What Actually Leads to Happiness?

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]on today's episode of Timeless Wisdom.

[00:00:03]>> All right, Dennis. What's going to make me happy and what's going to make me unhappy? Well, I'll answer that. All right. With all the at my disposal, I will tell you what won't make you happy that you pursue. Or if not you, of course, you collectively, not you individually, but you and me. I I I have to fight the same battles as many of you. We none of us all have the identical battles, but I have battles otherw if I didn't have battles for happiness, I couldn't do this. That's coming up on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.

[00:00:41]>> One nation under God. Here's Franklin Graham.

[00:00:45]>> I'm inviting you to join with us and to pray for America. Pray that we as individuals and as a nation turn to the God of our fathers, the God of the Bible.

[00:00:55]>> As we approach America's 250th, join Franklin in praying for our nation every day. A new prayer is posted daily at one nation undergod.com.

[00:01:06]Invite your friends and family to pray, too. One nationunderod.com.

[00:01:12]Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Here thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's rational Bibles, go to dennis prager.com.

[00:01:26]Hey everybody, come on everybody. Here we go.

[00:01:30]Yes, it's the happy happy happy hour.

[00:01:34]Yes, it is. It's the happy happy happy hour. Every week at this time, whatever it might be, from California Supreme Court decisions to whatever, I have the happiness hour. And sometimes I need it more than others. And this is one of those times. And here it is, my friends. Welcome to the happiness hour politically free zone where we just talk about Everybody's walking by smiling. It has an effect. It really has an effect.

[00:02:03]Happiness is the great great weapon to make the world better. Happy people make the world better. That's the reason I do this.

[00:02:14]Happy people make the world better. And the world is made worse overwhelmingly by the unhappy. Not that every unhappy person is bad. Of course not.

[00:02:24]But the proportions of those making the world better among the happy are much much much which much which much which much which much which much which much which much which much which much which much are much much much higher. Hi everybody. This is Dennis Prager. Today the happiness hour is huge huge because I it's going to be about the things that people think will make them make them happy and the things that really do. This is this is about as large a themed happiness hour as I have ever given. I talk to you I mean literally hundreds and hundreds of topics on happiness but the question is so all right Dennis what's going to make me happy and what's going to make me unhappy I I'll answer that all right with all the at my disposal I will tell you what won't make you happy that you pursue or if not you of course you collectively not you individually in your car listening in Iowa, but you and me, I I I have to fight the same battles as many of you.

[00:03:38]When none of us all have the identical battles, but I have battles otherw if I didn't have battles for happiness, I couldn't do this.

[00:03:47]I wouldn't have written a book titled happiness is a serious problem. All right, so here we go.

[00:03:55]What makes you happy? The first answer, the first answer is you do.

[00:04:02]All right. Be before everything else.

[00:04:05]You make you happy. If you don't make you happy, when I could actually end this hour right now, the answer to the question of what will make me happy is me.

[00:04:21]No one can undo your being unhappy. No thing, no person. Having said that, there are things that certainly will help you if you wish to be happy and I will tell you what they are. But just please know you make you happy. Now let's what should I do? Flip a coin here? Do I first list what people pursue that? Yeah, I'll do that. Let me give you four things that people pursue that they think will make them happy but that in and of themselves do not in no order of importance because all of them are important. Number one, absence of pain.

[00:05:08]People do things to avoid pain.

[00:05:13]Totally understandable.

[00:05:16]That's when you are brain centered rather than mind- centered. The brain wishes to avoid pain. However, just about everything that brings happiness has pain attached to it.

[00:05:29]That's the way it is. If you wish to avoid pain, you might be able to do so though minimally. Everybody has pain.

[00:05:38]But you might be able to do so. I'll tell you in advance what you should do if you want to avoid pain. take a a very uh uninspiring and undemanding job to meet your income needs.

[00:05:53]Do not marry. Do not have children and do not become involved in in anything uh in in in anything in any group and you'll avoid pain. Watch TV as much as possible. That's why people watch TV is to avoid pain.

[00:06:14]It it is a drug just like just like heroin. It won't kill you like heroin will. It will deaden you like heroin will.

