I sure wished that money could buy happiness.  It would be so much easier if we could simply buy our way to a better life. 

However, no matter how much money you throw at the problem, it just doesn’t work.  You can buy toys, gadgets, gizmos, systems, fads, fakes and costumes, but eventually the new wears off and you are right back where you started.

Usually when we try to buy happiness, we end up even unhappier.  We get our hopes up, get excited and then crash when we realize the latest thing isn’t as great as we hoped.

Call it buyer’s remorse or whatever you want, I call it a broken strategy.  Living life to the fullest requires a different approach.

The Ways We Are Sold Happiness

The marketers are always trying to sell us the idea that we can buy happiness.  I think the car companies are the best at it.  Just take a look at this Mazda commercial.

The marketers are obviously trying to sell you on the idea that if you drive their car that you’ll have excitement in your life and be envied by others for how lucky you are.  They want you to believe that your life will be much better if you just buy one of their vehicles.

Now I’m not picking on Mazda.  They certainly aren’t the only ones out there using this approach.  In fact, most marketers are trying to reach you in this same way.  They know we are emotional creatures and that if they can tap into our emotions, then we are more likely to buy their product.

They want us to believe we will be happier, more popular and satisfied emotionally if we own what they are offering.

Here’s another great example from Apple Computer.

Apple wants you to feel that you’ll be much cooler if you buy a Mac versus a PC.  You’ll look more suave and you’ll get the supermodel girl to boot.  They are totally trying to manipulate your emotions.  They want you to believe you’ll be happier if you buy a Mac not just because of what it can do, but because of what it is.

Please notice that in both the Mazda commercial and the Apple commercial that there is very little information about their product.  It is all about how their products will make you feel about yourself.  This is very powerful stuff.

The Power of Selling Happiness

It is easy to laugh and dismiss this, but it works.  It influences us.  In fact, I think it has a greater impact than we want to give it credit for.  I believe ads like this make us think we can buy happiness.

Why do I believe this?  Well, just look at credit card debt in the United States back in 2007, before the recession started.  We owed on average almost $10,000 per household on our cards.  This has gone up since then, but that could be because some people are buying necessities on credit now.

I’d be willing to bet that the majority of people that owed ten grand on credit cards in 2007 could not tell you what they spent their hard earned money on.  They wouldn’t know because it was all kinds of stuff that they thought would make them happy.

It was clothes and gadgets and accessories.  It was stuff they believed would make their lives more enjoyable and make them or their kids more popular.  It was convenience and luxury items.  It was stuff and more stuff.  It was a lot of keeping up with the proverbial Joneses.

Happiness Is Not For Sale

Please make no mistake about it.  We have been sold on the idea that we can buy happiness, but we can’t.  It just doesn’t work, but you probably already know that if you’ve taken even a moment to consider it.

Real happiness doesn’t come from stuff.  No matter what you buy, you are not going to make yourself happy.  Oh, you might get a small emotional high out of it, but that isn’t real happiness.

In addition, as I mentioned earlier, continuing to believe you can buy happiness will likely only leave you feeling empty and buried in debt which causes stress and leaves you feeling even worse.

What do I recommend instead?  I’d suggest three things to make yourself happier:

1.  Simplify

I’d strongly suggest going in the opposite direction away from acquiring more stuff.  It just makes your life feel bloated and cumbersome.  It adds to your stress by increasing what you have to store, maintain and pay for.  Clean things up and declutter to find more happiness.  Keep your life simple and you’ll be happier.

2.  Get Active

Physical activity actually stimulates the production of chemicals in your brain that make you feel happier.  In addition, getting fit will help you to feel better about yourself, have more energy and become more attractive.  These are all much more effective ways to increase the quality of your life. 

3.  Practice Gratitude

It is so very easy to “forget” about all the positive things we have in our life.  We get distracted and dissuaded by advertisers and our culture into thinking we are missing out on something.  The best way to counteract this is to actively practice gratitude.  Recount to yourself all that you have to be thankful for.  It is a very simple strategy, but it is amazingly effective.

Stop Trying to Buy Happiness

The true path to happiness is not paved with gold.  Money is a tool, but like all tools it has its limits.  It simply cannot buy us the happiness we so fervently desire.  However, the good news is that happiness is not as elusive as you might imagine.  There are some very intentional things you can do to make yourself happier and most of them don’t cost a dime.  In fact, scientists have concluded that it is often the simplest things like practicing gratitude that make us the happiest.

If happiness is one of your goals, then I’d suggest checking out The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want.  This book really helped me to see how I chased after happiness in the wrong ways and it provided concrete alternatives that I could use to increase my happiness and satisfaction in life.  It is a great resource for living life to the fullest!

Have you tried to buy your happiness?  Leave me a comment and let me know your experience.

Photo by OakleyOriginals

I’m looking for people willing to share their personal experience selling digital photographs online.  This is something that interests me, but I’ve never done it.  I’d like to hear from some real people about how to get started and what to expect.

Photography has always interested me.  I got involved back in high school as a yearbook photographer.  We shot, developed and printed all our own black and white pictures.  I particularly enjoyed shooting the photos.

I’ve just recently purchased a Nikon D40 Digital SLR Camera and it has been fun getting back into taking pictures again.  However, the entrepreneurial side of me wonders if I could use my rediscovered hobby to generate another stream of income.

My questions about selling digital photographs online

Have you tried selling your digital photographs online?  How did it go?  I’m trying to decide if this is something I want to pursue and it would be immensely helpful to know in advance what I’m getting myself into and exactly how to go about it.

Here are some of my questions about selling digital photographs online:

• Is selling photography on sites like Fotolia the best way to make extra money?
• How much effort is required to make $100-$200 a month?
• Is this market totally flooded to the point where it is difficult to make anything?
• What sites are best for selling photographs?
• How many photos do I need to upload before I can expect to make something?
• How difficult is it to get your photos accepted?
• Are there some particularly helpful sites for learning more?

I’ve been doing a little research and I’ve ran across some helpful information, but again I’m looking for real people willing to share their experience.  This is not something that I can spend whole days doing.  After all, I’ve got a day job.  I want to know if selling photos is something I can do on the side just to generate a little extra income for my sunny day fund.

Some of what I’ve learned so far about selling digital photographs

Selling pictures as stock photography doesn’t seem too difficult and there are a plethora of great sites for it, but I’m definitely concerned that it might not generate enough money to make it worth anything.

I ran across this Microstock Earnings Report for May 2009 and it makes me wonder if a guy like me that is already working full-time, raising a family and blogging on the side has a chance of making enough to bother.  My expectations aren’t that high, but after some time and effort I would like to be making at least $100 to $200 a month.  Is this realistic?

I know about model releases and avoiding photos that include trademarks or copyrighted material, but are there other things I need to know about what to photograph?  Is it possible to make money with photographs of nature, landscapes and common objects?

What kind of equipment do I need?  Obviously, I knew a good digital SLR camera would be helpful, but what else will I need?  I’d like to get up and generating a few dollars without investing a great deal more money up front.  I did get a 55-200mm zoom lens with my Nikon D40, but other than that I don’t have a lot of extra equipment.

What is your best advice for selling digital photographs online?

I’m really looking forward to hearing your suggestions.  I haven’t decided 100% to do this, but it is something that interests me keenly.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes and share your experience or thoughts with me.  I’m sure it will go a long way toward helping a newbie get his footing!

Photo by Chris. M.C.