World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007 - (Page 11)

MERICANS HAVE BEEN OBSESSED WITH THE pursuit of happiness ever since Thomas Jefferson inserted the phrase into the nation’s founding document. But happiness seems to be on people’s minds today more than ever before. In recent years, a small industry devoted to the exploration (and marketing) of happiness has emerged, with the publication of scores of books on the subject; the development of a new psychological discipline; and the creation of new college courses, including one—Positive Psychology—that has become the most popular offering among undergrads at Harvard. Americans enjoy an “inalienable right” to pursue happiness. But, according to studies, over the past half century, despite our affluence and technological advances, we have grown no happier and may even have become less so. Perhaps we can learn from “social entrepreneurs” who depart from the conventional pathways of success in order to devote themselves to solving social problems. What happens when a person pursues a path of action that aligns with his or her interests, talents and values—and also contributes to the well-being of others? Consider the example of Earl Martin Phalen. Phalen was a first-year student at Harvard Law School in 1991 when he visited a community center in a low-income area of Boston and met 15year-old youths reading at first-grade levels. Deeply pained, Phalen signed on as a tutor. The following year, he and a classmate raised $12,500 to start a tutoring program they called Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL). Their initial goal was to help 20 underprivileged children make it to college. After graduating, Phalen’s partner moved on to a law career, but Phalen decided to devote himself full-time to BELL, foregoing lucrative job opportunities. At one point, Phalen had to mortgage his house to cover BELL’s expenses. But today the organization has many supporters. This past year, BELL served more than 10,000 scholars in Baltimore, Boston and New York, boasting impressive, independently-evaluated, reading and math gains. Every one of the first 20 children that BELL worked with has graduated from or is in college. Does Phalen have any regrets when he hangs out with old classmates who have luxury cars and beach houses? “There is nothing more rewarding than helping our scholars understand who they are and support them in realizing their amazing potential,” he explained. “I feel really fortunate to be probably one of a very small percentage of individuals that actually gets to pursue work they believe they’re put on earth to do.” www.heifer.org November/December 2007 | WORLD ARK 11 http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007

World Ark - November/December 2007 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked & Answered Pursuing Happiness (PRODUCT) RED: Consumer Power Fights AIDS in Africa Rwanda Reconciles End Hunger Now Protecting the Poor from Climate Change Mixed Media Heifer Bulletin Heifer Spirit Heifer Calendar Reflection

World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.