[00:06:25]Avoidance of pain is why people do not grow.

[00:06:30]And growth is on my list of things you have to do in order to be happy.

[00:06:35]So uh uh uh this notion well it it it's it it's a painful it'll be painful taking more responsibility at work getting married especially men think oh my god get married wow commit to one woman for the rest of my life for most men that is a painful thing by the way that would be a great subject for the male female hour what my answer to guys nature is when they when they say to themselves, "Hey man, I can't do this one woman the rest of my life.

[00:07:09]That's that's too much against my nature." So we'll do that on the male female hour which is broadcast on Wednesdays on the Dennis Prager show. So number one, absence of paint. If you if you want on your tombstone that it be written, here lies Joe Blow.

[00:07:34]He experienced very little pain.

[00:07:38]Then you can do that. You will not have been happy. However, you will have also experienced very little happiness. So number one in the in the things that people do pursue thinking that it'll make them happy is avoidance of pain.

[00:07:53]Number two, money. Now let me be honest about money. Money helps toward happiness if two things. One, you're already happy.

[00:08:08]And B, you know what to do with it.

[00:08:12]I never added be.

[00:08:15]should have.

[00:08:17]And I don't mean that you know what do you know how to invest, what stocks to buy. I mean know what to do with it.

[00:08:24]You you remember you I'm sure you've read about all these athletes, for example, who were made tens upon tens of millions of dollars and by the age of 40 they're broke. Literally broke. They're bankrupt.

[00:08:37]They they spent it all on incredibly lavish clothing and cars and and so on.

[00:08:43]And and it just they just what is it? PD it away. Is that the word? What's the word?

[00:08:50]>> Frittered.

[00:08:51]>> Frittered. Where did I get p?

[00:08:54]That's pathetic. That was a pathetic moment.

[00:08:59]They frittered it. Pled.

[00:09:03]Can you look up pit? I'm curious if it's even a word. P I D L E. All right. Thank you.

[00:09:11]Yeah. H. It's a euphemism for what I really wanted to say, but I couldn't.

[00:09:15]All right. Be that as it may. Very important. Money makes you happier if it never makes you happy. It makes you happier. That's the difference. If you're already happy, it'll help. And if you know what to do with it, it'll help.

[00:09:32]But a lot of people think that that's the greatest thing to aim for. and they they find themselves quite unhappy because no matter what they earn, they will have not filled that hole that they're trying to fill with money.

[00:09:47]Number three, fame.

[00:09:50]This would not have been on a list 50 years ago. This is a new thing. The number of young people who want to be famous is is astonishingly large.

[00:10:03]Fame has brought no one happiness. No one.

[00:10:10]People are not happy because they're famous. They're happy because they have done something, but but not because they're famous.

[00:10:18]And most of the famous are no happier than the nonf famous and may well be less happy because they realize that they're not getting happier with all the fame that they have. Think Britney Spears. There's one happy lady very famous though recognizable all over the world. There are there are maybe on earth at this time 10 more famous people. Is that fair to say? I wonder if there were 10 more recognizable people than Britney Spears on earth.

[00:10:50]I think if Britney Spears walked into a 7-Eleven and Pope Benedict the 16th, there's no right. There's no question.

[00:10:58]She she the people say, "Hey, who's the guy in the funny hat next to Britney?"

[00:11:03]That's what they'd say, which is which is part of my point that I've often made. Never confuse significant and famous.

[00:11:15]She's famous, but not significant.

[00:11:18]Why kids want to be famous is is a riddle to me. That's that's a subject we ought to take up one time. Doesn't have to be one of these hours. I just be care why is fame. Yeah, let's talk about that. Why? Why is that? All right, we continue. I'll give you the fourth when we come back.

[00:11:33]>> This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

[00:11:40]>> One nation under God. Here's Franklin Graham.

[00:11:44]>> I'm inviting you to join with us and to pray for America. Pray that we as individuals and as a nation turn to the God of our fathers, the God of the Bible. As we approach America's 250th, join Franklin in praying for our nation every day. A new prayer is posted daily at one nation under God.com.

[00:12:04]Invite your friends and family to pray, too. One nation undergod.com.

[00:12:12]Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom. Happy music.

