Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
From the award-winning authors of What Is My Legacy? comes a book that will change how you live the rest of your life.
For generations, we’ve been told that the goal of life is to be happy. Yet despite record spending on wellness trends, self-help advice, and quick-fix hacks, we are more burned out, anxious, and disconnected than ever before. It’s not your fault. You’ve been sold a lie—one that keeps you striving, scrolling, and seeking.
In Happiness vs. Fulfillment, Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Marc Kielburger, and Craig Kielburger reveal the truth hiding in plain sight, rooted in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final teachings and supported by cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology. We were never meant to chase happiness. We were meant to live fulfilled lives. Drawing on decades of work in diverse communities around the world—from the boardrooms of Davos to remote villages where families live on less than a dollar a day—the authors reveal a striking pattern: The key to a longer, richer, and more meaningful life is not happiness at all. It’s something more.
Happiness vs. Fulfillment is a road map to personal transformation, guiding us to break free from the “Happiness Industrial Complex” that profits from our dissatisfaction and instead pursue a liberating alternative rooted in purpose, love, and authentic connection. This book will change the way you see yourself, your relationships, and your place in the world. It will change how you live the rest of your life.
“Our modern ‘pursuits of happiness’ can offer temporary good feelings, which sadly never last. It is a life fulfilled that we must seek. Happiness vs. Fulfillment is one of the essential maps to guide us on our journey.” —Simon Sinek, optimist, New York Times bestselling author, and host of the podcast A Bit of Optimism
“In a world awash in happiness prescriptions, this book calls us to look deeper and lays out a path to true fulfillment. It’s a guide to the most essential elements of a good life that reminds us what truly matters. Its message could not be more important or timely.” —Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, 19th and 21st surgeon general of the United States
“You’re about to learn a powerful way of living. A way of finding what truly matters and adding more of it into your life. And there are no four better people in this world to teach you how to do that. They have changed my life for the better, and they will change yours too.” —Mel Robbins, host of The Mel Robbins Podcast and New York Times bestselling author of The Let Them Theory and The 5 Second Rule
“Happiness vs. Fulfillment invites us into the sacred practice of living with purpose, love, and authentic connection, awakening us to the deeper truth of who we are and why we are here. It is not merely a book you read; it is an experience that can transform the way you live your life. Read it, embody it, and allow it to guide you into a life of true fulfillment.” —Michael Bernard Beckwith, founder and CEO of Agape International Spiritual Center, bestselling author, and host of Take Back Your Mind podcast
“Having spent my life exploring remote ecosystems and time with Indigenous communities who have always known that no one thrives alone, this book rang true from the first page. In a world that profits from isolation, Happiness vs. Fulfillment is a necessary revolution, and one our humanity desperately needs.” —Céline Cousteau, filmmaker, explorer, environmental and humanitarian advocate, founder of CauseCentric Productions, and a global voice for Indigenous rights and ocean conservation
“The pursuit of happiness is one of the greatest biological traps ever sold to humanity. Happiness is a dopamine hit. Fulfillment is a nervous system upgrade. Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Marc Kielburger, and Craig Kielburger have written the book that finally names it and shows you the way out.” —Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof, father of the biohacking movement, four-time New York Times bestselling author, and host of The Human Upgrade podcast
FOREWORD xi
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER ONE: The Pursuit of Happiness Is
Making Us Miserable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
CHAPTER TWO: The Fear and Inadequacy Economy . . . . 31
CHAPTER THREE: The Choice That Changes Everything . . 47
CHAPTER FOUR: Disconnection vs. Connection . . . . . . . 67
CHAPTER FIVE: Fear vs. Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
CHAPTER SIX: Dopamine vs. Serotonin . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
CHAPTER SEVEN: Past and Future vs. Now . . . . . . . . . . 141
CHAPTER EIGHT: Short-Term Thinking vs.
Long-Term Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
CHAPTER NINE: Money vs. Wealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
CHAPTER TEN: Certainty vs. Curiosity . . . . . . . . . . . 209
CHAPTER ELEVEN: “Me” vs. “We” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
AFTERWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
NOTES 287
ABOUT THE AUTHORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301