Money Does Not Buy You

Optimistic People Play A Disproportionate Role In Shaping Our Lives. Their Decisions Make A Difference; They Are Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Political And Military Leaders - Not Average People. They Got To Where They Are By Seeking Challenges And Taking Risks.

An Executive Might Have A Very Strong Intuition That A Given Product Has Promise, Without Considering The Probability That A Rival Is Already Ahead In Developing The Same Product.

It's Clear That Policymakers And Economists Are Going To Be Interested In The Measurement Of Well-being Primarily As It Correlates With Health; They Also Want To Know Whether Researchers Can Validate Subjective Responses With Physiological Indices.

I Have Always Believed That Scientific Research Is Another Domain Where A Form Of Optimism Is Essential To Success: I Have Yet To Meet A Successful Scientist Who Lacks The Ability To Exaggerate The Importance Of What He Or She Is Doing, And I Believe That Someone Who Lacks A Delusional Sense Of Significance Will Wilt In The Face Of Repeated Experiences Of Multiple Small Failures And Rare Successes, The Fate Of Most Researchers.

When Action Is Needed, Optimism, Even Of The Mildly Delusional Variety, May Be A Good Thing.