[00:12:20]>> Well, that works.

[00:12:22]You're listening to the happiness hour on the Dennis Prager show.

[00:12:25]>> Every week at this time I devote an hour to happiness. Half for at least 10 years. I think about 500 shows. By the way, the best of these happiness hours and they really are they are attempts to to change at least some parts of your life and apparently work in many cases are available on CD and downloading.

[00:12:46]Call 8002258584.

[00:12:49]8002258584 for all my CDs or go to dennisprager.com. That's the CD world.

[00:12:56]Prager radio is the radio part.

[00:13:00]Today is big. I'm giving you the things that people do pursue, the things people most pursue thinking that it will bring them happiness that don't, and the things people ought to pursue that does bring happiness. Having said at the outset that the biggest bringer of happiness is you. Okay, you to yourself. So again reviewing, people pursue absence of pain. That doesn't work. People pursue money. That doesn't work. Though money can help. No question about it. If you're already happy, it makes you happier and if you know what to do with it. Third is fame. The desire to be famous.

[00:13:41]This must fill some deep need. Uh it's it's a fairly narcissistic aim. Oh, people will recognize me and therefore what what's interesting about the fame issue and and I won't develop this at great length because it that's it is somewhat of a separate issue. But what is interesting is when you ask people who say they want to be famous, this is usually college kids uh or or people at that age, a little older as well.

[00:14:10]Well, what would you like to be famous for? Their answer is it doesn't matter.

[00:14:20]And that's the point. See, if if I want to be famous for conquering some illness, well, that's lovely.

[00:14:28]But that's why people will humiliate themselves on television shows just to be just to be known. It's like a large gang show the world. The fourth thing that people pursue thinking it will bring them happiness is fun.

[00:14:45]I did a show just recently on the issue of fun. The very very important show.

[00:14:52]You should you should download or order that one. But anyway, that was what fun is good for. Fun is very important.

[00:15:02]Doing the things that bring you happiness, you should make them as much fun as possible. I read a letter in fact this week from a woman who said to me, "You're absolutely right about waking up at night with the baby, which is no fun at all." Said, "But what I did was," she said, "I made it fun. What I did was I listened to your uh broadcast a podcast of your show."

[00:15:26]She said, "Now that the baby is no longer waking up, I actually miss it. It was so much fun in the middle of the night listening to your show." Now, there are many other ways of having fun in the middle of the night, folks. I do not claim that listening to my show was the only one, but that was a very sweet example and a good one.

[00:15:44]Why should you Why should you just be annoyed at getting up at 3:00 a.m., you know, yet another night when you can be listening to a book or a show or or read or read.

[00:16:01]Okay, so those are four things that people, you know, the fun part is, oh, party, I go party after party after party doesn't make anybody happier. It's why they keep going to more parties.

[00:16:13]They hope that one of them will. Now, having said that, what are the things that do bring you happiness? As I said, this is about as large a show topic as I've ever had on the happiness hour.

[00:16:26]All right. What are the things that would bring you happiness?

[00:16:30]Number one and this is number one.

[00:16:36]Gratitude.

[00:16:39]You cannot be happy without gratitude.

[00:16:44]The ungrateful are not happy by definition.

[00:16:50]Okay. Number two, love.

[00:16:55]Love is however not only available via the family route.

[00:17:01]It's not only available via a spouse.

[00:17:04]It's not only available via children.

[00:17:09]In fact, the biggest source of love for many people is their friends.

[00:17:18]I have been fascinated since my childhood. by childhood. I I should say since well when did I have my first close friend? It was sixth grade.

[00:17:31]Since I am six since I was in sixth grade I have always had at least one close friend male friend same sex friend. And that's what I mean by friends. You 99% of the time same sex.

[00:17:45]By the way I did a very uh moving thing here and unbeknownst to me it became moving. I mentioned my very first friend Leon Frink whom I have not seen since sixth grade only to find out because I have a national show so you tend to find these things out. It was brought to my attention by his children that he had died recently or a few years ago actually. Broke my heart.

[00:18:18]I have such warm memories.

