Michael Norton Money Can Buy Happiness

Michael Norton's Ted Talk revolved around the idea that money can buy happiness if spent in the right way. At first I thought that the simplest way to buy happiness was to spend money on yourself. But as he began by sharing a story about those who win the lottery my opinion on how to boy happiness quickly changed. Norton said that the majority of those who win the lottery end up living a life that is less happy then the life they had before winning. He said the main cause of this is after others such as relatives and friends hear that you have won the lotto everyone tries to ask you for money. But if you reply no to most of those who ask then your relationships with more then half of everyone you know will weaken and maybe break. Throughout his presentation Norton delivers a Ted Talk that he truly believes in and captures the audiences attention by sharing some very interesting stories and statistics about happiness. He talks very educated about his topic and never really has a dull moment. This ted talk was very useful to see because the presentation style is very similar to the one that we must do for our final. Michael uses his voice to convey his idea and only uses pictures that relate to what he is saying. Spending money on others is the way you buy happiness says Norton and proves it in a couple of ways. In the beginning he shares how in a couple of countries he gives a number of people an envelope with money in it and tells them to spend it on either themselves by a certain time or on another person. After calling them and asking what they spent it on and how happy are they after spending the money the results are clear. Those who spent money on themselves were less happy then the people who spent their money on others. Norton explains that this is true because if you tell someone to spend a certain amount of money on themselves it doesn't matter how much you give them because they are used to buying personal things on a daily basis. But if you spend money on some one else then you are happier because this is something that you are not used to and everyone likes having a positive impact on others lives. The main thing that I will remember from this Ted Talk is that even though it may seem that a phone or an accessory will make me happier it may be more beneficial to give money to a charity or to someone who really needs the money. Everyone including businesses should be interested in Norton's idea because if we are all happier then we are all spending are money to improve everyone instead of everyone focusing on them self. The one thing that businesses should notice is that money should be used in a way that helps improve relationships among employees if they want workers who work well together and have a positive affect on the business.