07/ 25/ 2006
by Harvey King
Recently, researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School discovered that the older we get, the happier we get. They also found that everyone assumed the opposite was true: Even the older people in the test believed younger people were happier. The researchers aren't quite sure why older people are happier, but some of the theories revolve around the notion that older people have wisdom from experience that helps them (or, in my case, "us") balance the ups and downs of life.
My personal theory—based entirely on my own experience—is that as we get older, we more quickly forget stuff that upsets us. When I was younger, I could remember what was making me mad for hours, months or—in one or two cases—years. Now, when someone says, "I thought you said you'd never again go to that restaurant after your incident with food poisoning?" I respond, "What food poisoning? … And hurry, if we get there by 4:30, we can eat for half-price."
I'd like those Michigan researchers to do a follow-up study to determine if people who are just starting small businesses are happier than people who are running well-established ones. I've run three small businesses during the past two decades. All three were start-ups. Two were successful, the other not, but the earliest days of all of them were happy—stressful, but happy.
If those Michigan researchers did the same study on small-business owners, I think they'd come to similar conclusions as they did with the age study: The longer you've run a small-business, the happier you are. And just like the older folks assumed the young ones were happier, the researchers would probably discover that business owners think they were happier in the good old days, back when their companies were young. There's a lot of mythology surrounding the time when a company first gets started, and everyone is hungry and passionate and scrappy. I can remember lots of all-nighters and plenty of laughter.
However, in looking back, I can attest that much of the happiness from my early small-business days can be explained by the phrase "ignorance is bliss." Actually, being ignorant of how thin the ice we were skating on made it a lot more fun.
Being young—as an individual or as a company—is all about the future, about what you've got to do to achieve something out there. It's about jumping through the right hoops, making the right contacts, making the right decisions. It's about being lucky and not leaving anything to luck. It's about believing the Tams when they sing, "Be young, be foolish, but be happy." Frankly, it's very, very hard work being young. Being a start-up is all about striving for the achievements and goals we think will bring happiness.
Being older—as an individual or as a company—is still hard work, but there's something about surviving the ups and downs that makes life happier. As we get older, we accept the fact that there are some things we'll never accomplish (I'm still bummed over the fact I never played in the NFL.) And more often, when we do reach what we thought was our dream, we discover that happiness lies somewhere else.
Fortunately, my business is one in which plenty of young people who are just starting out still laugh a lot. They're scrappy and, if necessary, they'll work late. (Although, these days they can work late from home on their laptops.) I hope they learn, sooner rather than later, that happiness comes from learning to deftly juggle ambition and disappointment, expectations and reality—and from seeking joy in the gifts every day presents. If they do, they won't have to wait until they're old to see what true happiness is like.
However, they'll still have to wait for the half-off early-bird specials.