[00:18:22]But I've always had a close friend and a lot of guys don't and I'm I bet a lot of women don't, but certainly a lot of guys don't. I don't know how you go through life without close friends. I don't I don't know. And I by the way I mean I don't know because I don't know. That's not it has never been a factor in my life. But anyway, love is no question about it.

[00:18:49]Third, passions.

[00:18:52]You got to be passionate. The more you're passionate about, the happier you'll be.

[00:18:58]It means that means you want to get up that day. The more you're passionate about, that's where hobbies come in. As an example, I don't only mean passions of of of large great issues. you're, you know, you're passionate about justice, passionate about America, you whatever it is, the more that you're passionate about, the be the better it is, your chances for happiness.

[00:19:22]I I I I know this from the hobbies, the role that hobbies and interests have played in my life. They're tremendous, tremendous helpers in my happiness.

[00:19:35]Third, no, fourth, excuse me, gratitude, love, passions, religion/trcendent purpose. You may have a transcendent purpose without religion. It's possible.

[00:19:49]Uh there are people who have the transcendent purpose of keeping America vibrant and alive and who may be fully secular. That's true. But by and large the transcendent purpose. What does transcendent means?

[00:20:03]It's higher than you. A purpose in life higher than you.

[00:20:11]18 Prager 776. I'll begin taking calls.

[00:20:14]There's one more on that list. Then I take your calls. 18 P R A G- R776. This is the happiness hour on the Dennis Prager show. This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

[00:20:31]>> One nation under God. Here's Franklin Graham.

[00:20:35]>> I'm inviting you to join with us and to pray for America. Pray that we as individuals and as a nation turn to the God of our fathers, the God of the Bible.

[00:20:45]>> As we approach America's 250th, join Franklin in praying for our nation every day. A new prayer is posted daily at one nation.com.

[00:20:55]Invite your friends and family to pray, too. on oneod.com.

[00:21:03]Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.

[00:21:08]>> As I say every week, thank you, Jimmy Duranti.

[00:21:14]>> You're listening to the Dennis Prager show, the happiness hour. And every week at this time, I devote an hour to the subject of happiness. It's a big one today. The things people pursue that they think will make them happy that don't and the things that people ought to pursue that will in fact contribute to their happiness. So I gave you the list, the things that people pursue that don't make them happy. Absence of pain, money, fame, fun. Not that they can't all help. Of course they can. They're just not ends in themselves. Money helps. Absence of pain helps. Fame well can help. I fame is not here or there.

[00:21:49]fun done properly as I explained so well I think on a previous show on the issue of where fun plays a role and the things that do bring happiness gratitude love and love is usually associated with family which is perfectly fine uh but it is uh uh it is frequently to be found outside of family in friends passions the more passions you have the better religion slt transcendent purpose. In other words, something higher than you that that gives you your life meaning.

[00:22:28]The problem with the collapse of religion in America is that the things that may give you meaning may not be so good. But that's that's not for this hour.

[00:22:37]That's a good one for the ultimate issues hour. The consequences of secularism. Could do like 10 programs on that.

[00:22:46]The reason for the silence is I'm watching to see if he's really going to write it down. I'm really I'm checking.

[00:22:54]He's moving toward his keyboard and I have to trust that he's writing it down because at my roast he implied that he nods and then doesn't write it.

[00:23:06]>> Just the goofy ideas.

[00:23:07]>> No, the goofy ones you don't write. All right. This is This is a good one though. All right. Fine. The fifth, the fifth one on the list of things that can bring you happiness is growth.

[00:23:19]Do you uh are you growing in some way since last year? That's a great question to ask yourself if you don't feel you are that you're static in whatever area you want it to be or areas. It's not it's not good. It's not good. Alrighty. I am going to go to your calls which on this board are from on six lines, six states, New Jersey, Colorado, Minnesota, California, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

[00:23:49]And we begin in in one of those cities I would move to.

[00:23:54]Just mentioned that to Alan when I saw it. Colorado Springs, Colorado. I love your city, Pam.

[00:24:01]>> Hi.

[00:24:01]>> Do you love your city?

[00:24:03]>> I love my city.

[00:24:04]>> Yeah, I I do, too.

[00:24:05]>> I'm a native.

