The art and science of happiness | Arthur Brooks | TEDxKC

Harvard Professor of happiness, Arthur Brooks, turns the tables on the idea of the “bucket list“ as a way of achieving satisfaction, showing us where real joy and contentment are far more likely to be found. Arthur C. Brooks is the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. Before joining the Harvard faculty in 2019, he served for 10 years as president of the Washington, American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the world’s leading think tanks. Under his leadership, the Institute more than doubled its annual revenues, deepened its outreach to leaders across the ideological spectrum and expanded its research portfolio to include work on poverty, happiness and human potential. Brooks is the author of 12 books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller “From Strength to Strength.” He is also a columnist for The Atlantic and host of the podcast “How to Build a Happy Life with Arthur Brooks.” Brooks gives more than 100 speeches per year around the U.S., Europe and Asia. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at