Top: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation CEO Ed O’Keefe (left) hosts a Q & A session with New York Times bestselling author and happiness expert Arthur Brooks (right) in Fargo on October 2nd, 2024.
It was an unbelievable turnout for “An Evening with Arthur Brooks,” which DMF co-hosted along with the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. More than 700 people packed the Fargo Theatre on Oct. 2 for Brooks’ keynote address on how we can all learn to manage our own “happiness portfolio.”
We are so grateful for the partnership with the Theodore Roosevelt Library in bringing a world-class speaker like Arthur Brooks to our state.
Dakota Medical Foundation Executive Director Pat Traynor, shares his thoughts about the event below.
A Letter to the Editor
"Choose Happiness"
written by
Pat Traynor
Executive Director of Dakota Medical Foundation and Impact Foundation
As I left the Fargo Theatre last week, all I could think was: “I wish everyone in our region could have been here tonight.”
At a time when rates of depression and anxiety are skyrocketing and health indicators continue to plummet, who better to hear from than a happiness expert?
Arthur Brooks, who’s a bestselling author and one of the world’s leading experts on happiness, was in town to keynote the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Speaker Series, and he delivered a 75-minute masterclass on how happiness is a core competency for those of us who want to be in charge of our own lives. Far from a fleeting feeling that we need to constantly chase, Brooks explained how happiness is something that can — and should — be actively managed if we’re going to become the best version of ourselves. It’s not some external thing that happens to us; it’s an internal thing that comes from within us.
Brooks has devoted his life to researching and understanding what actually makes people happy, and it might shock you at just how simple it really is. To crack the happiness code, we really only need to focus on four things:
- Faith
- Family
- Friends
- Work (in service of others)
If we look at happiness as a meal, those are our macronutrients. And to be happier, we need to consume more of the nutritious stuff and less of the junk. Brooks is an anomaly in our current climate of hyperpartisanship and identity politics — he attracts people of all genders, ages, and political persuasions — and after listening to him speak, it’s easy to see why. He’s much more interested in the universal and the things we have in common than the things that divide us. He encouraged us to reject the culture of contempt that surrounds us, turn away from the politics of difference, and turn toward respect and love for our neighbors.
On behalf of everyone who attended, I want to thank Arthur for delivering a talk that I won’t soon forget. I also want to thank Gov. Doug Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Burgum for joining us at the event and for everything they’ve done to help revitalize Downtown Fargo. What a gift it is to be able to attract world-class speakers such as Arthur Brooks to our area.
With gratitude,
J. Patrick Traynor
Executive Director
Dakota Medical Foundation, Impact Foundation
click the button below to visit his website.