[00:24:06]Wow.

[00:24:08]One of the 11.

[00:24:10]>> Yeah. Right.

[00:24:11]>> All right. Go ahead, Pam.

[00:24:13]>> I called to make you happy today because I wanted to tell you I have been listening to you for quite a number of years. Went through a very difficult time in my life a few years ago and for all of the reasons that you were just talking about. And I learned a lot. But during the process when you would laugh, it would make my day. It just it sent warm fuzzies all over me.

[00:24:40]>> Really? What kind of a day I was having?

[00:24:42]>> Oh, that's that does make me happy.

[00:24:44]You're quite right. That that's beautiful.

[00:24:47]>> It meant a great deal.

[00:24:48]>> I always think that when I hear myself laugh on the radio, I I I think it sounds silly.

[00:24:53]>> So, but maybe everybody thinks their laugh sounds silly. I I hope so. Anyway, but Pam, that that that is very touching to me. Thank you so much. Are those bad days over?

[00:25:04]>> The bad days are over and and because of a a lot of what you were talking about the the growth um spiritual looking at me making me happy instead of trying >> big other make other people make me happy.

[00:25:20]>> Yeah, that that's that's number one.

[00:25:22]That's number one. Pam, God bless you.

[00:25:24]Thank you so much. That's so nice to hear. Alrighty, let's go to uh let's go to Santa Maria, California.

[00:25:37]Nelson. Hello, Nelson. Dennis Prager.

[00:25:39]>> Hi, Dennis. How are you?

[00:25:40]>> I'm well, thank you.

[00:25:41]>> Listen, pleasure talking to you.

[00:25:43]>> Thank you.

[00:25:43]>> Gosh, where do I start? I mean, uh you know, I called because uh I wanted to respond on why why kids want to be famous and then just go into another direction.

[00:25:51]>> No, no, do that one. That's why I saw you. That's why I took the your call. Go ahead. What do you think?

[00:25:55]>> Well, listen really quick. Uh I'm from Los Angeles. I moved to Santa Maria, and what I found is that uh coming up uh to Santa Maria. Well, I I I left Los Angeles 5 years ago, went to the Pacific Northwest, came back down to California.

[00:26:07]What we had in the Pacific Northwest, and want to go back to LA. I love Los Angeles, but there's something about u uh uh the the activ all the activity that goes through, you can lose sight of perspective. I had to leave to get some perspective in my life.

[00:26:20]>> I believe that. We'll be back in a moment. Sun in the morning and the moon at night.

[00:26:28]>> It makes you smile. That's what it's supposed to do.

[00:26:35]>> By the way, I'll tell you another thing.

[00:26:37]I'm making a list here. This is Dennis Prager, the happiness hour. I gave you a list of uno quatro four things uh that people pursue that won't bring happiness and five things that you ought to pursue for happiness. There is another one that that I'm thinking of and I don't know how to phrase it yet. So I'm I'm going to I'm going to work on that.

[00:27:03]You are not going to be happy if you if you do not have a past.

[00:27:10]In other words, past prior to you and kids today, it's natural. We'll all were all born narcissistic.

[00:27:20]So, it's natural to think the world began when you were born. That that that's that's the way we're built, which is totally understandable. But as you grow up, you realize, of course, it's not true. That is so much that preceded you. And what made me think of it was this music. How many kids have no idea of music written before their time?

[00:27:39]That's not good for happiness.

[00:27:42]But I have to figure out why. So that's why I'm not putting it on the list yet.

[00:27:46]I'm just like all of us, I'm a work in progress, too. All right, let's go to some more of your calls and uh let's see here.

[00:27:58]Uh we will go to Minnesota and to Freely Steve. Dennis Prager, thanks for calling.

[00:28:06]>> Well, hi Dennis. Nice to speak to you again. Thank you again. When was the last time?

[00:28:10]>> I had called a few years back and um um actually I think you made a happiness hour out of it. It was uh monitoring yourself.

[00:28:19]>> Oh, very nice. So, that was the last time a few years ago.

[00:28:22]>> I may have called you a time or two after.

[00:28:24]>> All right. Terrific. Anyway, good to hear you, Steve. What's what's what's on your mind?

[00:28:28]>> Well, mine uh is two things. one is um not putting all of your I guess self-identity in one basket and growing from adversity. Uh I'll give you a little story here. Uh back in 1986, I was in a boating accident and I herniated three discs in my back. Up to that point, my life pretty much was consumed with uh physical pursuits and so I never really >> You mean You mean athletics? Like >> Exactly.

[00:28:58]>> Yeah. Go on.

[00:29:00]Well, after uh that accident, uh for a few years, about six years, I was hurt and I was pretty much just uh not able to do any physical activity. And so, um it forced me to develop my creative and intellectual sides. Um >> picking up on my guitar and uh that's right. Reading books and now I play in a band thanks to your accident.

[00:29:29]Exactly. So I want to tell everything that was catastrophic to me actually turned out to be a real blessing.

[00:29:34]>> This is a very important call like the other one. Steve, thank you. Uh not all the eggs in in one basket. All right, dear listener. In what different words did I say the same thing earlier this show? Tick tock. Tick tock. Time's up.

[00:29:52]And the answer is have as many passions as possible. His one passion was the life of physical activity which is terrific. It's terrific to have passion about that and enjoy it. Absolutely. But all his eggs were in that basket just like anybody who puts all their eggs in just an intellectual basket. Whatever the basket may be. He's absolutely right. It's a real danger and you don't grow much.

[00:30:20]That's a good one. My nephew I mean I I could tell the story. We we we have I've had him on the show. Joshua Prager, who is a a national best-selling author nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, in fact, uh with the he's with the Wall Street Journal. He had no inkling he knew how to write. None.

[00:30:43]And he's become a terrific I mean, he's a terrific writer.

[00:30:47]Wall Street Journal gives him cart blanch. He he he wants to ride on a 7.

[00:30:51]He's one of the only writers there that has that young guy in his 30s, my nephew, my brother's son. And uh uh yeah, why why do I tell you the story?

[00:31:02]He had no idea he knew how to write. But because he was in a terrible accident, he was he was in a a minivan hit by a truck. Uh uh he his dreams of being a doctor were crushed, literally.

[00:31:19]And that's how he found out that he could be a writer.

[00:31:24]He he'd have gone on to medical school and never written anything beyond a prescription.

[00:31:30]And now and now he's a best-selling international author. He wrote the book, by the way, on the Bobby Thompson home run. You many of you may know that he's the one who found out they really did cheat on the most famous home run ever hitten in baseball. Was it 1951 or 53? I think 51.

[00:31:50]Weren't you with the game, Alan?

[00:31:54]No, no, no. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

[00:31:57]>> Huh? No, no, no, no. That was when the Giants beat the Dodgers in the oneame playoff for the for the National League pennant. Bobby Thompson got the signal from a a Giant guy sitting in the bleachers in in outfield. All right.

[00:32:13]>> 51. All right. Very good. Alrighty.

[00:32:16]Let's go to San Antonio, Texas, and Vincent. Vincent, Dennis Prager, thanks for calling.

[00:32:22]>> Yes, sir. Mr. Prager, you know, for 53 years, I have uh always been a dreamer.

[00:32:26]Well, you know, I mean, when I could, you know, uh I I started to start my own business and I tried to achieve a lot of things, and it's really weird how things are, but it seems to me that the more I pursued happiness, the further I got away from it. Well, the more you pursued happiness or the more you pursued things that don't bring happiness.

[00:32:46]>> Exactly.

[00:32:47]>> I think it's okay to pursue happiness.

[00:32:49]>> That's exactly what it is. I think things that made me that I thought would make me happy.

[00:32:53]>> That's what it is.

[00:32:54]>> And and I'll be honest with you right now, I think the happiest the best thing that could happen to me and and what I found the most happiness was when I had nothing because at that point I didn't owe any money. I was able to enjoy things. right now to be honest with you.

[00:33:09]I'd give anything to be able to be sitting down in the spot that I dream of going back to.

[00:33:13]>> All right. You know what? All right. I want to I want to tell you what you had.

[00:33:18]>> You had You had inner peace.

[00:33:21]>> Absolutely.

[00:33:21]>> That's right. That's on my list as even larger than the other stuff because I consider inner peace and happiness virtually synonymous.

[00:33:31]That's why I didn't even put it on the list, but that's what he had. Back in a moment on the Happiness Hour.

[00:33:37]>> This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

[00:33:44]>> One nation under God. Here's Franklin Graham.

[00:33:48]>> I'm inviting you to join with us and to pray for America. Pray that we as individuals and as a nation turn to the God of our fathers, the God of the Bible.

[00:33:58]>> As we approach America's 250th, join Franklin in praying for our nation every day. A new prayer is posted daily at one nation.com.

[00:34:08]Invite your friends and family to pray, too. on oneod.com.

[00:34:16]Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom. You're listening to the Happiness Hour on the Dennis Prager show.

[00:34:25]Now, let me review some of your calls cuz this is, believe it or not, the last uh segment. So, let's see. Roy in Medford, New Jersey, gratitude is an action word. He expresses gratitude by giving back what he receives. Good man, Roy. That's right. But it is also words.

[00:34:38]Never, ever, ever underestimate the power of words.

[00:34:43]And I'll give you a terrific, since a lot of you find this fascinating, a biblical basis. The word for words in biblical Hebrew is the same as the word for things. Words are things.

[00:34:57]That's why it's so important to tell kids to say thank you. not just important for the recipient, but to instill gratitude in the kid. So you it it doesn't matter if you feel it and don't say it, it means nothing. You have to say it. So both are important, actions and words. Rean and Cleveland knitting has enabled her to get over a lot of family issues. I'll bet it has.

[00:35:18]Look, the more passions you have, I'm a hobby man. Absolutely. I mean, I could I I am sick. I could live on hobbies. I really could. I I that's that's one of the battles I have had to wage in my life is not to spend all day with my hobbies. Sherry and Niles, Michigan.

[00:35:36]Let's see. Uh was very happy made me realize happiness doesn't depend on your circumstances. Yes, indeed. Josh in Los Angeles, kids want to be famous because they equate fame with love. That's interesting. We're going to do an hour on why. I don't I don't know why exactly.

[00:35:50]I don't know why it's that. I don't think it was as important to kids in my generation to be famous as it is to kids now. And it's a fascinating question as to why.

[00:36:01]It's an emptier age we live in, but and that may be a factor. Uh Kevin in California says, "Another key to happiness is having a long-term plan and progressing toward that goal." I don't know that if that's true. That's something I would like to have discussed with Kevin. I have never had a long-term plan. The only people I knew who did were the Soviets. They always had a five-year plan, you know, from London on. They always fiveyear plan. Nothing happened. It never work. Nothing.

[00:36:30]There's always a five-year plan. I, Dennis, have a daily plan. Have a daily be as good and and and you know, and kind and all the good things that one could be and enjoy today as much as possible on on the deepest level of the word enjoyment. I I I the reason that I don't have long-term plans, well, there's a there's a great old Yiddish saying, man plans and God laughs. That's why you don't know what's going to be.

[00:36:58]You just don't. You just don't. And Elijah in Philadelphia, poor guy, he's been waiting since the before I even took the calls. Wisdom makes him happy.

[00:37:07]Well, yes, wisdom, that's the reason.

[00:37:09]You know, they we had that whole thing on old people are happier than young people. I'm sure wisdom is one of the factors. It's very confusing life when you're younger. All right, I gave you a list of the things people pursue that doesn't bring happiness, the things that you ought to pursue. And I'm going to do another show on my argument that pursuit of happiness is a good idea. People say you can't pursue happiness. I happen not to agree. On tomorrow's episode of Dennis Teaches the Torah, >> Jacob uh pays dearly for his mistake in spoiling uh Joseph. and in showing that he is the favorite son. He pays a terrible price in the antipathy of the brothers toward his favorite child, his other children.

[00:37:53]And nothing hurts a parent more than when their children hate each other or don't don't don't even or merely don't love each other.

[00:38:00]>> Come back tomorrow for Dennis Prager's signature series on the first five books of the Bible. Dennis teaches the Torah.

[00:38:07]This has been Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Visit dennisprager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles.

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