--- title: What Is the Good Life? Four Books That Give You Real Answers description: What is the good life? That’s the primary question I’m trying to answer with this blog. Shortcuts and lifehacks are great. Surprising trivia is nice.... canonical: https://time.com/2973666/what-is-the-good-life-four-books-that-give-you-real-answers/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-15T04:01:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:54:23.186Z article:section: Ideas og:title: What Is the Good Life? Four Books That Give You Real Answers og:description: Find direction, be happy. og:url: https://time.com/2973666/what-is-the-good-life-four-books-that-give-you-real-answers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt474016ccdeb89227/69869b3413c79f1847193045/494416953.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3840 og:image:height: 2160 og:image:alt: What Is The Good Life? Four Books That Give You Real Answers og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Is the Good Life? Four Books That Give You Real Answers twitter:description: Find direction, be happy. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt474016ccdeb89227/69869b3413c79f1847193045/494416953.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Is the Good Life? Four Books That Give You Real Answers > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jul 15, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Woman in the morning Woman in the morning Izabela Habur—Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jul 15, 2014 4:01 AM UTC **What is the good life?** That’s the primary question I’m trying to answer with this blog. Shortcuts and lifehacks are great. Surprising trivia is nice. But how can we really live great lives? I don’t have time for much less. And I don’t like corny fluff. I want answers backed by research, expertise or deep insight. **Here are four books that really helped me. And I think they’ll help you too.** **Find Direction In Life** **What is it?** Clayton Christensen’s [How Will You Measure Your Life?](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ID0CH4/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006ID0CH4&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) **What did I learn from it?** Harvard professor Clayton Christensen combines personal experience and MBA principles to provide a path for good life choices. **Confused about a rational but ethical way** [**to find your life’s purpose**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/08/what-is-life-all-about/)**? What your five year goals are? This is the book for you.** **Video:** (Short on time? Just watch from 7:50-11:34 mins.) Check it out [here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ID0CH4/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006ID0CH4&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). **Be Happier** **What is it?** Sonja Lyubomirsky’s [The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010O927W/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0010O927W&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). **What did I learn from it?** [**5 hugs a day**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/02/checklist-8-day-happier/) **makes you a happier person. We often pick the easy, lazy choice but it’s** [**the challenges in life that bring joy**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/happy/)**.** These and many other great insights you can use every day to increase your smile-to-frown ratio. **Video:** This one is a very thorough overview of happiness research. Settle in to cover all the big points. Need a quicker version? Read [this](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/word-sum-happier/). Check it out [here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010O927W/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0010O927W&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). **Be A Good Person Who Succeeds** **What is it?** Wharton professor [Adam Grant](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/04/interview-wharton-business-school-professor-teaches-approach-give/)‘s [Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFPTSI0/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AFPTSI0&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). **What did I learn from it?** People who give to others often get exploited and end up at the bottom of the heap. Not surprising. But givers also come out at the top of the heap: happier, more successful and loved. **Adam Grant’s well-researched book provides a strategy for being the latter:** [**a good person who succeeds due to their kindness**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/04/helping-happier/)**.** **Video:** (Short on time? Watch from 42 seconds in to 4:02.) Check it out [here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFPTSI0/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AFPTSI0&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). **Have A Happy Family** **What is it?** Bruce Feiler’s [The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089LOHHO/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0089LOHHO&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) **What did I learn from it?** **Feiler does an excellent job of rounding up the latest research on** [**what makes loving families thrive**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/10/how-to-have-a-happy-family/)**.** He gives surprising insights (kids should decide their own punishments), supports things we know in our hearts (grandmothers make a huge difference) and provides strategies you never would have thought of (the project management system used at the office can also help at home.) **Video:** (Short on time? Watch from 5:38 to 8:28.) Check it out [here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089LOHHO/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0089LOHHO&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). **Sum Up** Again, they are: * [How Will You Measure Your Life?](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ID0CH4/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006ID0CH4&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) * [The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010O927W/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0010O927W&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) * [Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFPTSI0/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AFPTSI0&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) * [The Secrets of Happy Families](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089LOHHO/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0089LOHHO&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) **Join 45K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [What are the top five books you must read?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/books-missed/) [What are five books that can change your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/books/) [Which books can teach you how to be the best you?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/how-to-be-the-best-you/) _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2973666/what-is-the-good-life-four-books-that-give-you-real-answers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2973666/what-is-the-good-life-four-books-that-give-you-real-answers/"},"headline":"What Is the Good Life? Four Books That Give You Real Answers","datePublished":"2014-07-15T04:01:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:54:23.186Z","description":"What is the good life? That’s the primary question I’m trying to answer with this blog. 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