ve had a drink, until you’ve sobered up…until you die… to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.”

~ Richard Carlson, American author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker